DUANE ANDREWS‘ music is the product of a great ear, an adventurous spirit and a love of music that is beyond category. Uniting what would seem to be impossible – traditional Newfoundland music with the swing jazz of the legendary Django Reinhardt, Andrews makes it not just work – he makes it soar. The Juno award winning producer, composer, guitarist and globetrotting performer’s latest album is the best evidence yet of his truly unique musical vision and is the sound of him, literally, bringing it all back home.
A native of the island of Newfoundland, off the east coast of Canada, Duane grew up exposed to the island’s mélange of cultural influences and his development as a guitarist reflects that. After graduating from the Jazz Studies program at St. FXU with honours, Duane spent several years studying contemporary music composition at the Conservatoire International de Paris and at the Conservatoire National de Region in Marseille, France.
Doug Dorward is a fiddle player from Dundee, Scotland. He grew up playing music with family and friends, and spent many summers immersed in Scottish music at Alasdair Fraser’s fiddle camps on the Isle of Skye and in California.
Doug moved to St. John’s in 2014. Inspired by the local traditional music scene, the tunes of Newfoundland and Labrador quickly entered his repertoire and developed his distinct voice on the fiddle.
In 2016, Doug recorded his debut album Waves. Featuring a stellar lineup of Newfoundland traditional musicians and produced by Aaron Collis (The Dardanelles, Rum Ragged), the album combines the traditional music of Scotland and Newfoundland and Labrador. Waves was nominated for “Traditional Instrumental Recording of the Year” at the East Coast Music Awards and for three MusicNL awards in 2017.
The Doug Dorward Collective is a one-time gathering of musicians for this year’s Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival. Don’t miss this unique blend of Scottish and Newfoundland fiddle music!
Andy Chatham and Kris Morey aren’t from Newfoundland and Labrador, but they are often mistaken for it. Both their fathers were born there and ended up on the mainland married to New Brunswick girls. Their lifelong interest in the time-honoured tunes of the East Coast, along with their love of the Maritime JamBand scene led to Dram & A Draw, where the button accordion and the acoustic guitar are brought together in a traditional, yet modern way.
Upbeat, infectious melodies combine with interwoven vocal harmonies overtop a deep bass and a powerful stomp to create a rich, full, and exciting sound. Classic Celtic tunes are reimagined for today and original songs are crafted in the old style. Dram & A Draw is a modern East Coast Kitchen Party that’ll get you up on your feet and dancing with the crowd!
Scottish fiddle player Doug Dorward first moved to Newfoundland from Scotland in 2014. His 2016 debut album “Waves”, recorded with the help of many familiar faces of the St. John’s folk scene, blended the traditional tunes of Scotland and Newfoundland and was nominated for ECMA traditional instrumental recording of the year. Having lived in Ontario for the last 6 years, Doug has recently moved back to Newfoundland. For his first performance back in St. John’s, Doug will be joined by Andrew Dale.
Expect an evening of fiddle tunes from several regions and centuries of the Scottish tradition, tunes from Newfoundland, and brief visits to Cape Breton and Quebec.
Photo credit: Marc Serge
Née à Ottawa, Dominique Hurley est une artiste visionnaire intuitive qui appelle St. Jean Terre Neuve et Labrador son chez-soi depuis 2011. Enracinée dans son amour de la beauté et la beauté de l’amour, Dominique offre perspicacité et inspiration à travers ses photographies, ses vidéos, ses peintures infusées d’énergie, son blog, ses services intuitifs, ses ateliers pratiques, méditations et plus encore. Dominique a participé à de nombreuses expositions individuelles et collectives depuis 1988. Elle possède un certificat d’art et de design de l’Université de la Saskatchewan, de photographie professionnelle du New York Institute of Photography ainsi que du North Island College en Colombie-Britannique et d’art transformateur de l’Académie d’art, de créativité et de conscience en Italie . Elle a aussi étudié une année à l’Académie d’art visionnaire de Vienne en Autriche et détient une maîtrise en éducation de l’Université de Calgary. En 2018, Dominique était la marraine du Festival des Arts Visuels de l’Atlantique (FAVA) et en 2019, gagna première place pour les prix Arts & Lettre de Terre Neuve et Labrador. Inscrivez vous pour son art & inspiration sur www.DominiqueHurley.com
