Music & Events

A truly authentic folk singer, Francey is a documentarian of the working person who never imagined earning a living from his music. But when he was in his 40s, his wife, artist Beth Girdler, encouraged him to share his songs and sing in public. The reaction was instant. His first album Torn Screen Door came out in 1999 and was a hit in Canada. Since then, he has
released eleven albums, won three Juno Awards and has had his songs covered by such artists as The Del McCoury Band, The Rankin Family, James Keelaghan and Tracy Grammer.

Francey also had the honour of receiving the prestigious SOCAN Folk Music Award as well as taking home the Grand Prize in both the International Acoustic Music Award and in the Folk category for the John Lennon Songwriting Award.

"David’s straightforward songs tell honest stories of real people and real places. Poetic perception and a keen eye for the heart of the matter are trademarks of the man and his music. His songs and stories are a direct connection for audiences seeking depth and meaning in the day-to-day." Shelter Valley Folk Festival

David Francey was born in Ayrshire, Scotland where he got his first taste of the working life as a paperboy. At age 10 he was devouring the newspapers he delivered, establishing a life-long interest in politics and world events while developing the social conscience that forms the backdrop of his songs.

He was twelve when his family immigrated to Toronto. He says he can trace his love of the land, the history, and the people of his adopted country to weekend family drives exploring southern Ontario. Music played a large part in these family outings. They sang traditional Scottish tunes as they drove through the Canadian countryside. Dad and sister Muriel sang melody, while mother and David sang harmonies.

His attachment to Canada grew with travel. He hitched across the country three times, then thumbed his way to the Yukon. This attachment surfaces in his songs of rail lines, farms, and the St. Lawrence Seaway. He grew to understand the people while working in Toronto train yards, the Yukon bush, and as a carpenter in the Eastern Townships. These experiences colour his first CD, Torn Screen Door, with songs like Hard Steel Mill, Gypsy Boys, and Working Poor and his second, Far End of Summer, with Highway, Flowers of Saskatchewan and February Morning Drive.

In concert David is a singer and a storyteller. His wry humour and astute observations combined with his openhearted singing style have earned him a loyal following.

David lives with his wife, artist Beth Girdler in the quiet but charming Lanark Highlands in southern Ontario. They are visited often by their son Colin, daughters Amy and Julia and grandkids Tristan, Alice and Millicent.

Ari is a grammy nominated singer/songwriter who began his career as an independent artist in 2001. He built a loyal following touring the college circuit extensively between 2000 and 2003, after which he released two albums on Columbia Records, Someone To Tell (2004) and The Break-In (2007) all the while touring both in the U.S. and abroad with artists such as Martin Sexton, Suzanne Vega, and Ani Difranco.

In 2008, Ari wrote, recorded and released a new song every Monday in his 52 project, and released Twelve Mondays in 2009, a collection of re-mixed fan favorites from 52. From 2010-2016, Ari continued to tour relentlessly and released four other LP's: Sunset Over Hope Street(2011), The Fire Plays(2012), Shouts And Whispers(2015), and the grammy nominated Silver Skies Blue(2017), a duets album with Judy Collins. 

Many of Ari's songs have appeared on TV and film - The Path, The Lincoln Lawyer, Private Practice, Army Wives, and One Tree Hill to name a few. 

Ari began writing, recording and releasing a song every two weeks through his Patreon page in early 2022 and continues to do so today.

He released two albums of Patreon subscriber favorites in the spring of 2024 entitled The Treehouse Project - Year One and Year Two respectively.

Tom Rush’s impact on the American music scene has been profound.

He helped shape the folk revival in the ’60s, the folk-rock movement of the ‘70s, and then the renaissance of the ’80s and ’90s, his music having left its stamp on generations of artists. James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty and Garth Brooks have cited Tom a major influence. His early recordings introduced the world to the work of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor. Subsequently, his Club 47 concerts brought national attention to emerging artists such as Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin.

Tom Rush’s impact on the American music scene has been profound.

He helped shape the folk revival in the ’60s, the folk-rock movement of the ‘70s, and then the renaissance of the ’80s and ’90s, his music having left its stamp on generations of artists. James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty and Garth Brooks have cited Tom a major influence. His early recordings introduced the world to the work of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor. Subsequently, his Club 47 concerts brought national attention to emerging artists such as Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin.

Songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, writer and music educator Harvey Reid has honed his craft since the 1970's in countless clubs, festivals, street corners, cafes, schools and concert halls across the nation. He has been called a "giant of the steel strings" and "one of the true treasures of American acoustic music," and is considered to be one of the modern masters and innovators of the acoustic guitar, autoharp and 6-string banjo.

