Northern Lights Festival Boréal : Performers

2010 Performers

Performer	Artist Info
Gord Downie & the Country of Miracles View Site	As a founding member and frontman of Canada’s iconic Rock and Roll band, The Tragically Hip, Gord Downie has forged a career as writer of Anthemic music, poet, solo artist and Canadian. On the heals of the release of his new album, The Grand Bounce, it is the great honour of Northern Lights Festival Boréal to present Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles in concert as a feature headliner of our 2010 festival. Downie's use of stories and myths about life in Canada, along with his wild antics and rantings on stage, has helped enshrine ‘The Hip’ as a home-grown and much-loved Canadian band.
The Sadies View Site	Canada’s kings of indie, surf, outlaw, country and bluegrass return also with two new albums since their last festival appearance. Through countless collaborations and their own recordings, The Sadies have steadily built a fanatical following, making them one of Canada’s favourite live bands. The Sadies are at home on any stage they're on, with a typical show lasting 35 to 40 songs, give or take five or ten. The band's almost careless stage presence – with the Good Brothers looming in their tailored, embroidered suits – and reckless punk energy, make the songs fly by.
Fred Penner View Site	A gentle giant with kind eyes and an undeniable ability to make you feel good about yourself, this musical master brings 25 years of commitment, consistency and depth to a career that skillfully blends the many genres of performing and communication. Dubbed "Mr. Multi-Media" by Billboard Magazine, his diverse repertoire includes a prolific 12 children’s albums, countless energetically packed live shows for throngs of eager audiences across North America, composing the music for APTN/YTV’s Tipi Tales, and writing the score and hosting the TV documentary The Simple Way (focused on the relevant, world-wide topic of voluntary simplicity). He has, without a doubt, established himself as a fundamental part of the North American family entertainment scene. And whether it’s through CDs, videos, books or television, his cornerstone philosophy remains the same: absolute trust that his work can make a difference.
Cuff the Duke View Site	Fresh off of touring the Canada with Blue Rodeo and the US with Serena Ryder, Cuff the Duke returns for a feature performance at NLFB. They first performed our festival in 2005 and in the last five years have released their third and fourth albums and have been featured in arena tours and their own headlining theatre tours since. Originally from Oshawa, Cuff the Duke play a blend of traditional country and folk music with indie rock influences, and can be categorized as an alt-country group.
Njacko Backo View Site	Entertainer, musician, composer, dancer, choreographer, author and educator Njacko Backo shares his uplifting music, energizing dance, and hope-filled stories with audiences of all ages and all walks of life. Njacko was born in Cameroon in 1958 and raised in the hills in a small village called Bazou, which means "The Walkers." To paint a picture of life in his village, Njacko often points to the movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy” to demonstrate the truly rural and organic nature of his upbringing. Njacko delights children and adults alike by inviting them on-stage to make music with him, and by captivating them with his talents as a storyteller and writer with a repertoire of over one hundred tales and legends.
Lee Harvey Osmond View Site	“Acid folk” was born in an old garage off Clinton Avenue in Toronto, concocted by Tom Wilson from Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, a few Cowboy Junkies, and some Skydiggers. Allowing bass, hypnotic rhythms and a lot of groove into their songwriting circle, the artist collective LeE HARVeY OsMOND created a sound that would creep out of the Northern woods and across the Great Lakes into the South, the same way The Band did forty years before them. Tom Wilson (guitar and vocals) struck Canadian rock gold in the ’90s as the leader of the much- loved Junkhouse, and then found a whole new audience as a crucial component of roots-rock super- group Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.
Sheesham and Lotus View Site	Sheesham and Lotus perform concerts, workshops and lectures in the Old-Time Arts at folk camps, festivals, schools, universities and colleges across North America. Flatfoot buck-dance, jaw-harp, harmonica duets, fiddle and banjo, hambone hand-jive, crooked fiddle tunes, fretless and gourd banjos. Minstrel tunes, spoons and bones.
The Monkey Bunch View Site	THE MONKEY BUNCH are comic genius Shoshana Sperling, musician/songwriter Maury LaFoy and their musical friends – and they are here to change the way that you think of children’s music! Playing with a variety of musical stylings the MONKEY BUNCH engage kids with musicality and humour, while imparting fun but important educational messages about the environment. This high-energy concert will have your kids dancing, rushing the stage and going BANANAS! THE MONKEY BUNCH is for parents who love music – and want their kids to do the same.
