Harrison Festival Blogger

A passionate singer/songwriter and soulful performer, Leela Gilday has a voice that comes straight from the heart. Confessing her stories to her audiences with a gutsy voice and open stage presence, Gilday weaves her experiences as a northerner, a member of the Dene nation, and a traveler into a beautiful world that transports the listener.

Leela has toured festivals and concert halls with her four-piece band through every province and territory in Canada. She has played in the United States, Greenland, Australia, New Zealand and several countries in Europe. Her live shows are where she connects with fans who have followed her on a 20-year career and where new fans are born. She reaches into their hearts and feels the energy of every person in front of her as she guides them on a journey through song and experience.

At once elemental and unearthly, Jay Gilday’s voice is a raw and gorgeous siren of the Canadian north, fusing hymnal anguish with driving rhythm and blues. And he is about to inscribe a special chapter in Canadian music history.

As a songwriter, Jay threads together the colours of his own ancestral traditions: Dene spirituals, Irish ballads, Canadian folk and rock. He was raised in a family of accomplished musicians on the tundra of Yellowknife, where his music electrifies its never-ending days and nights.

Whether on the main stage of a summer festival or headlining a shadowy cabaret, Jay captivates. He is equally arresting as a solo performer, crooning over acoustic guitar and piano, as the front-man of an eight-piece rock band, baiting dance floors with infectious hooks and boundless energy.

Making Movies is a Latin Grammy-nominated band whose music focuses on the rhythms of Latin America— African-derived styles like rumba, mambo, merengue, and cumbia —combined with distorted guitars and atmospheric synths. They incorporate both English and Spanish lyrics into their songs, creating a unique and culturally diverse sound. Making Movies has toured with the likes of Enjambre, Rubén Blades, Maldita Vecindad, Los Lobos, Hurray For the Riff Raff, Bomba Estereo, Flor De Toloache, and many more. In 2024, the band is releasing their first live album and concert film, recorded at the historic Folly Theater in Kansas City.

Maryna Krut, known widely in her home country as KRUTЬ, is a Ukrainian singer and bandura player. A participant in TV projects X-Factor and The Voice of Ukraine, and a finalist in the national selection for Eurovision 2020, Maryna possesses a stunning voice in combination with the 64 string Ukrainian folk instrument, the bandura. KRUTЬ showcases Ukrainian music by actively touring the world, with acclaimed performances at home and at international festivals.

Flavia Nascimento & Tio Chorinho is an epic pairing of two of Canada’s top Brazilian roots music acts. Hailing from the rich musical wellsprings of Bahia in northeastern Brazil, Flávia is a prolific performer at major festivals, concert halls, and street parties everywhere, wowing audiences with her soulful voice and boisterous presence. Harrison Festival fans may remember her from her last visit here in 2016. Tio Chorinho is Canada’s first ensemble dedicated to choro, the “New Orleans Jazz of Brazil.” Fashioning their own distinctive approach to Brazil’s seminal music, listeners are charmed and thrilled by the group’s virtuosity, dynamics and unique repertoire. Together with Flavia they explore Brazil’s original soul music along with their own original tunes.