He has absorbed a vast repertoire of American contemporary and roots music and woven it into his own colorful, personal and distinctive style. His 32 recordings on the Woodpecker record label showcase his mastery of many instruments and styles of acoustic music, from hip folk to slashing slide guitar blues to bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, ragtime, and even classical.

Playing on the main stages of major Bluegrass festivals around New England, European World of Bluegrass. (Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and the UK) Led by frontman Cecil Abels, a native of Mississippi, a powerful vocalist and rhythm guitarist who was brought to the region courtesy of a career in the U.S. Navy. Cecil aka “Mr Sippy” has assembled a crackerjack band that has opened and shared the stages with the giants of the music, including Del McCoury, Ralph Stanley, Doc Watson and many many others. The band plays original songs and exceptional songs from a deep well of bluegrass and Americana. It’s just a fun group to spend the evening with!

“Look Up,” their first co-write, is a magical song that follows a winding narrative through the eyes of the janitor at the Sistine Chapel, the Renaissance painter Michaelangelo, and God. Child and Erelli were so taken with this initial composition that they kept on writing together each year, and now have over a dozen co-writes, released both on each other’s solo albums and as standalone collaborative singles. Dinty Child is a founding member of the beloved regional supergroup Session Americana, has deep roots in the New London area, with a family homestead in the area and played for a stint in the beloved band Night Kitchen. Mark Erelli is as likely to be found fronting a string quintet, a bluegrass band, or a rock n’ roll trio, as he is serving as a sideman for noted artists like Lori McKenna and Josh Ritter. For the first time, multi-instrumentalists Child and Erelli will combine forces for an intimate evening of storytelling and joint renditions of their expanding shared catalog.

His background in theater is pronounced through the lyrical storytelling of songs “God’s Gonna Make Things Over” about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, “Welcome to My World”, and “Got Your Letter In My Pocket”. His storytelling is sometimes painful, deep, and real, an earthy contrast to modern-day commercial music, meant to create thought, underlined by gentle tones from his guitar or banjo fingerpicking.

He recently added Broadway Composer to his CV by writing the incidental music for the recent Tony nominated revival of his father, Ossie Davis' play, "Purlie Victorious".

Guy won “Keeping The Blues Alive” Award, and was nominated by The Blues Foundation for Best Song of the Year, Best Acoustic Album of the Year, Best Acoustic Artist of the Year, and Best Instrumentalist. In fact, he's been nominated nearly two dozen times by the Blues Foundation.

Among hundreds of newspaper appearances, he's also been featured in articles or reviews by New York Times, Village Voice, Boston Globe, Pulse Magazine, Blues Magazine, Acoustic Guitar, Dirty Linen, Songlines, Blues Blast Magazine, Living Blues, Down At the Crossroads, The San Francisco Chronicle, Association For Independent Music (formerly NAIRD), Playboy Magazine, National Public Radio (NPR), "Folk Alley", and several Sirius channels.

When asked about his experience as a performer, Guy has replied, “There is no tale so tall that I cannot tell it, nor song so sweet that I cannot sing it.”

Born and raised in Maine, Paul attended Boston College on a track scholarship and in the evenings became a fixture on the city’s open mic circuit. After winning a Boston Acoustic Underground songwriter competition, he caught the ear of folk luminary Bill Morrissey, who produced his indie album Say Something in 1993. This led to a seven-album contract with Rounder Records and the 1994 album, Stories.

His songs have appeared in several blockbuster films (Me, Myself, and Irene; Shallow Hal, Hall Pass) and have been covered by award winning country artists (Sugarland, Kristian Bush, Jack Ingram). Through a steady succession of albums of his own – a remarkable 23 releases so far – and a constant touring presence around the world, Paul’s audience has grown into a loyal legion of fans. Along the way, he has picked up an impressive number of awards including the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Award, 15 Boston Music Awards, An Honorary Doctorate from the University of Maine, the 2019 International Acoustic Music Awards Artist of the Year and most recently his album, The Storyteller’s Suitcase, was named the 2019 NERFA Album of the Year.

His new album “55” touches on the necessity of gratitude in a difficult era of the pandemic and divided political stances on his own imprint, Rosella Records.

www.ellispaul.com

The award-winning duo garnered major acclaim over almost five decades, and appeared in concert with The Band, Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, Donovan, Judy Collins, Jackson Browne, America, Seals and Crofts, Carly Simon, Heart, Orleans, The Beach Boys and so many more. Following Neal's 2018 retirement, Rex has continued their legacy with his wife Dodie Pettit. As the new expanded band Aztec Two-Step 2.0, they recapture the multi-layered dimension of Rex & Neal’s original studio recordings, performing old familiar ATS classics and forgotten gems. "The old songs done in this new lineup has brought new life to the music. This truly is a band that people need to experience!!" - Ron Olesko, WFDU-FM/Folk Music Notebook

Since moving to Nashville in 2018, the Northwest Arkansas Native has gained a large following on social media along with several viral videos including a few of her latest single, Ladies in the Church Choir. In 2021, her single Jesus and Janis got attention on TikTok and landed her on The Bobby Bones show. Since then, she has been busy working on new music and playing iconic Nashville venues such as The Bluebird, The Listening Room, and 3rd & Lindsley.