Amelia Curran View Site	She just received the Juno award for Roots and Traditional album last week. This artist is a prolific songwriter with a string of great CDs under her belt. Through signing with Six Shooter Records, her trajectory has risen from the perennial of East Coast Music Award nominee to rising star across the country. A songwriter by trade, but a writer at heart, Curran believes language is everything. She describes the craft of song-writing as an act of "expressing the inexpressible, a means of describing the indescribable."
Danny Michel View Site	"With two Juno nominations and six solo albums to his credit, Danny Michel is one of the finest and most charming songwriters to grace the stage. His honest and straight-forward lyrics, earnest live performances and witty stage banter have earned him a devoted global fan base. If you’ve seen Danny live in concert, you’re probably already a fan. If you haven’t, you are missing out on “one of this country’s undiscovered musical treasures” (The Toronto Star). He gained publicity in 2008 for making the tracks of his hit single Feather, Fur & Fin available for his fans to remix and then posting their submissions on his website. Most recently, Danny has built excitement and anticipation around his new album with a behind-the-scenes look into his studio and the making of his record. He even challenged his fans from around the world to submit their own tracks for the album. As a result, a few of his own parts were replaced by what he considered better ones from his fans.
Christine Tassan et les Imposteures View Site	Christine Tassan discovered music through the great French performers. In 1994, she immigrated to Quebec and intensified her musical activities, collaborating with many musicians. In 1996, she was a finalist (as singer-songwriter) at the Festival international de la chanson de Granby and won the “Coup de cœur” award at the Francofolies. She discovered gypsy jazz, then from 2000 on, she performed as a duet, then as part of a quintet, in the tradition of acoustic swing of the Hot Club de France. At the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal en 2003, her group was highly acclaimed by the public. Since then, Christine has combined the two main elements of her music: song and gypsy jazz. Surrounded by passionate musicians, she has developed a repertoire where traditional numbers with gypsy accents intertwine with swing waltzes and French songs, revisited in gypsy style. Christine Tassan et Les Imposteures give the public the opportunity to appreciate her warm voice, her energy and her musicality.
Bon Débarras View Site	The trio Bon DéBarras (literally “good riddance”), that includes Jean-François Dumas, Luzio Altobelli and Dominic Desrochers), distinguishes itself by its musical climes that these multi-instrumentalists create a cappella, with guitars, banjo, accordion, harmonica and washboard, a careful choice of instruments and by lots of foot-tapping. This trio offers original compositions: Bouquet de toundra (Bouquet of tundra), mesmerizing folk ballads like L’île ensorcelée (The Enchanted Island), and traditional airs such as La malmariée (The poorly married woman). In short, Bon DéBarras music evokes memories of the St. Lawrence River, of forests and the tundra… in which modernity and tradition intermingle! Bon DéBarras opens the doors of their memories, crisscrossing the American landscape where the roots of various traditions meet one another. It is with great energy that they mark the beat of the present while marching forward on a road intertwined with dreams to come...
Kyrie Kristmanson View Site	"With no prior expectations, Kyrie Kristmanson blew me away. Her diminutive stature belies great talent and a charmingly quirky personality. Looking the part of her Björk influences in a fuzzy white cap, Kyrie’s fluent French labelled her a local instead of the Icelandic transport her largely a cappella music suggested. Her musical accompaniment was a male vocalist, harmonising and occasionally beatboxing or contributing finger snaps. On a couple occasions, Kyrie strapped on a classical guitar for some fiercely complex and groovy finger picking, answering the question of what Björk would sound like if she was a swamp-boogie queen with jazz training." – (Scott A. Gray, Exclaim!)
Bruce Peninsula View Site	The mighty Bruce is a rock band, a folk troupe, a modernist choir, a collective, an army; songwriters who have learned from the past while looking to the future. Aspects of old Gospel, Appalachian Folk and early Blues mix freely with Pop, Prog, Punk and International influences, creating a collage of contemporary sounds you truly need to hear for yourself. The band mutates often but the last couple of years has seen contributions from many. The instrumental elements have expanded into new terrain (unlike most folk bands, prog isn't a dirty word for this band), but Bruce Peninsula's focus is devoted to the singing, first and foremost.
