James Keelaghan / Nancy Laberge & The Backyard Betties [IN PERSON]

James Keelaghan (ON)

Few singer-songwriters are as keenly attuned to Canadian history or as compelling in transmuting its stories into song as native Calgarian James Keelaghan, who the renowned American music critic Dave Marsh called Canada’s finest songwriter. A JUNO award-winning, evergreen folk hero with an international profile built on decades as a touring troubadour, James has also doubled since 2011 as Artistic Director of the Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival in Owen Sound, ON. For a quarter of a century and counting, this poet laureate of the folk and roots music world has combined passion, craft, history and artistry to bear witness to the folklore of Canada in both solo and collaborative settings, most notably with compadre Oscar Lopez. www.keelaghan.com

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FIRST UP:

Nancy Laberge and the Backyard Betties (AB)

Calgary-based Nancy Laberge’s album, When We Were Friends, heralds the arrival of an important Canadian voice that merits national attention. To quote the artist herself, “If words are ingredients to a song, then a song is a dish, the record is the meal and the live show is Thanksgiving dinner.” http://www.backyardbetties.com/