2008 Performers
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Aaron Gregg Comedy and insanity go hand in hand with this energetic, comic wizard and his perfect blend of mind-blowing stunts, technology, and inventive antics. |
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Andy White
One of Ireland’s best loved modern, acoustic troubadours, White is the recipient of the prestigious Hot Press Irish Songwriter of the Year Award. |
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Babe Gurr
Finely crafted, deeply reflective songs and a unique acoustic roots sound that shines through with grace and clarity. |
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Big Brother and the Holding Company |
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Bobby Rush Bobby’s legendary live shows are packed with new style jump blues, soul and funk, complete with full band, costume changes, and a pair of voluptuous dancers who know really how to strut their stuff! |
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Brinsley Forde with the Jason Wilson Band Cool reggae rhythms and healing vibrations from the founder of Aswad. Irie! Come get your groove on. |
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Carolyn Wonderland A genuine guitar goddess whose diverse songwriting and soulful vocals will leave you utterly inspired. |
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Chloe, Kyle & Co. Multi-instrumental wunderkinds and award winning fiddlers with a toe-tapping mix of jazz, Celtic, classical, country and children’s tunes. |
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Chris Smither Chris Smither delivers a multi-layered blend of folk and blues filled with virtuosic finger picking and uniformly brilliant songs |
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Cirkids – Avatar Circus Project An eight piece ensemble that combines a number of circus disciplines—acrobatics, hand balancing, dance, aerial straps and more. |
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Creaking Tree String Quartet Creative jazzy forms with a kick from the Canadian Folk Music Award winners for Best Instrumentalists and Pushing the Boundaries. |
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Dancing Bear Theatre (Marc Suess) Delightfully dynamic storytelling with Munsch-esque creativity told inside the belly of a giant inflatable whale. |
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David “Honeyboy” Edwards A true living blues legend and contemporary of Robert Johnson, Honeyboy recently took home the 2007 Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. |
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David Wilcox A powerhouse performer, David has been a constant on the blues scene for over twenty years earning gold and platinum albums, numerous awards, and a much-deserved reputation as one of the Canada’s leading blues icons. |
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Donald Ray Johnson Red hot blues accompanied by Johnson’s deeply, powerful and sultry vocals make this blues icon Canada’s answer to the Chicago blues. |
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Eliana Cuevas Band Sophisticated, yet simple, world and jazz offerings from one of the world’s most unique voices. |
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Mother Mother Mother Mother has grabbed the attention of all the right people. “4 Stars” – The Globe and Mail. “An album isolated from a lot of today’s worn-out trends and aesthetic mimicry” said Pitchfork Media. Cheeky Celebrity super-blogger, Perez Hilton distinguished Mother Mother to be “the most exciting band coming out of Canada” and Chart Attack remarked that “listening to Mother Mother is like reading Hunter S. Thompson – you end up in a place where reality has been delightfully skewed”, an apt comparison, given the band’s eccentric style – both lyrically and musically. |
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Elmore James Jr. and the Cadillac Zack Blues Band Son of the legendary blues great, Elmore James, Elmore Jr. is currently on tour as a solo act and also performs as part of the “American Blues Legends 2008″ revue. This is blues the way it was meant to be – raw, lean and fabulously full on! |
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Jaipur Kawa Brass Band A spectacular feast of North Indian gypsy heritage featuring seven authentic Indian brass musicians from Rajasthan, accompanied by the dramatic contortions and choreography of a gypsy danseuse. |
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Jake Shimabukuro Experimenting with various guitar effect pedals and heavily amplified riffs, Jake Shimabukuro is known as the “Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele” for his creativity on the tiny four-string, two-octave instrument. With lightning-fast fingers and a revolutionary approach to playing, he aims to show the world that the ukulele possesses a wide range of possibilities far beyond the traditional Hawaiian music it is famous for. |
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Jane Vain and the Dark Matter Swelling pop-noir arrangements of strings, synths, guitar, piano, percussion and pulsating electro-beats. |
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Jayme Stone and Mansa Sissoko Meshing the traditional sounds of Mali, West Africa with smart jazz and bluegrass compositions. Stone won the 2008 Juno for Best Instrumental Album. |
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Jimmy Bowskill Jimmy Bowskill rocked the block at the 2006 Roots and Blues Festival as a solo. Now the Jimmy Bowskill Band is bringing their straight-up, hard-driving blues to the 16th Annual Roots and Blues. At just 17, Jimmy has shared the stage with some pretty impressive luminaries including ZZ Top, Jeff Healey, Garth Hudson and Deep Purple. He has also received wide spread recognition across the board including Maple Blues and Canadian Indie Awards, as well as a 2005 Juno Nomination for Blues Album of the Year. With three albums under his belt, this powerful young blues prodigy is already leaving his mark on the Canadian blues scene. |
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John Lee Sanders New Orleans deep fried funk with a full-bodied and blood-washed sound, derived from this WC Handy nominee’s Mississippi Delta roots. |
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Les Copeland Copeland’s self-taught, string-bending versatilities are derived from a rich mixture of blues, jazz, Spanish flamenco, pop and classical music. |
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The Neville Brothers This Grammy Award winning group and Vocal Group Hall of Fame inductees never fail to provoke, entertain and excite audiences around the globe with their unmistakable, ultra-cool rhythms and Louisiana bayou funk. |
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Njava “Ethnotic Groove” featuring a family of five that utilizes drama and rhythm for a clever modern reinterpretation of Madagascar’s rich musical heritage. |
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Pistolera Fusing the traditional styles of Mexican music with pop-rock sensibilities, this electrifying alt-folk foursome positively redefines Latin music. |
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Plants and Animals Wickedly diverse musical elements in an innovative roots style. |
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Po’ Girl From jazz to old time and alternative rock to soul, the distinctive voices and incredible harmonies of Po’ Girl have made them the darlings of Canada’s alt-folk music scene. |
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porterdavis Soulful musical texturings lined with folk, blues and jam-band rock make this comprehensive trio of Texas youngbloods a must-see. |
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Rosie Ledet & the Zydeco Playboys Unfortunately Rosie has had to cancel her summer touring plans due to health issues. We regret any inconvenience this may cause and wish Rosie a speedy recovery. |
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Snehasish Mozumder Snehasish Mozumder hit Andy Donnelly’s top 10 in Penguin Eggs magazine and is among a new generation of recognized Indian classical musicians coming from the Indian subcontinent today. Snehasish Mozumder plays a conventional western acoustic mandolin – a mandola, to be specific. His talent comes from the sublime human voice he produces from of his instrument – be it an Indian melody, a haunting Celtic rendering or something completely different. |
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Sarah Slean This twice Juno nominated and twice Gemini Award nominated artist has proven from the get-go that she’s fiercely independent and talented. Citing such diverse musical influences as Glenn Gould, Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Joni Mitchell, Irving Berlin and a host of literary, philosophical and artistic favourites |
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