Mark Cormier et Ryan Perrier sont les membres de la formation franco-terre-neuvienne, Ti-Jardin.

Mark Cormier est un auteur-compositeur-interprète de musique traditionnelle franco-terre-neuvienne depuis plus de quatre décennies. Également conteur, il s’engage à partager son amour de la musique et des contes afin de léguer ces arts traditionnels aux futures générations. Il est le membre fondateur de la formation Ti-Jardin qui a réalisé quatre albums consistant de gigues et de chansons traditionnelles françaises ou des chansons qui racontent les Franco-Terre-Neuviens. Mark a présenté sa musique et ses contes sur les scènes locales, nationales et internationales. Il est un enseignant à la retraite qui habite à Cap Saint-Georges, T.-N.-L., sa ville natale.

Ryan Perrier a commencé à jouer l’accordéon à l’âge de 16 ans avec l’aide de son mentor qu’il a choisi lui-même, Jack Cormier. En très peu de temps, il était évident qu’il avait une passion et un talent pour la musique. Depuis, il a joué son accordéon avec les frères, Mark et Jack Cormier dans plusieurs festivals. La relation entre les trois a éclairé la voie pour la réalisation la plus récente de Ti-Jardin qui met en vedette les talents de Perrier sur toutes les pistes. Ryan Perrier est originaire de St. Georges, T.-N.-L.

Mark Cormier and Ryan Perrier are both members of the Franco-Newfoundlander band, Ti-Jardin.
Mark Cormier is an author, composer and interpreter of Franco-Newfoundland music for more than four decades. Also a storyteller, he shares his love of traditional music and folk tales to pass on to future generations. He is a founding member of the band Ti-Jardin that has produced four albums consisting mainly of jigs, and French traditional songs and songs that celebrate Franco-Newfoundlanders. Mark has performed his music and folk tales on the local, national and international scenes. He is a retired teacher who resides in Cap Saint-Georges, NL, his home town.

Ryan Perrier started playing the accordion at the age of 15 with the help of his chosen mentor, Jack Cormier. Very quickly, it became apparent that he had a passion and a talent for music. He has performed at numerous festivals solo and with brothers, Mark and Jack Cormier. The relationship between the trio paved the way for Ti-Jardin’s most recent album that features Perrier’s talents on all tracks. Ryan Perrier resides in St. Georges, NL.

A modern indie folk trio from Newfoundland, The Once have collected a trio of Canadian Folk Music Awards, numerous ECMA awards, and was named Artist of the Year by the Newfoundland & Labrador Arts Council. They have earned not one, but two JUNO nominations for Roots Album of the Year and continue to take their music around the world.

With the release of 2024’s Out Here, The Once have delivered a thoughtful and playful assembly of songs mingling their musical roots from Newfoundland along with folk, bluegrass, country, Americana, and modern indie rock. Members Geraldine Hollett, Andrew Dale, and Phil Churchill have created a sound representative of their home province of Newfoundland while pushing the boundaries on the great Canadian songbook with their soothing vocal harmony and acoustically rich core.

Lyrically, The Once’s newest collection of songs encompass an arresting sense of loss with the belief that the good can be found in all people, and a desire to bring it out here for everyone to enjoy. A ray of hope in a confusing time. A port in a storm. A provocation with a grin.

This material is soaked with the poetic charm and sunny sadness of the trio’s collective disposition. Written across Newfoundland and recorded in the band’s GingerBeard House studio the band took their time creating this record. “Sometimes music takes a while to flow”, Geraldine Hollett explains. “If you don’t panic and instead surround yourself with people who love you that you can trust, magic can happen.”

The first single “Oh You” was written in the Gros Morne mountains. “A place where you can catch all the stars looking down on us looking up and wishing on them” Phil Churchill reminisces about the experience. “Oh You” is a lilting song of resiliency featuring the lush vocal harmonies fans of The Once have been drawn to for almost 20 years. 

For their first album of new material since 2018’s Time Enough, taking the time to find the songs and record them at home can be heard across the material on Out Here. 

“Anytime anyone felt stressed, we took a walk, a nap, or made a meal together. We let it all come easy. No stress. No ego. No space for negativity. Just love and care. Soon enough, negativity gave up and went elsewhere” Geraldine says. After eight records over 15 years “it was amazing. We have finally found the love of the process.”

