Season 12 of Folk Night at the Registry spans the expanse of Canada, but has a strong East Coast flavour. It launches its six concerts with a couple of traditional shows before settling into its familiar pattern of contemporary folk artists and singer/songwriters. It blends established names and old friends with rising stars and series premieres, from Canada and the U.S. As a special treat, two of the concerts feature artists who don’t customarily perform together.
Presented by Old Chestnuts Song Circle in partnership with the Registry Theatre, the concerts take place Saturdays at the Registry in downtown Kitchener, starting at 8 pm.
‘It’s rare and exciting to find young, rising folk stars like Matthew Byrne and Lizzy Hoyt breathing new life into old, traditional songs,’ notes Folk Night artistic director and song circle founder Jack Cole.
‘We’re just as fortunate to have some of the finest songwriters of our time coming this season,’ Cole adds. Joe Crookston and Joe Jencks are two of the new wave of topical songwriters, while Si Kahn is one of the legends (for Aragon Mill, Gone Gonna Rise Again, Go To Work on Monday, What You Do With What You’ve Got, To Hear Doc Watson Play). Meanwhile, Dave Gunning, JP Cormier and Shari Ulrich are Canadian treasures.’
This season’s 5th annual Registry Roots Weekend presents a trio of popular East Coast artists: Laura Smith, who debuted at the Registry in the fall of 2016, performs April 13; Gunning and Cormier perform April 14.
Advance tickets and a limited number of series passes are available exclusively through www.folknight.ca and jhcole@mgl.ca
Matthew Byrne
September 23
MATTHEW BYRNE
Tickets: $18 advance/$20 at the door
Artist info at www.matthewbyrne.net
Like Newfoundland folk artists before him, Matthew Byrne tells stories of his people — as well as people from other places — through song. He emerged on Newfoundland’s traditional music scene in 2010 with his debut recording Ballads. He quickly earned his place as one of Canada’s most authentic and vital trad voices. His sophomore album Hearts & Heroes garnered Traditional Recording of the Year at the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards. Penguin Eggs folk magazine declared Byrne “possibly the finest interpreter of traditional songs in the country.’
Byrne’s role as singer and song-finder in The Dardanelles has taken him to many major international festival stages. Meanwhile, his live performances offer thoughtful and honest interpretations of folk songs delivered with polished guitar work and warm tenor vocals.
His Folk Night debut is part of a release tour for his third release Horizon Lines, which he debuted this summer while on staff at Goderich’s Celtic College.
Byrne has gained the nod from a couple of Canadian folk music heavyweights:
Matt’s interpretation of traditional songs is somehow fresh and ancient at the same time. And his voice is friggin’ perfect.
— ALAN DOYLE of Great Big Sea
Matthew Byrne sings with a voice as true as a compass needle and is a dab hand on his instruments as well. His Ballads is one of the finest English language traditional albums to come out in many a year.
— JAMES KEELAGHAN
Check out Byrne performing The Banks of Newfoundland on YouTube:
Lizzy Hoyt
October 28
LIZZY HOYT
Tickets: $18 advance/$20 at the door
Artist info at www.lizzyhoyt.com
Billed as an award-winning songwriter with the voice of an angel, Lizzy Hoyt’s voice has been described variously as ‘otherworldly. . . angelic. . . sweet. . . pure.’ And, to think, she’s a trained classical operatic vocalist.
The Canadian Celtic-folk artist has also been praised for her mastery of fiddle, guitar, accordion and harp. The talented multi-instrumentalist toured as a side musician for a decade before embarking on a solo career that has taken flight.
Twice nominated for Canadian Folk Music awards (Solo Artist and Traditional Singer), she has received numerous awards and nominations including an Award of Excellence in Filmmaking or Screenwriting at the Canada International Film Festival for her short Vimy Ridge, based on her original song.
She tours with her trio and is making her Folk Night debut. Her quartet of albums blend original songs and traditional tunes with beloved standards.
Check out Hoyt performing Vimy Ridge on YouTube:
Joe Crookston
January 20
JOE CROOKSTON
Tickets: $22 advance/$25 at the door
Artist info at www.joecrookston.com
In two previous visits to Folk Night, Joe Crookston quickly made himself at home and attracted a loyal following.
The multi-talented songwriter, guitarist, fiddler, banjoist, slide player, eco-village member and ‘believer in all things possible’ was named 2016 Folk Alliance International Artist-in-Residence after receiving recognition with Album of the Year.
Since his first Canadian show at the Registry in September 2012, the upstate New York artist has signed with Michigan-based Tamulevich Artist Management, alongside such music icons as John Gorka and Peter Yarrow.
Meanwhile, his songs have been made into films. His seven albums include Able Baker Charlie & Dog, Darkling & Bluebird Jubilee and Georgia I’m Here.
