Folk Roots Radio... With Jan Hall

Join us for another hour of special International Women’s Day programming on Episode 366 of Folk Roots Radio featuring new music from a cast of female artists including Anne Janelle, Suzie Vinnick, Emily Burgess, Barbara Jo Kammer and Mare Wakefield alongside a great interview with indigenous singer-songwriter Leela Gilday recorded at the 2017 Folk North showcase in Toronto. Check out the full playlist with notes and artist links on our website: http://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-366-leela-gilday-more-new-releases/

Episode 365 of Folk Roots Radio is the first of two very special hours of International Women’s Day programming. This time round we feature a great interview with Toronto based vocalist and singer-songwriter Kristine Schmitt recorded at the 2017 Folk Music Ontario Conference alongside new music from female artists Winona Wilde, Rosie & the Riveters, Gwyneth Glyn, Kyle Carey, Emily Mure, I’m With Her and Piper Hayes. It’s a great episode and definitely worth checking out. Check out the full playlist with artist links on our website: http://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-365-kristine-schmitt-new-releases/

Playful folk duo The Rough & Tumble live life on the road, taking their home with them – a sixteen foot trailer, from gig to gig, as they tour North America. They’ve just released their first full length album, appropriately titled “We Made Ourselves A Home When We Didn’t Know”. The Rough & Tumble’s Mallory Graham and Scott Tyler join us on Episode 364 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about their music and the new album. We also check out more of the latest new releases including new music from I’m With Her, Emily Mure, Ange Hardy, Onion Honey, The LYNNeS and Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards. Check out the playlist on the website: http://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-364-the-rough-and-tumble-more-new-releases/

Young country blues singer-songwriter Jeremy Albino joins us on Episode 363 of Folk Roots Radio. Jeremie sat down with us at the 2017 Folk Music Ontario conference to chat about his music and played three of his original songs live. Musically he’s the real deal – when he performs, it’s like he’s channeling music from another place and time. It’s an interview that is definitely worth checking out. And as always on Folk Roots Radio, we check out more of the new folk and roots music we’ve received, including new releases from The Kelly Song Collective, KC Groves, The Fugitives and The New Customs. Check out the full playlist on the website: http://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-363-jeremie-albino-more-new-releases/

Vancouver based singer-songwriter Chris Ronald moved to Canada from England in 2002 and has built himself a great career as a songwriter renowned for his songcraft with a sound that has been described as "Canadian folk with British roots". Chris joins us on Episode 362 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about his latest release, "Fragments" and also plays three songs from the new album live. We also check out more of the latest new releases including new music from Steve Howell & Jason Weinheimer, Dennis Johnson, Dan Whitener and Kerri Powers. Check out the full playlist on the website: http://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-362-chris-ronald-more-new-releases/

Troubadour country roots singer-songwriter Ryan Cook started off playing heavy metal and punk before discovering a love for old time country music. He’s just released his fourth album “Having A Great Time”. Ryan Cook joins us on Episode 361 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about his music and also plays a song from the new album live. It’s a great interview – definitely worth sticking around for. And, as always on this show, we check out more of the new folk and roots music we’ve received including new music from Shannon Kingsbury, The LYNNeS, Sarah Hiltz and Sean McConnell. Check out the full playlist on the website: http://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-361-ryan-cook-more-new-releases/

Multi-instrumentalist (fiddle, mandolin, guitar and piano) singer-songwriter; two time Juno Award winner; and inductee in the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, Shari Ulrich joins us on Episode 360 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about her long and storied music career – both as a singer-songwriter and as part of such great bands as Pied Pumkin, The Hometown Band, Ulrich Henderson Forbes (UHF), Bentall Taylor Ulrich (BTU), and the bluegrass band, The High Bar Gang. It’s a great interview and very inspiring. We hope you’ll check it out. And, as always, we check out more of the great new music we’ve received including new albums from The Rough & Tumble, Lynn Miles and Lynne Hanson as The LYNNeS and Ange Hardy from Somerset, England. Check out the full playlist on our website: http://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-360-shari-ulrich-more-new-releases/

Episode 359 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about her most thoroughly PEI album to date, her third full-length recording “Can You Hear Me” – an album that features a series of co-writes with other PEI artists and artists who came to the island on creative exchanges. The album also features some beautiful harmony vocals from Ashley’s fellow Eastern Belles – Catherine MacLellan and Meaghan Blanchard, and some great production from her producer, (Anne Murray’s nephew) Dale Murray. It’s an excellent album, and a great interview. I hope you’ll stay with us to check it out. And, as always, on Folk Roots Radio, we check out more of the new folk and roots music we’ve received. Check out the full playlist on the website at: http://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-359-ashley-condon-more-new-releases/

Montreal singer-songwriter Rob Lutes joins us on Episode 358 of Folk Roots Radio for a wonderful conversation about his latest album, "Walk In The Dark", a blues roots delight and our favourite album of 2017. As always, we also check out more of the great new folk and roots releases we've received. Check out the full playlist on the website: http://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-358-rob-lutes-more-new-releases/

We’ve already released our Top Ten albums of 2017 – you can find those on Episode 356 of Folk Roots Radio. This time around we tackle ‘The Next Fifteen' with an episode featuring some of our favourite tracks from those albums. It's a great privilege to bring lots of great music and interviews to you each week on Folk Roots Radio, something we’re looking forward to continuing to do throughout 2018. As always, this list only includes those albums that were received from October 1st, 2016 - September 30th, 2017. Listen to tracks from the Next 15 and check out the full playlist on the website: http://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-357-best-of-2017-the-next-15/