A largely self-taught musician, Porter began treating audiences to his brand of guitar playing and wry storytelling in the late ‘80’s while living in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1990, he released his first full-length independent album, The Trees Have Soul, and the touring life has flowed steadily ever since. Porter has literally logged millions of miles across America, Canada, the UK, and Europe, touring solo, as well as with various incarnations of the Willy Porter Band and in support of artists like Tori Amos, Paul Simon, Jethro Tull, Sting, and Jeff Beck.

Porter’s breakthrough album, Dog Eared Dream, was released in 1994, and the song “Angry Words” quickly became a staple at the burgeoning AAA radio format. This led to a major label deal with BMG/Private Music in 1995. Unfortunately, Private was dismantled by BMG just as Porter was preparing to release his follow-up. With contractual freedom in 1998, Porter quickly signed with the San Francisco-based label Six Degrees. There he released three albums beginning with the studio gem, Falling Forward (1999), produced by multiple Grammy-winner Neil Dorfsman (Dire Straits, Sting). The eponymous Willy Porter (2001) followed featuring great guest performances by Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull and Tony Levin. His fan-favorite solo disc, High Wire Live (2003) was co-produced with Grammy-winner Ben Wisch (Marc Cohn, Shawn Colvin).

In 2005 Porter left Six Degrees and launched his own imprint, Weasel Records. Together with longtime keyboardist/ collaborator Dave Adler, Porter produced the atmospheric album Available Light in 2006. His work with Guild & Fender guitars over the next several years would result in the manufacture of the “Willy Porter Signature” acoustic guitar. Porter then took time to record and produce singer/songwriter Natalia Zukerman, on her whip-smart Weasel debut, Brand New Frame (2008). Porter released his next disc, How to Rob a Bank in 2009, the heavily Americana-flavored record featuring the contributions of the LA-based quartet, Raining Jane. Bank was followed with a live disc recorded with the Carpe Diem String Quartet in (2010). This collaboration produced a gorgeous EP featuring several of Porter’s most enduring tunes (“Breathe,” “Paper Airplane,” “Watercolor”), elevated and reinterpreted against a backdrop of lush string arrangements.

In 2011, Porter produced the second Weasel release for Natalia Zukerman, the driving Gas Station Roses. A partnership with Milwaukee-based singer/ songwriter Carmen Nickerson resulted in the album, Cheeseburgers and Gasoline (2013). This spartan production illuminates themes of life-longing and relationship repair, all while balancing the dream of self-actualization on the axle of a carnival’s Tilt-a-Whirl. The record also includes Porter’s brilliant cover arrangement of Peter Gabriel’s “Digging in the Dirt.” Porter’s follow-up release, Human Kindness (2015) incorporated all of his acoustic, electric, and multi-string chops to bear in service of a great selection of songs bearing the influence of soul, rock, blues/Americana, showcasing Porter’s growth as a writer, musician, and producer.

After touring extensively together for more than two years, Porter and Nickerson released a full-length disc of original co-writes: Bonfire to Ash (2016). Produced by Grammy winning producer Ben Wisch (Marc Cohn, Jonatha Brooke) and featuring Bassist Zev Katz and Drummer/Producer Ben Wittman, Bonfire to Ash is a record that charts the experiences bridging the intimate with the universal. Porter and Nickerson borrow from their strong stage chemistry to render the same kind of musical conversation that unfolds in performance within a studio setting. This dialogic style broadens to consider the connections and values forged in the communities we call home (“Living Proof”) and in the responsibility we have to the planet that gives itself to house us (“Plant A Garden”). Bonfire to Ash compiles candid snapshots of the human journey, exposing ideas such as hope, regret, love, loss, and connection that remain immutable against time, history, or place.

In addition to making a life in music, Porter finds ways to make an impact on local and international levels. He is an active supporter of Advocates of Ozaukee, a shelter and treatment facility for victims of domestic violence and abuse in Mequon, Wisconsin. His annual benefit concerts have raised more than $100,000 for this organization to date. He is also an Ambassador for Guitars for Vets, a Milwaukee-based International organization that works to improve the lives of veterans by providing them with guitars and music lessons.

Willy Porter lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with his wife and two children.

Instrumentation alone sets this Toronto-based trio’s sound apart: consisting simply of fiddle (John Showman), clawhammer banjo (Chris Coole), and upright bass (Max Malone).  The spine-tingling harmonies and interchanging lead vocals only bring more magic to the equation. They’ve become festival favourites at Rockygrass, Celtic Connections, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Merlefest and regularly tour the USA, UK, Germany and, of course, Canada.

