Sandy Morris and Anita Best are two of Newfoundland’s most beloved musical icons. A founding member of the Wonderful Grand Band, Sandy has been a driving force in local music for over 60 years, composing for film, TV, and CBC’s Land & Sea. Anita’s warm, powerful voice and deep connection to traditional Newfoundland songs have made her a treasured performer and folklorist. Together, they bring a rich tapestry of song, story, and musical mastery to the stage.

The Anuri Drum Dancers are a group of young artists based in Iqaluit, Nunavut.They specialize in contemporary forms of qilautiit drum dancing, and Inuit throat singing. The Anuri Drum Dancers fuse traditional and contemporary elements of Inuit music. These youth have a great deal of performance experience as members of the Inuksuk Drum Dancers directed by Dr. Mary Piercey-Lewis. They have traveled and performed in many places and capacities across Turtle Island. Their most recent collaboration has been with Gina Burgess and her band. The Anuri Drum Dancers have created contemporary qilautiit choreography to each piece on Gina’s “ISNOW” album. The show they have created combines contemporary drum dancing, jazz, folk, celtic, traditional, and contemporary Inuit throat singing. They have performed this show in Iqaluit and Igloolik. They will be touring this production across Newfoundland in July 2024. 

Beauxmont stands out for its ability to refresh the traditional Acadian repertoire while remaining true to its roots. Made up of six talented musicians from all over New Brunswick, the members of the group carry within them a rich baggage of musical traditions with the flavors of Louisiana. Powerfully handling voice, accordion, violin, guitars and drums, Beauxmont is quickly carving out a place for itself as the next generation of Acadian music with the success of its new album, Volume 2. The band will carry you away with contagious energy, punchy rhythms and unforgettable melodies to let the good times roll all night long. Band members: Felix Belliveau Chris Cormier Justin Doucet Patrick Dugas Jonathan Mpunge Jesse Mea

Beauxmont se distingue par sa capacité à rafraîchir le répertoire traditionnel acadien tout en restant fidèle à ses racines. Formé de six talentueux musiciens provenant des quatre coins du Nouveau-Brunswick, les membres du groupe portent en eux un riche bagage de traditions musicales aux saveurs de la Louisiane. Maniant avec force voix, accordéon, violon, guitares et batteries, Beauxmont se taille rapidement une place de choix en tant que relève de la musique acadienne avec le succès du nouvel album, Volume 2. La formation saura vous entraîner avec une énergie contagieuse, des rythmes percutants et des mélodies inoubliables pour laisser les bons temps rouler toute la soirée.

Bageshree Vaze is an Indo-Canadian dance artist, musician and writer. She is Artistic Director of Pratibha Arts, an organization that enhances the cultural fabric of Ontario through dance and music productions that often have influences from South Asian cultures. Bageshree is an award-winning Kathak dance artist (winner of the 2010 K.M. Hunter Award in Dance) and as a vocalist she has 5 CDs/albums to her credit. In 2004 she was named an MTV India ‘Ubbarta sitara’ (rising star) and her work has been presented in major festivals around the world including the Canada Dance Festival. In 2022 Bageshree was the inaugural Dance Collection Danse Artist Researcher-in-Residence and received the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Sound Composition (Dance Division).

Balaklava Blues are folk-noir trench-fighters on the cultural front of Ukraine’s battle for democracy and freedom. Balaklava Blues experiments with Ukrainian polyphony and other folk traditions.They mix thousand year-old polyphonic traditions with personal stories and sounds of revolution and war and stunning visuals that blend folk motifs with contemporary expressions of power, vulnerability and trauma. 

Timely and emotional, their multimedia live show builds empathy and understanding when we need it most and speaks to universal themes of identity crisis, displacement and oppression through deeply personal and specific Ukrainian experiences and music.

Knitting and Spinning: It starts on the farm where my husband and I raise Angora rabbits and I am inspired by the natural surroundings. Once the rabbits are sheared I spin the fibers mixing the angora with silk and wool to create various weights and textures. When I am designing a new wearable art piece I imagine the color and shape and draw from my existing palette or spin and dye yarn specific to the design. Depending on the desired look I dye the fibers while they are still in a raw format or after the skein has been spun. While I knit I control the color, texture, weight, and drape of each piece through a combination of knitted stitches and decorative applique. With each piece that I knit, I push myself to learn new techniques and manipulate color palettes that inherently make each piece unique

À la Souche are a trio of respected multi-instrumentalists that come together to bring an exciting new take on traditional songs and tunes. Boasting fiddle, podo-rhythmie, accordion, bouzouki, bodhran, flute and cello, the trio fuses hundreds of years of tradition from Acadie, Newfoundland, and Ireland. With contemporary, hard-driving, bilingual arrangements, À la Souche are sure to captivate audiences.

