Country music mixed with occasional fuzz, fuzz mixed with occasional folk. Andrew, and the company of friends that join him on stage, set out to create sounds that are equal parts reminiscent of his favorite alternative country records and the songs he heard during his upbringing in outport Newfoundland. With songwriting that has a strong lyrical focus on storytelling and personal narratives, musically, Andrew’s songs include drum fills and twangy guitar licks that fall over themselves just as frequently as the acoustic instruments that provide the core. The group is putting the finishing touches on a sophomore EP to follow up Andrew’s 2022 release – the Away Game EP. Though they have less than a year of performing together under their belt, the buzz they’ve created and the sound they’ve curated seems to get better defined after every show they play – something this crew of musicians is getting increasingly more excited about, and they hope it’ll excite you too.

Amelia Curran is the Writer and Producer or Co-Producer of 9 acclaimed albums and 16 years of International touring, garnering 17 music awards and over 30 nominations.

Beginning in 2014, Curran became heavily involved with political and humanitarian work focused on mental health awareness and systemic reform.

Curran’s latest creative offerings include documentary film (“Gone”, “Sweet Marie”), studio production for fellow artists Silver Wolf Band and Natasha Blackwood, and a new collection of her own material to see the light of day by 2024.

Acclaimed Scottish musician Archie Fisher shared that “Allison Lupton’s balance of strong composition and sensitive musicality makes her a fine contemporary songwriter and interpreter of the tradition and the works of her fellow songsmiths.” Born and raised on a second generation dairy farm in rural Ontario, Allison Lupton has always been immersed in Canadian folk life, but it took a love and intense study of Irish and Celtic music for her to find her way to the Canadian folk music tradition that she has grown up around. Her newest album, “Words of Love” showcases her original material, songs which fit so perfectly into the cannon of Canadian folk music that they could easily be mistaken for traditional numbers. Along with her band mates Andrew Collins, Shane Cook, Tony McManus, Joseph Phillips and Ivan Rosenberg, Allison brings to life the best of the contemporary folk music scene in Ontario, while incorporating the Celtic influences that have been such an important part of the Canadian immigrant story as well as her own musical path. After working with various bands and groups including Killiecrankie, which was regularly heard on CBC Radio’s legendary Max Ferguson Show, Allison began releasing music under her own name in 2001 with her debut album “My True Love”. The album launched her solo career, performing across Canada, the United States, and the UK. She has since recorded 3 solo CDs and been featured on CBC Radio’s Vinyl Café and BBC Radio nan Gàidheal. Allison is a frequent collaborator with other artists, releasing singles with The Young’uns (The Eve of Christmas Day), Craig Werth (When Trouble Comes) and the album “So Lucky” with Tannis Slimmon and Rosemary Phelan. She has also been featured as a soloist with The International, Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge Symphony Orchestras. Allison is a multiple CFMA nominee for “Traditional Singer of the Year” and “Vocal Group of the Year” as well as Folk Music Ontario’s “Songs From the Heart” grand prize winner for “One More Day”. With her new album, “Words of Love”, Lupton can count herself securely among Canadian folk music’s finest contributors.

A native of Torbay, Newfoundland, Allan Ricketts is a traditional musician and visual artist. He is a singer and multi-instrumentalist with his primary instruments being the bouzouki, tenor banjo, and accordion. Allan has performed at many events including folk nights, concerts, traditional Irish sessions, and festivals including the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Festival, 2009 Stan Rogers Folk Festival. With the assistance of MusicNL, Allan released two CDs. His debut CD “Allan Ricketts”, a fine CD of traditional songs, tunes and original compositions produced by Patrick Moran was released in December 2006. In August 2009, Allan released his second solo album “Rivers” produced by Kalem Mahoney. This CD has been nominated four times through the NL Arts Council, ECMA and MusicNL.

My name is Alex Taylor, I am a singer songwriter. I am 15 going on 16 this August. I play a variety of instruments but mainly guitar and accordion. I also sing, I love the Newfoundland traditional folk music, Irish music and Celtic music. I organize benefit concerts for a variety of charities. Ex. My Annual Merry & Bright. Some charities are Bridges to Hope, the Janeway, and The Red Cross. I love using my music to help the community! I have done a variety of events such as Open mics and Retirement homes. I also host a weekly trad session every Sunday 2pm, at Rocket Bakery Mount Pearl (46 Banister street). 

Adrian House is a singer-songwriter from St. John’s NL inspired by the music of the
1950s and 60s. A bilingual artist, he sang for most of his career in English, but with his
French composition Babette from his album Lookin' Up (2019) was launched onto the
airwaves of Radio-Canada Acadie. Hailed as “a great sound coming out of
Newfoundland" by CBC’s East Coast Music Hour, in 2020 Adrian toured his album
around the Maritimes by bicycle, cycling 1500 km and playing 10 shows, featured on
CBC's As it Happens. In August, 2021, Adrian reached the semi-finals of the Festival
International de Chanson de Granby, Québec, becoming the first Newfoundlander to do
so. A 6 time Music NL Award nominee, in April 2022 Adrian released a joyful new video
for his single ‘Changes,’ a collaboration with over 40 participants in various locations
throughout the world, . He won a 2022 NL Arts & Letters Award for his French song ‘Le
Parapluie d’Élise,’ and in July performed at the Gala de la chanson de Caraquet, N.B.,
as a finalist with his song Nulle Part. He is currently at work on a full length French
album, to be released in July 2023, for which he has just been awarded funding by the
Canada Council for the Arts.

A consummate performer with over 20 years experience, Adrian‘s stage presence is
genuine, emotional, and committed to his audience. Not afraid to laugh, dance, and be
vulnerable in every kind of way, he goes the distance to provide the best show possible.
Anchored in his native Newfoundland and incorporating folk, rock & roll, and country,
Adrian House’s music is an exciting journey full of passion, mischief and wonder.

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…

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.