With more than a decade of group music-making under their belts, they’re releasing their fifth album, a feisty and mighty collection of all-original material titled ‘Try To Make It Fly’ (October 13, 2023).

Call Lonesome Ace Stringband whatever genre you want - they are just unorthodox enough to be brilliant.

Sam Robbins is often described as an "old soul singer songwriter." A Nashville based musician whose music evokes classic 70's singer songwriters like James Taylor and Neil Young, Sam adds a modern, upbeat edge to the storyteller troubadour persona. An avid performer, he has gained recognition from extensive touring and as one of the six 2021 winners in the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition, one of the largest and most prestigious songwriting competitions in the country. 

Sam released his debut album, Finally Feeling Young, on May 14th, 2021. The album is reminiscent of his 70's singer-songwriter heroes, with a modern perspective. On the heels of the award winning opening single, 'Remind Me", Finally Feeling Young has already garnered radio airplay and critical acclaim. Two album tracks, Remind Me and Saying Amen, won him a place as one of the six Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk winners. Americana Highways writes: “He writes of subjects that others don't explore. Saying Amen has Robbins touching that special place Leonard Cohen went. This is brilliance." Fateau Magazine in the UK writes "One of the most promising new songwriters of his generation". 

A multi-instrumentalist from a young age, Sam began learning drums and piano, falling in love with guitar at age 13. He then started writing original music, recording his first CD during his sophomore year of high school, while playing open mics in his hometown of Portsmouth, NH.   

Sam is a full time troubadour, playing over 150 shows a year across the country, including the MainStage at the Kerrville Folk Festival, the Dripping Springs Songwriter’s Festival, and as one of the “‘Most Wanted to Return” artists in the 2023 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.

Since moving to Nashville in September 2019 following his graduation from Berklee College of Music, Sam has made a splash in music city - performing at the Bluebird Cafe within a month of moving, and sitting in again at the legendary venue with Liz Longley in February, and was a winner at the Eddie's Attic Songwriter's shootout competition in Atlanta in early March 2020. 

In 2018, Sam was able to audition on NBC's The Voice for Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and Jennifer Hudson as the first artist to perform a Jim Croce song on the show.  

Sam's second album, Bigger Than in Between, was released in August 2022 to critical acclaim.

Within ten years, and barely out of high school, Garnet Rogers was on the road as a full-time working musician with his older brother Stan. Together they formed what has come to be accepted as one of the most influential acts in North American folk music.

Since then, Garnet Rogers has established himself as ‘One of the major talents of our time”. Hailed by the Boston Globe as a “charismatic performer and singer”, Garnet is a man with a powerful physical presence – close to six and a half feet tall – with a voice to match. With his “smooth, dark baritone” (Washington Post) his incredible range, and thoughtful, dramatic phrasing, Garnet is widely considered by fans and critics alike to be one of the finest singers anywhere. His music, like the man himself, is literate, passionate, highly sensitive, and deeply purposeful. Cinematic in detail, his songs “give expression to the unspoken vocabulary of the heart” (Kitchener Waterloo Record). An optimist at heart, Garnet sings extraordinary songs about people who are not obvious heroes and of the small victories of the everyday. As memorable as his songs, his over-the-top humour and lightning-quick wit moves his audience from tears to laughter and back again.

“Garnet Rogers is capable of awe-inspiring and unpredictable stuff – and that includes more than just music”

Resolutely independent, Garnet Rogers has turned down offers from major labels to do his music his own way.

Within ten years, and barely out of high school, Garnet Rogers was on the road as a full-time working musician with his older brother Stan. Together they formed what has come to be accepted as one of the most influential acts in North American folk music.

Since then, Garnet Rogers has established himself as ‘One of the major talents of our time”. Hailed by the Boston Globe as a “charismatic performer and singer”, Garnet is a man with a powerful physical presence – close to six and a half feet tall – with a voice to match. With his “smooth, dark baritone” (Washington Post) his incredible range, and thoughtful, dramatic phrasing, Garnet is widely considered by fans and critics alike to be one of the finest singers anywhere. His music, like the man himself, is literate, passionate, highly sensitive, and deeply purposeful. Cinematic in detail, his songs “give expression to the unspoken vocabulary of the heart” (Kitchener Waterloo Record). An optimist at heart, Garnet sings extraordinary songs about people who are not obvious heroes and of the small victories of the everyday. As memorable as his songs, his over-the-top humour and lightning-quick wit moves his audience from tears to laughter and back again.

“Garnet Rogers is capable of awe-inspiring and unpredictable stuff – and that includes more than just music”

Resolutely independent, Garnet Rogers has turned down offers from major labels to do his music his own way.