A contemporary roots duo featuring sibling songwriters Leela Gilday and Jay Gilday.

Sechile Sedare (pronounced ‘seh-chee-leh’ ‘seh-dahr-eh’) means ‘my younger brother, my older sister’ in the Dene language. This musical collaboration sees Jay and Leela co-write and co-create new repertoire together, harnessing their talents as deeply insightful and genuine storytellers.

Their voices blend in perfect harmony, hitting notes of nostalgia, hope, humour and reflection. The songs, created during lockdown in 2021 and during a residency at the Banff Centre, share stories about their family history, their connection to the land and water, and the twists and turns of fate.

Sechile Sedare will be touring communities across Canada this spring and summer and plan to release a debut album in 2023.

JAY GILDAY BIO
A vagabond turned mailman, Jay Gilday has searched for himself in the depths of Folk, blues, traditional, rock and most recently soul music. The quest continues as Jay takes his experiences as a half Dene, half Canadian-Irish youth traveling the roads of Canada, the daily roller-coaster of work, family, and performance and weaves them into song. Jay’s live performance is executed with a trained voice and a passion to drive it backed up by a heavy hitting guitar, finger-style or flat-picked, your choice!

LEELA GILDAY BIO
Born and raised in the Northwest Territories, she writes about the people and the land that created her. The power in her voice conveys the depth of her feelings of love and life in a rugged environment and vibrant culture, as if it comes straight from that earth. Leela’s family is from Délįne on the shore of Great Bear Lake and her rich vocals dance across the rhythmic beats of traditional Dene drumming as smoothly as a bass line onstage the largest venues in the country. And she has played them all.

Sean Panting is a songwriter, musician and actor from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Over the course of a musical career spanning more than 35 years he has covered a lot of ground, serving as a founding member of East Coast 90’s alt-rock stalwarts Drive, trad/blues/cajun family band The Panting Brothers, and NL fiddle-meets-Black-Sabbath mashup Kelly Russell and the Planks.

As a solo singer-songwriter, Panting has released six full length albums and shared the stage with the likes of Ron Sexsmith and Billy Bragg. 

His songs cover the usual topics of love, loss, sex, drugs and rock n roll, as well as some more unusual left turns into the world of vampires, sea monsters, poisonous sandwiches, and stackable washer-dryer technology. His crowd-pleasing “Panting Under Pressure” segments with CBC Radio allow him to flex his songwriting muscles by imposing a one hour time limit to write a satirical tune about a mystery topic submitted by listeners

SeanT Le Savant (or just SeanT for short) is an independent singer, songwriter, performer and producer currently based in Newfoundland, Canada. Originally born and raised in the Caribbean island of Antigua and Barbuda, he is a self-taught musician who proudly takes his culture with him everywhere he goes and infuses these elements into his music whenever he can. Though he draws inspiration from a wide range of musical genres, his main genres of focus include R&B, Reggae, Hip-Hop, Soul, Blues, and Soca. He released his first single, a soothing love ballad entitled “Captivated”, in 2022 and has since had his sights set on growing and connecting with a larger audience in the Newfoundland community and on a global scale.

School of Rock St John’s House Band is a high energy professional group of talented and rising youth NL Rockstar’s. These St John’s area youth artists are as passionate and crazy about Rock’n’roll as they are fun and entertaining to watch. With an extensive multi-decade Rock’n’roll repertoire these young local musicians will get you moving, smiling, clapping, and singing to some great classics! With more than four hours of formal supervised practice each week and 1000+ licensed songs; these young Rockstars are perfectly equipped to help fill your venue and make your next festival or event, a huge success that people will talk about for months! Perfect for family entertainment at bars/pubs/hotels/stadiums or outdoor events with a stage, a grill or restaurant. Give us 110-volt power and we will rock your guests!

Sandy Morris known to his musical friends as “the easternmost guitar player in North America” is an accomplished and multi-talented musician, producer, and engineer based in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Picking up his first guitar at the age of 15, Morris has made his living as a versatile and ingenious performer since 1965. An original member of the legendary Wonderful Grand Band, his more recent collaborations include Rasa (with Erin Best), and the Eight Track Favourites.

Sandy Morris has contributed his own compositions, his performances, and his musical expertise to film and television projects for more than 30 years. His credits include serving as musical director or producer for Land and Sea, Violet, Tommy, East Coast Music Awards, and Codco, among many other projects. In addition to his own projects and featured appearances, he continues to perform with numerous other musicians on their recordings and live performances.

Ryan Christopher is an accordion player and folklorist from St. John’s NL. Currently in his final year of a BA in Folklore/History at Memorial University, with his main research focus being on the music of Newfoundland and Labrador and Ireland/Scotland.  Having learned from other accordion players like Aaron Collis and Dave Penny over the years, Ryan hopes to share the richness and importance of accordion music within Newfoundland and Labrador. Most recently, Ryan became a two-time recipient of the Dermot O’Reilly Legacy Award and the Ireland-Canada University Foundation Scholarship for his research on the accordion and traditional music within Newfoundland and Labrador.

Formed by Aaron Collis and Mark Manning, Rum Ragged takes a bold approach to the distinct
folk music of their home, the Eastern Canadian island of Newfoundland. Boasting bouzouki,
fiddle, bodhran, banjo, guitar and button accordion, these new champions of East Coast music
enliven and enlighten audiences with both songs and tune sets which they deliver with an
honest swagger that is far beyond their years. With reverence for their roots and a creative,
contemporary edge, this young band have quickly become known as the finest purveyors of
their great living musical tradition. Rum Ragged is not your run-of-the-mill folk band, they are the
genuine article.

Rosemary Lawton and Brad Tuck have been working together as a duo Since 2020. As solo performers, Rosemary and Brad have experienced success in the Celtic/traditional community in Newfoundland and Labrador, garnering numerous nominations and awards for their work. Proud of their heritage, the duo have worked to promote and perform songs from their musical culture to help continue those traditions for generations to come. This Christmas, they are releasing their first album as a duo, and have co-written several original songs to add to the ever-expanding catalogue of Newfoundland Christmas songs. This project solidifies Rosemary and Brad as a united musical force within their community.