Well, it’s that time of year – time to run down our favourite albums of 2017. One of the best things about doing a radio show is that you get loads of great music to audition each week. One of the hardest things to do, though, is to take all that great music and narrow it down to your ten favourite recordings of the year. As someone who loves to make best of lists, it’s a fun thing to do, and, if, by doing that, I can expose people to new music they may not have heard, so much the better. As always, this list only includes those albums that were received from October 1st, 2016 – September 30th, 2017. Check out the full playlist and learn more about the Top 10 on our website: http://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-356-best-2017-top-10/

Welcome to another hour of festive music for the holidays. We’re calling it "Folk Roots Radio at Christmas" and we’re featuring a selection of mostly new and original holiday music by independent artists, who hope to bring something new to a genre that’s often criticized as being a vapid and uninspiring marketing tool for a consumer culture, that, let’s be honest, goes mad during the holiday season. With that in mind, we’re also including an interview with Chris McKhool, the leader of world music combo, the Sultans of String who talks very enthusiastically and engagingly about their new spin on seasonal music “Christmas Caravan”, which really attempts to bring something new to holiday standards many people see as tired, boring and, let's face it, rather predictable. So here it is. Stoke up the fire, pour yourself some egg nog, settle down in your favourite chair and enjoy! Check out the full playlist on our website at http://folkrootsradio.com.

Well, it’s that time of year... time for a very special holiday season edition of Folk Roots Radio. Now, I don’t know about you, but I love Christmas music, I just hate the uninspiring way it get used in the run up to the holiday... especially if you’re in the mall, or the grocery store or dare I say it, listening to the radio. So here it is, my attempt at some thoughtful and insightful holiday music programming – featuring mostly new self-written songs, and if they’re not original compositions, well let’s just say the artists concerned definitely take them a little off the beaten track. Enjoy! Check out the full playlist on our website at http://folkrootsradio.com.

Episode 353 of Folk Roots Radio features an interview with the Winnipeg based singer-songwriter Raine Hamilton, recorded at the 2017 Folk Music Ontario conference. Raine also plays a couple of new songs live for us. Raine Hamilton will release her second album, “Night Sky”, in March 2018. As always, we also check out more of the latest new releases including new music from Carmel Mikol, The Barrel Boys and Be Good Tanyas founder members Jolie Holland & Samantha Parton. Check out the full playlist on the website at http://folkrootsradio.com.

Episode 352 of Folk Roots Radio features an interview with Erin Costelo recorded at the 2017 Folk Music Ontario conference. Erin released a wonderful album in 2016, “Down Below, The Status Quo”, a fabulous slice of genre-bending soulful pop that skips from R&B/Soul to bluesy jazz, that was deservedly one of our Favourite Albums of 2016. Erin chats about her current musical activities, including her plan to start work on a new album. We also check out more of the best new releases including new music from Trent Severn, Susan Cattaneo, Janie Barnett & Blue Room and Edward Sayers. Check out the full playlist at http://folkrootsradio.com.

The winners of the 2017 Canadian Folk Music Awards were recently announced at a couple of very special gala evenings in Ottawa. On Episode 351 of Folk Roots Radio we feature music from some of the award winners alongside an interview with double award-winning singer-songwriter Ken Yates, recorded at this year's Summerfolk. Ken took home the awards for both English Songwriter of the Year and New/Emerging Artist of the Year for his wonderful 2016 album "Huntsville". Check out the full playlist on our website at http://folkrootsradio.com.

We're all about the Folk Music Ontario 2017 Developing Artist Programme on Episode 350 of Folk Roots Radio. Each year during the annual conference, a group of developing artists - youth performers, are paired with mentors from the Ontario folk community to work on a showcase performance and participate in professional development activities. Join us as we chat to participants in this year's program and check out some of their music. You can find the full playlist for this episode on our website at http://folkrootsradio.com.

Episode 349 of Folk Roots Radio features an interview and three live songs from fun bilingual Quebec roots trio Jabbour recorded at the Folk Music Ontario conference. We also check out more of the latest new releases including new music from Ashley Condon, Dennis Johnson, The Lifers and Harrow Fair. Check out the full playlist on our website at http://folkrootsradio.com.

We’re back at the Folk Music Ontario conference on Episode 348 of Folk Roots Radio for an interview with Hamilton Ontario singer-songwriter Piper Hayes & her partner Carson Ritcey-Thorpe. Piper is getting ready to release her first full-length album “Piper & Carson”. Piper and Carson join us in the studio for a fun chat about their music, and a couple of live songs from the new album. As always, we also check out more of the latest new releases. Check out the full playlist online at http://folkrootsradio.com.

We’re holding back on the interviews on Episode 347 of Folk Roots Radio as we bring you a themed hour of music for Remembrance Day. We had lots of great music choices to consider - starting with 30 songs before narrowing it down to the thirteen thought-provoking songs that we can squeeze into an hour. Heading off the beaten track we also feature a lot of fairly recent music. We hope you enjoy the mix we’ve put together. Check out the full playlist on the website at http://folkrootsradio.com.