Three Penny Opus View Site	Three Penny Opus is an award-winning Roots and Old Time Country ensemble as unique as its name. The band was born in 2007 in Barrie, Ontario as a trio: Mary Lou Minor and Vince Therrien, singer-songwriters on acoustic guitar backed by the eclectic upright bass stylings of Andre Paraskevas. The band now includes Randy Brethour’s impeccable mandolin, Pam Steingard’s classically-influenced violin, and occasionally, the rich or raunchy sounds of Vince’s Gretch or Tely. The combination is infectious!
Erin Costelo View Site	From Halifax, Nova Scotia, Erin Costelo blends rich, layered piano driven compositions with lyrics as often searing as they are sweet on her first full length album Fire & Fuss which was nominted for an East Coast Music Award and a Nova Scotia Music Award. Costelo uses her distinctively low, smoky voice in moody, unique arrangements that blend barrelhouse blues, boogie woogie and 60s soul with her truthful melody driven ballads to create a sound that is all her own.
Cindy Doire View Site	Timmin-native and chanteuse Cindy Doire, has been extensively sharpening her craft as a songstress and performer since the release of her debut album; La Vie en Bleu. With this record, she presents us an interpretation of inspiring French jazz/folk music that unleashes a traveling French melody. She takes her listeners on a migration passage that tours from a north-American sound to the Parisian cafés and cabarets. Through her love and study of modern languages, Cindy has learned to express herself in three of the major languages of the Americas; French, English and Spanish.
Harney and Cliche	This dynamic duo returns to the Festival. While Jim Harney sticks to guitar and vocals, Peter Cliche bounces from guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo and tin whistles and sings as well. This energetic acoustic show is a journey through time featuring traditional Celtic and Bluegrass, Piedmont and Delta Blues, Swing and Folk, Canadian favorites; as well as sampling of their own tunes.
Kate Maki View Site	Sudbury's own Kate Maki was a full time special education teacher in 2003 when her first solo record, Confusion Unlimited, began to receive national and international attention. Soon after, with the motto "DO quit your day job" in mind, she ventured out of the classroom and set out on the road. Seven years later, Kate is now celebrating the release of her fourth album, Two Song Wedding, recorded in Tucson, Arizona with members of Giant Sand, Calexico, and Arcade Fire. Her musical style is best summed up by her long time friend/producer/mentor, Howe Gelb: "Kate’s a hardy country type of pioneer woman. Her guitar pickin'rhythm is like a drum, and she can belt out, even when she is quiet, like a storm. Her music carries its own necessity of illuminating and her songs represent what the Canadians have, a real natural beauty of writing tunes that feel like a friend you’ve never met, but that you’ve known forever."
Brian Dunn View Site	“Prolific Singer/Songwriter Brian Dunn embraces the definition of a true minstrel. This wandering frontier spirit is embodied in his lyrics and music. Musically, it feels like 'Canadian country'. Snow and mountains, wide open spaces and stormy waters, weather and wind, long lonely highways with nothing but your own thoughts for company; all shimmer and swirl around his smoky, bourbon -soaked, with a dollop of honey stirred in, voice. Lyrically, Brian's songs of loneliness, 'everything falling apart’, love found & often lost, the grace of company found in small town bars.” (Kathrin Allgoewer – Now Magazine and Lounge)
Faye Blais View Site	Faye Blais’ songwriting, presence and personality are showcased beautifully through her impressive jazzy-bluesy folk style, on acoustic and electric guitars, and keys. A 2010 Northern Ontario Music and Film Award-winner for “Best Vocal Performance”, Blais is recently back in Canada following three years in Taiwan and Australia, where she recorded her second and third albums before touring extensively around the globe, covering Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada. She is now based in Toronto.
Andrew Queen View Site	Andrew Queen is more fun than bare feet in a mud puddle full o’ frogs! He digs up old tunes and stories and brings them to life in the folk tradition. Andrew throws in some twisted endings, animated voices and swinging refrains and before you know everyone is up and at ‘em stretching their bodies and minds to side-splitting action songs. The laughter is infectious as Andrew takes us yodelling through avalanches in the Austrian Alps, tromping through the muck of the Okeefenokee Swamp and high-tailing it from a great big bear in Northern Ontario. The kids will be singing Andrew's songs long after the show is over, sticking around like roasted marshmallows on little paws after a summer campfire.