Member Bios

Bryan Poirier

Fiddle, Guitar, Bouzouki, Podo-rythmie, Vocals
Bryan Poirier is an Acadian multi-instrumentalist and singer, from Moncton New-Brunswick, now residing in St John’s Newfoundland. Bryan is a fiddle player from a long family tradition of fiddle players who play and write traditional Acadian, Irish and East Coast Canadian tunes. Bryan was also the fiddler for New Brunswick’s Pays de la Sagouine’s, house band, Corde de Bois, and is a highly regarded Bluegrass and Country musician playing in bands including Eddy Poirier and Grassline, and Jannet McGarry and Wild Wood, performing and touring the Canadian Festival scene for the past twenty years. He is also a sort after session and back up musician, regularly performing on guitar, dobro, bass and banjo. Although Bryan’s main instruments are Fiddle and Guitar he can regularly be found playing other instruments including dobro, bass, and banjo.

Graham Wells

Accordion, Tin Whistle, Vocals, Bodhran
Graham Wells is an Irish and Newfoundland traditional multi-instrumentalist and singer from St. John’s, NL. He first learned the accordion from his grandfather, Edward Walsh at the age of 6. In 1994, at the age of 14 Graham started providing musical accompaniment for the Irish Newfoundland step dance group, the St. Pat’s Dancer’s. He performed across Canada with this group. In 1998 Graham introduced the semitone tuned, two row button accordion to Newfoundland traditional dance music. This system has since been adopted by many notable Newfoundland accordion players. Graham was a founding member of the acclaimed traditional group “A Crowd of Bold Sharemen,” recording and arranging a seminal album of Newfoundland traditional music. Shortly thereafter in 2004, Graham joined the Juno award winning band, The Irish Descendants. He performed with the Descendants for the next 7 years. Graham embarked solo with the release of his first album in 2008. In 2010, Graham founded and organized the first Féile Seamus Creagh – a festival of traditional Irish and Newfoundland song, music and dance, which is now running in it’s 13th year. Graham completed his post-grad degree at the University of Limerick in 2013 with an MA in Traditional Irish Music Performance.

Kiersten Fage

Cello, Flute, Vocals, Kiersten Fage is an Australian-Canadian multi-instrumentalist and singer currently residing in St John’s Newfoundland. A graduate of McGill University’s music performance program, and a History PhD Candidate at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Kiersten specializes in the folk cello stylings of Scotland, Ireland and North America. Kiersten is accomplished in a broad array of fiddle genres, fluent in both cello accompaniment and techniques for playing tunes on the cello. Before moving to Canada, Kiersten was an active part of the Australian traditional music scene performing regularly in festivals and sessions for the past 15 years. She continues to be a sort after session musician, playing for artists including Daniel Léger, Mario LeBreton, The Autumn Isles, Bernardine and Simone Keane. Although Kiersten’s main instruments are the cello and voice, she can regularly be found playing other instruments including, piano, mandolin, and Irish flute.

Inspired by the 50s and 60s, Adrian House’s songs are funny, moving, and sincere. A bilingual artist, his French composition ‘Babette’ (2019) has become a staple on Radio Canada Acadie. In 2020, the singer from St. John’s brought this success on tour by bicycle through the Maritimes, and was featured on CBC’s As It Happens. 2021 saw Adrian become the first Newfoundlander ever to reach the semi-finals of the Festival international de la chanson de Granby. With 6 Music NL nominations to date, Adrian won at the 2022 NL Arts & Letters Awards, and was a finalist at the 2022 Gala de la chanson de Caraquet, N.B. In 2023 he showcased at the ECMA’s in Halifax, and was awarded funding by the Canada Council for the Arts and Music NL to produce an album in French. The album, Pêcheur de rêves, was released in June, 2024 in St. John’s.Embracing influences from folk to jazz to rock & roll, and singing in English and French, his music is an exciting, soulful journey, anchored in his Newfoundland home. Let yourself be transported into the wonderful world of Adrian House…     

Inspiré par la chanson française des années 50 et 60, Adrian House chante des histoires à la fois drôles et émouvantes avec passion et sincérité. Ce francophile de Terre-Neuve est propulsé sur les ondes de Radio-Canada Acadie Avec sa chanson française «Babette» de 2019. En 2020, il exploite ce succès pendant sa tournée musicale à vélo des provinces maritimes. En 2021, il accède aux demi-finales du Festival international de la chanson de Granby et devient ainsi le premier Terre-Neuvien à y participer. Il a gagné aux prix Arts et Lettres de TNL 2022 pour sa chanson «Le parapluie d’Élise», et avec sa chanson «Nulle part» a été finaliste au Gala de la chanson de Caraquet. En 2023 il présente une vitrine aux ECMA’s à Halifax, et reçoit une bourse du Conseil des arts de Canada et de Music NL pour produire un album en français. L’album, Pêcheur de rêves, vient d’être lancé à St. John’s en juin, 2024.À la fois à l’aise en groupe ou en solo, ses influences diverses de folk, jazz, et rock, en anglais et en français, se mêlent pour créer un son authentique et original. Laissez-vous transporter dans l’univers merveilleux d’Adrian House…