World Music & Arts Festival

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).

Buenrostro was formed in 2010 in San Pedro Atocpan, on Mexico City’s southern edge. These six musicians take traditional Mexican music as the axis of creation, and flow from there between genres and time periods. You may hear a ranchera song with rock riffs, a Cardenche song with blues tinges, progressive rock mixed with son calentano from the Tierra Caliente region, or a punk merengue. These styles form the soundtrack to a show full of theatricality. Buenrostro beautifully addresses humanity’s impact on the planet with upcycled garments and stage scenery made of recycled bottles and clothing, integrating characters inspired by world cultural traditions.

Locarno is the Latin project of JUNO Award winning musician, Tom Landa. Like him, the music is equal parts Mexican and Canadian. Tom was born and raised in Mexico City, and moved to Canada in his teens. In the mid nineties he formed the Folk Roots band, The Paperboys, who have been touring world-wide for over 20 years. Tom has always dabbled in Latin music, and in 2005 decided to immerse himself more into genre, and started working on material for an album. In 2006 he was awarded a Canada Council Grant to study traditional Mexican Music in Veracruz, Mexico. Tom spent his days learning the jarana (an 8 string guitar), and learning songs from the Son Jarocho repertoire. Upon his return to Canada, Tom started working on what would be Locarno’s debut CD. 

Suzie Ungerleider’s gloriously emotive, crystalline voice and her bewitching performances have captivated audiences for over 25 years. A wordsmith with a keen mind for detail and a wicked sense of humour, Suzie’s songs and voice pierce the heart, inspire a knowing laugh or a welling of the eye. Born in the USA and raised in Vancouver, Canada, this award-winning singer-songwriter began performing under the name Oh Susanna in the mid-1990s, winning instant praise for her striking voice and poetic songcraft. Her musical path has criss-crossed the mountains and valleys of Americana, folk, and roots, yet throughout her journey she has remained true to her own artistic vision.

Fränder is a band from Sweden and Estonia that bring rock energy and invention to the traditional music of their home countries. Their music is commanding and intensely spirited, but at the same time nuanced and mystical. Its melodies and rhythms strongly evoke the magical beauty of their northern woodlands and their deep cultural roots. According to the band, “We are energized by, and find creative freedom within the expressive modern sound of nordic traditional music. But we have never been interested in merely reproducing the past, instead we strive to find new ways back into the future.” Their name evokes a sense of kinship, and comes from an old Swedish word referring to family, and beyond that to fellow human-beings in general.