Matt Foy View Site	Matt has been a part of Sudbury’s music scene for over twenty years, half of which has been on the stages of the NLFB. As a multi instrumentalist, he spends most of his time playing with or co-anchoring many groups, but Matt wore all the hats for both of his solo projects – 2004’s MATT FOY self-titled and 2010’s SHINE. With the help of Sudbury’s STATUES (NLFB alumni) Matt will help you get your Ska, Reggae, Surf, Rockabilly and Roots on!
Arts North Dance View Site	This year, Arts North will take the main stage with an original choreographed piece called, “Silly Little Revelations”. Arts North is Sudbury’s premier multi-disciplinary fine arts studio offering training in dance, musical theatre and visual arts for all ages and experience levels.
Laura Freeman View Site	Laura Freeman lives in Austin, Texas where she writes and performs every thing from Kids Music to Cabaret. With her band, The Hey Lollies, she creates fun educational programs for children. She sings about colors, the environment and being outside. Laura’s songs involve the children’s imagination. Big City Little City is a song that takes kids any where on the globe they want to travel. Antarctica is a very cold visit to both poles. Children go on space ship rides, turn into flower gardens, and visit the land of Black and White.
Magic Pelvis - Meltdown Winner View Site	A brave new four piece band. This young Sudbury quartet is bent on bending the rules for Jazz, pop and experimental music.
Tuba Boy View Site	Music from most of the 20th century… songs about gambling, rambling, loving and losing. It’s all presented with tongue in cheek and a big a$$ brass horn called The Tuba, along with guitar and percussion. Always fun for all ages.
Northern All-Stars Steel Pan	This Sudbury based ensemble was formed in early 2009. The Steel Pan, which originated from Trinidad in the early-mid 20th century, they are formed from oil barrels and are part of the music of resistance. The Northern All-Stars will play, demonstrate, teach, and accept new members for this exciting musical project.
Greggio	In the past year, Greg Younger-Lewis has continued to increase his work as a musician. Since his festival debut in 2009, Greggio has gone on to perform at other festivals, conferences, schools and more. The kids clap, dance and sing as Greggio leads them through songs.
Jennifer Holub - Meltodown Winner	Jennifer Holub’s songs tell stories of a haunted north and the people living in it. Her acoustic sound takes influences from the Indigo Girls, Joni Mitchell, and Sarah McLachlan. She is glad to be back to the North after studying in Kingston where she sang lead vocal and played rhythm guitar for The Opposable Thumbs, The Foodbank Buskers, and starred in Queen’s Players. She teaches Kindergarten on Birch Island
Marc Serre	Marc Serré draws his songs from a personal place but it is his honest delivery, built upon years of performing live that allows him to share the music he has crafted. His melodies are soaked in Classic Country and his strong voice carries lyrics that tip their hat to the Alternative.
Spirit of World Drums	Jeff Stewart is a dedicated educator who facilitates drum circles in his community and at several music festivals, such as the Northern Lights Festival/Summerfest/Sault Ste Marie Echoes Drum Festival. He has also facilitated drum circles and clinics for the Rainbow Public School Board Music Task Force, Laurentian Hospital Rehab Center, ICAN, Crisis Intervention Annual Conference, AIDS Awareness Conference and at the Ontario Music Educators Association Conferences.
Larry Morgan Fan Club	The Larry Morgan Fan Club was born in 2009 in Larry Morgan's apartment. Before the band was known as such, it was comprised of Amelia Chester (rhythm guitar), Larry Morgan (lead guitar), Jill MacLellan (clarinet) and Andy Marquis (percussion). Following Larry's departure to Liverpool, England, Andy put away his drum sticks and took over as lead guitar player. Ronok Sarkar began playing bass with The Larry Morgan Fan Club while recording the band in his basement.
Creative Spark Gallery Arts Village	NLFB is pleased to begin a partnership with Creative Spark Gallery to present the Northern Lights Arts Village. Creative Spark Gallery is an artist cooperative founded and led by Mark Gagne. The Gallery works out of 7 Cedar and has developed an Artist creative space plus gallery space on site.
Ohbijou	Formed in Brantford, six years ago, Ohbijou is among the highest acclaimed indie groups in the country. This is a sneak preview of Ohbijou's return to Northern Ontario for their performance at The River and Sky Festival, July 16-18. Lush, orchestral arrangements, intricate harmonies and songs wrought with the romantic afflictions of big city life.