Crookston’s joyous optimism is infectious, conveyed on stage through a blend of energy and talent. Cole’s praise is unequivocal: ‘(Joe) is one of the finest musicians I’ve ever had the joy of presenting. Don’t miss (his) third visit to Folk Night. I personally guarantee you’ll be a Joe Crookston fan by the end of the first set.’
Canadian folk heavyweight David Francey doesn’t mince words when he says of Crookston: ‘Stunning performance, great songs and not a word wasted.’
Check out Crookston performing Fall Down as the Rain on YouTube:
Joe Jencks
March 10
JOE JENCKS & SI KAHN
Tickets: $25 advance/$28 at the door
Artist info at www.joejencks.com and www.sikahn.com
Here’s a concert to put smiles on the faces of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, et al.
Based in Chicago, Joe Jencks is an international singer/songwriter. From Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to festivals, religious communities, modest concert venues, schools and coffee houses, Jencks has spent the last 18 years touring full time. He made two previous visits to Folk Night as part of the superb acoustic folk trio Brother Sun (with Pat Wictor and Greg Greenway).
Jencks is an accomplished songwriter, with a splendid voice — think Garnet Rogers or John Gorka for comparisons. His original songs combine musical beauty with social consciousness, political conscience and spiritual awarness.
He’s released seven solo albums including this year’s Poets, Philosopher, Workers & Wanderers, in addition to a trio of Brother Sun releases including this year’s Weights & Wings.
Si Kahn
Si Kahn has surpassed half a century as a singer/songwriter and musician, civil rights activist and union & community organizer — all the while continuing to tour internationally. This year brought him to both the Mariposa and Vancouver festivals.
Kahn has released 18 albums to date. His most recent, Bristol Bay, was produced by Jens Kruger of the Kruger Brothers (who made a couple of visits to the Registry). His songs have been translated into at least half a dozen languages and covered by an impressive list of artists bridging diverse genres including Kathy Mattea, Peggy Seeger, Planxty, Dick Gaughan and The Fureys.
Check out Jencks performing Woody Guthrie’s timelessly relevant Deportees on YouTube:
Dave Gunning
April 14
DAVE GUNNING & JP CORMIER
Tickets: $25 advance/$28 at the door
Artist info at www.davegunning.com and www.jp-cormier.com
A dear friend returns to Folk Night — with a close friend in hand.
Prince Edward Island native J.P. Cormier and Nova Scotia native Dave Gunning are celebrated and critically acclaimed solo artists. However, the two East Coast music veterans have finished a collaborative album in time for their Folk Night appearance.
While Gunning is an old friend of the concert series, who first appeared at the Registry when he first toured outside of the Maritimes, Cormier is making his debut.
These two musical compadres have been playing and writing together for more than 20 years including two cross-Canada tours in the 1990s (Gunning was Cormier’s bass player) and the 2002 Stompin’ Tom Connors tour (the music icon’s last major tour).
More recently, they’ve been known to show up at one another’s concerts, sharing the stage. On days off at home in Nova Scotia’s Pictou County they are often seen hanging out together. They have a vocal blend and ability to play the guitar together that parallels their brotherly bond.
J P Cormier
The two artists are visiting Kitchener to participate in the fifth annual Registry Roots Weekend with Laura Smith (www.laurasmithmusic.com), a transplanted Nova Scotian from London, Ontario who is quite simply one of Canada’s best female songwriters and vocalists. The opportunity to see Smith twice within 18 months is a thrill. She will perform in concert April 13 ($25) and conduct a performance/songwriting workshop April 14 with more workshops to be announced.
Laura Smith
Check out Gunning and Cormier performing at the East Coast Music Awards, released on YouTube:
Shari Ulrich & daughter Julia Graff
May 5
SHARI ULRICH
Tickets: $22 advance/$25 at the door
Artist info at www.shariulrich.com
The 12th annual Merrick Jarrett Concert features veteran West Coast artist Shari Ulrich, who hasn’t appeared in Waterloo Region for many years — an absence far too long.
The talented singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (violin, mandolin, piano, guitar, dulcimer & harmonica) is celebrating 43 years as a touring/recording artist. Her work has garnered a couple of Juno awards, several more Juno nominations, induction into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame and 2014 CFMA for English Songwriter of the Year.
An accompanist in Valdy’s Hometown Band during the 1970s, Ulrich is an accomplished solo artist who has contributed to 23 albums including such solo releases as The Best of Shari Ulrich, Find Our Way and Everywhere I Go. She has partnered with a variety of artists in numerous ensembles including: Rick Scott & Joe Mock (Pied Pumpkin); Bill Henderson & Roy Forbes (UHF); Barney Bentall & Tom Taylor (BTU); and, more recently, The High Bar Gang, a seven-piece bluegrass band.
In concert Ulrich will be joined by daughter Julia Graff, a multi-instrumentlist, recording engineer, producer, videographer and photographer, in addition to fellow High Bar Gang member Kirby Barber on bass, vocals and guitar.
Check out Ulrich performing You Know I Would on YouTube
(Featured image of JP Cormier [left] and Dave Gunning)