The group formed in the tiny ex-fishing village of Trinity, Newfoundland and ‘the once’ means ‘imminently, but not necessarily so’ in local vernacular. “We wanted something that would embody who we are, where we’re from, and would elicit a smirk and a nod amongst Newfoundlanders back home, but would forever require an explanation literally anywhere elsewhere” Andrew Dale offers. It is a story well worth explaining. 

Valmy is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Ontario who has been following the ocean and finding home on the East Coast. In the weaving of melodic swells and atmospheric harmonies, she explores humanhood, navigates grief, and greets forms of healing. Now based in St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, Valmy uses her folk-influenced music to tell stories about loving and stumbling your way through the dark. While working towards her debut full-length album, Valmy continues to create and perform from a place of honesty and wonder, to let the light in.

XIA-3 is an emerging instrumental fusion band based in Newfoundland that blends traditional Chinese influences with Western post-rock grooves. The group was formed in 2022 and is fronted by guzheng virtuoso Dr. Jing Xia with support from well-established St. John’s punk rockers Ritche Perez on bass and Brian Downton on drums. As a professional artist and scholar, Xia started to study the guzheng at six years old and has degrees in Music Performance (B.A.), Arts Management (M.A.), and Ethnomusicology (Ph.D.). She is the winner of the 2022 MusicNL Award “Rising Star of the Year,” and was just nominated for two 2023 ECMA awards: Roots/Traditional Recording of the Year, and Global Recording of the Year. 

Youngtree and Carole Bee is a brand new spinoff from Newfoundland’s rising stars Youngtree & The Blooms. On the heels of winning multiple awards for their album Musical Chairs, Youngtree & The Blooms geared up for their most ambitious tour to date when the music world ground to a halt. So, instead of playing a major folk festival with one of their heroes (John Prine, R.I.P), the frontman and violinist of Youngtree & The Blooms began arranging their catalogue for a new duo.

Youngtree’s sound has drawn comparisons to Gram Parsons and Nashville Skyline-era Bob Dylan by outlets such as Exclaim! Magazine. His songwriting craft and musical style recently earned him the honour of being awarded the MusicNL “Ron Hynes Songwriter of the Year” award in 2020.

Carole is a versatile violinist, equally at home in folk and classical genres. A sought after freelance musician, her strength is in adding sparkle and energy to every project she takes part in. She brings a creative and collaborative approach as a freestyle fiddler and singer, informed by her vast musical influences.

With a variety of musical influences ranging from Bach to Patsy Cline (and beyond!), Youngtree & Carole Bee will move your spirits with soulful songs, and make your feet dance with delightful and upbeat melodies.

WITH VIOLET IS AN EAST COAST ALT/POP BAND FROM ST.JOHN’S NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA. REFORMED IN (2021)

East Coast alt-pop band, WITH VIOLET, is an eclectic musical experience. Based out of St.John’s Newfoundland, this proudly Canadian group has wowed audiences since their formation in 2018. In the years since, WITH VIOLET, has become a popular growing name around Newfoundland. Receiving 3 MusicNL nominations, performances at festivals [IceBerg Alley, Campilfy, and Best Kind Barbecue], and playtime on multiple radio stations.

Together, Sarah Newell [Vocals & Saxophone], Pete [Vocals & Keyboards], Matthew Cadigan [Guitar], Spencer FitzGerald [Bass], and Hunter Madden [Drums] create a radio pop sound you can lose yourself in musically. Their catchy hooks, cohesive musicality, nuanced songwriting, and sheer energy has been a driving factor of the groups success, helping them to receive nominations for CBC’s Searchlight in 2022.

In 2021 the band released their debut album, Long Story Short, a high energy pop/rock record, funded partly by the generosity of MusicNL. The album has seen great success, with over 3000 streams on spotify, two MusicNL nominations, and can be heard at the ECHL games in the Mary Browns Centre. Their Holiday Special, featuring two brand new Christmas singles, is a new winter tradition for many. Being played for the holidays on radio stations across Newfoundland

(Photo by Evan Foote)

The Old Contemporaries are a folk/bluegrass band who have been playing consistently in St Johns for over 5 years. Andrew, Maria, Josh, Yeaton and Lucas take all of their musical influences and fuse them into what is now their own unique offering in the tradition of roots music.