Born in Ottawa, Dominique Hurley is an intuitive visionary artist who has called St. John’s home since 2011. Grounded in her love of beauty and the beauty of love, Dominique delivers insight and inspiration through her energy-infused paintings, photography, videography, blogging, intuitive training, guided visioning meditations, presentations, interactive workshops and more. She is the creator of the “Intuition into Action Treasure Map: 5 Steps to a Happy Healthy Life”.Dominique has been a part of many solo / group exhibitions since 1988. She has a degree in Recreology (ON), a certificate of Art & Design (SK), two Certificates in Professional Photography (BC, NY) and a Masters of Education (AB). In 2013/14, she studied at the Vienna Academy of Visionary Art (AT) and was artist in residence at the Academy of Art, Creativity & Consciousness (IT), where she later received her Certificate of Transformative Arts. Dominique was godmother of the 2018 Atlantic Visual Arts Festival (NB) and winner of a 2019 NL Arts & Letters Award for her painting “Every Dot a Prayer”. Sign-up for her art & inspiration emails at www.DominiqueHurley.com
Dolya (meaning “fate” in English) is the first Ukrainian folk dance Company of Newfoundland and Labrador. We have come together to build a Ukrainian Dance base for newcomer Ukrainians, Canadians of Ukrainian descent, and all in St. John’s who are interested in learning about and participating in this dance genre. Formed in September 2022 by just 4 dancers, Dolya is currently comprised of 14 dancers. Our goal is to promote and develop Ukrainian folk and Cossack stage dance and to popularize it in our beautiful province and beyond. The current repertoire of Dolya encompasses 2 folk dances, the 1st being a Ukrainian cossack (“kozak” in Ukrainian) number entitled “Kubansky Tanok”, and the 2nd being an excerpt from the most celebrated Ukrainian social genre dance “Hopak”. The music for the 2 traditional Ukrainian folk dances was arranged, performed and recorded by musician and composer Myroslav Gutej from Perth, Australia. Our greatest need is to fundraise and develop our costumes (Ukrainian national dress) for performances. Our current folk costumes are “on loan” from the Suzirya Ukrainian Dance Theatre of Calgary, who have kindly supported the efforts of the Dolya dancers in St. John’s to perform on stage, so they can effectively fundraise to make their own. The cloth, materials used and the embroidery required is very detailed, the maiden floral head-dresses, necklaces, and the red boots and ribbons all contribute to the wonder of a Ukrainian dance performance, and the Dolya dancers are keen to replicate that for our St. John’s audiences.
Digging Roots breathe life into songs from their land, Turtle Island, to raise their voices in solidarity with a global chorus of Indigenous artists, activists and change-makers.
For over a decade, two-time JUNO Award winners Digging Roots have traveled the world with a joyful message of resistance, celebrating Anishinaabe and Onkwehón:we traditions of round dance and interconnectedness. As Roots Music Canada says, the band is “…badass, empowering and hopeful all at the same time.”
Digging Roots takes you on a journey through tall grass, sweet waters and unconditional love in a joyous and powerful celebration on their 4th album Zhawenim (2022). Led by the electrifying current of husband-and-wife team, ShoShona Kish and Raven Kanatakta, the 6-piece band responds to a majestic and spiritual call from ShoShona’s earthy vocals and Raven’s exhilarating guitar mastery through a fusion of blues, soul and rock n’roll. For long time fans or new audiences, their constantly evolving live show opens a space, wherever they may be in the world, for healing, compassion, unconditional love and Baamaadziwin (the good life). Constantly interweaving between drum culture and guitar dialects, Raven and ShoShona were raised in cultural families that have continued to resist oppression and colonialism.
More than a band, Digging Roots have taken their place at the frontline of the fight for equity and representation in the arts, with involvement in industry advocacy and organization to empower arts communities worldwide. ShoShona is the founder of the International Indigenous Music Summit and the music label Ishkōdé Records.
Raven, who studied at Berklee College of Music, “grew up in a small Anishinabe Rez called Winneway in north-western Quebec. It’s formally called Long Point First Nation. It’s where my grandfather and father taught me to hunt, trap and fish. I also spent my summers on my mother’s Mohawk Rez of Kahnàwa:ke.” ShoShona’s “family is from Batchewana and a part of the Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge.”
Denis Parker has been writing, teaching, playing and singing the blues for over fifty years. He grew up in London, England, part of the British blues boom of the 1960’s.
Before immigrating to Newfoundland from London, England in 1971, Denis recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios for EMI/ Harvest in the late sixties. The resulting two albums by Panama Limited Jug Band were released world-wide and have recently been re-mastered and re-released on Cherry Red Records.
After fifty years, a lifetime of gigs, and a slew of recordings ranging from rock to acoustic blues, Denis still has the fire and is playing and singing better than ever.
Denis has toured throughout the province of NL, and at festivals across Canada and the US.
