The North Shore Celtic Ensemble has a dual mandate: to inspire youth to do more and go further with music, and to use music to build and strengthen community connections. What started in 1998 with a Celtic focus is now a spirited, no-boundaries exploration of various styles that inspire the group’s players. The result is a full-spectrum music experience that defies labels and spans conventional genres. Original compositions draw on Celtic, classical, jazz and folk influences, and are blended with creative arrangements of more traditional Celtic tunes. The North Shore Celtic Ensemble have released seven CDs, and has toured across North America, Europe, and China, performed regularly for local concerts and festivals, and has supported a number of charitable programs through their Community Concert Series. More than just a performing group, the North Shore Celtic Ensemble is a meeting place for youth to explore and share music, and is led by fiddler Gabriel Dubreuil (Early Spirit, Collage Trad).
Empanades Ilegales
Their style is heavily influenced by the Latin music genres of cumbia and, increasingly, salsa. The band’s incorporation of dissonant tones, eerie atmospherics, and haunting guitar leads are stylistic signifiers of their ‘spooky’ undertone that blends into their psychedelic sound. I begin our interview by asking about a recurring ad-lib that shows up in their performances.”
Kitty & the Rooster
Take the name Kitty and the Rooster, and combine it with the fact guitarist Noah Walker and drummer Jodie Ponto wear chicken and cat masks in their promo shots, and one might expect a barnyard version of Slipknot. Wrong. Because those things can be sweaty under stage lights, the masks tend to come off quickly as the duo unleashes a retro-spectacular sound that slots in nicely with Southern Culture on the Skids, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, and the Reverend Horton Heat.
Murray Porter
Blues Man Murray Porter’s music career has taken him all over the world for the last 35+ years. He’s a proud Mohawk man from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory in southern Ontario, who now lives on Squamish Nation territory in North Vancouver, British Columbia.
Jackson Hollow
The inimitable sound of Jackson Hollow must be experienced to be described, and even then, words fall short. This is what happens when four of the industry’s finest from British Columbia, Canada get together to create a traditional bluegrass blend of heart-wrenching lead vocals and dead-on harmonies backed by instrumental talent. Described as having a voice that “stops traffic”, the group’s co-founder is lead vocalist Tianna Lefebvre, a 4-time BC Country Music Association Award winner – including the Female Vocalist of the Year and the Horizon Award winner – who has performed with renowned artists such as Shania Twain, Michelle Wright, and Russell deCarle.
