Entertainers

Festival | Artisans | Entertainment | Schedule | Food

This year the Filberg Festival showcases some of our country's finest musicians. They are singer/songwriters who are uniquely Canadian and feature songs about our history, about being Canadian, and even some about making Canada their home. The Filberg Festival has a roost music feel and a line up featuring brilliant talent from coast to coast. On Friday and Saturday we have musicians performing from seven of the provinces, and on Sunday and Monday our stages will feature four other fantastic performers from our very talented Country.

Babe Gurr – BC

One of the best-selling Indie recording artists around, her music has been described as honest, rootsy and real, fitting powerful stories to thoughtful music with crafts-woman like precision. Babe Gurr's new 2008 release Chocolate Lilly has a fresh, yet familiar sound. Babe's warm but powerful voice is beautifully showcased by the stripped down sounds on this album and her blends of roots, pop and blues. Experiencing her engaging personality in concert is a treat, and discovering her playful and keen sense of humour is always a delight. Babe Gurr's name is becoming familiar to many more fans each day- people who appreciate finely crafted songs performed with sincerity.

Big Dave McLean – Manitoba

A masterful guitarist and top notch harpist, Big Dave McLean's raw and gravelly vocals bespeak a life lived to the fullest, and a career spent performing in and around those countless small towns that dot the Canadian prairies. When it comes to the blues, however, Dave's heart firmly beats to the ghosts of the Delta greats, especially the incomparable Muddy Waters, with whom he toured over two decades ago. Dave's stage performances also identify him as one of the top bluesmen in Canada and what he knows about the business came to him from blues legends John Hammond Jr. and Muddy Waters. He started out on harmonica in the early '60s and had his first guitar lesson from John Hammond at the Mariposa Folk Festival in 1969.

Blues & Boogie Quartet – BC & Ontario

Paul Pigat is an accomplished guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. Originally from Toronto, Paul relocated to the West Coast in the early 1990's and has earned a reputation as one of the best guitarists around. Although extremely versatile, from the Delta Blues to classical music, Paul's style is deeply rooted in the playing of Les Paul, Charlie Christian and Link Wray. He has shared the stage with such greats as Taj Mahal, Michael Kaeshammer, Mae Moore, Lee Aaron and the Blind Boys of Alabama. A snazzy rhythm section will complete the quartet along with a very special guest on the piano. The Blues & Boogie Quartet will play blues and jazz, from boogie woogie to bebop. This performance will be brilliant and original as jazz meets blues creating a wonderful musical gumbo.

Blues Panel Concert - Blues from Across the Country

This year we dedicate our Blues Panel concert to the Hornby Island Blues Society and all their hard working volunteers. Thank You so much for the many hours that each of you put in to bring us the Blues. This year’s Blues Panel concert will feature five Blues musicians from across the country. Most of these musicians have participated in the annual week long Blues Camp presented by the Hornby Island Blues Society. Hosting the Blues Panel concert is Sam Hurrie - originally from Ontario, Sam has lived in the Comox Valley for many years and spent his teens obsessed with pre-war blues. In later years he scoured the Mississippi Delta for traces of Robert Johnson, Son House and Charlie Patton. Also performing will be Ellen McIlwaine and Tim Williams- both from Alberta. Ellen is a legendary Slide Guitar Player known for her Blues World Hybrid renderings and her vocal acrobatics. Tim is extremely fluent in the Delta bottleneck and Bluegrass Dobro techniques and spends much of his time spreading his blend of blues, roots and original music throughout the world. Coming from Saskatchewan, Ken Hamm will treat us to his dynamic, moving performance, mixing hot slide finger style acoustic blues with original songs based on his travels and encounters. Big Dave McLean from Manitoba will entertain us with one of his performances – his stage performances identify him as one of the top bluesmen in Canada. So sit back and enjoy the Blues presented by Musicians from Across the Country.

Boxcar – BC

Boxcar blends fine vocal harmonies with acoustic charm. Performing mostly original material, they released their debut CD this summer. Chris Simm has been writing beautiful melodies with heartfelt lyrics for years and he brings these songs to life with his guitar, harmonica, and banjo. Michelle Lafreniere has been passionate about music all her life and adds some accordion and guitar to her sweet sounding vocals. Jude Pelley was raised in Nova Scotia and has had a colourful career in roots, acoustic and traditional music. Winner of two East Coast music awards with bluegrass group Exit B, Jude is a multi-instrumentalist who will highlight his mandolin and guitar playing as he lends a third voice to this compelling trio.

Circus School Workshop

Now you don't have to run away to join the circus. Join entertainer and educator Sand Northrup for this fun, informal introduction to circus arts. Drop in and try juggling, object balancing and equilibristics in a supportive learning environment. Please note this activity is best suited for ages 9 to 90 but younger children are welcome to participate with their parents' assistance.

The Cruzeros – BC

The Cruzeros have appeared on numerous radio and television programs in Canada. Their music has been recorded by artists in Europe and has been used in TV shows domestically and abroad. They have performed throughout western Canada, showcased in Nashville and toured in Mexico several times.The band features Barry Mathers (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Curtis Tulman (12-string, harmonica, saxophone, penny whistle, bass, vocals), and Gary Smyth (guitar, bass guitar, vocals). Soulful ballads, bluegrass, classic country, soaring harmonies, humour and intricate arrangements have caught the ear of such Canadian icons as Fred Eaglesmith, Valdy, Patricia Conroy, George Canyon and many others. The Cruzeros' added to their growing collection of awards recently, winning the BCCMA Group of the Year award for Country Group of the Year.

Dustin Bentall – BC

Hailing from North Vancouver, Dustin Bentall has packed a lot of living into his quarter century of life and intends to color the rest in without much concern for going over the lines. Playing alt-country songs influenced by the likes of Neil Young, Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Wilco, Dustin found the heart of that music and placed it under his own landscapes. With vocals that range from soft melodies to belt-it-out gravel blues, his songs speak of a bright-eyed beginning and a final truth-all at the same time. The lyrics reveal exceptionally vivid and personal tales of discovery, wonder and disenchantment, and the voice has an appealing ring, somewhere between a lonesome whine and a rough bark. He's clearly in for the long haul.

Ellen McIlwaine – Alberta

Growing up in Japan as part of an International Community (already playing Boogie Woogie piano at five, and switching to Acoustic Guitar when she moved to Atlanta GA) she was playing everything from Rhythm & Blues to World Music long before it was called World Music. Appearing on the Greenwich Village Scene in the mid-to-late 60's with such greats as Odetta, Richie Havens, Howlin' Wolf, Mississippi John Hurt, Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters; she has recorded twelve albums to date, collaborating with such greats as Jack Bruce of Cream and Taj Mahal. Her career spans some forty years with appearances across the Globe: USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Switzerland & Japan. She is known for her Blues-World-Hybrid renderings and her Vocal Acrobatics: she is a legendary Slide Guitar Player. She has lots of great stories to tell and puts on a great show.

Fred Eaglesmith Band – Ontario

Fred Eaglesmith's music has been described by reviewers as a "blend of aching country and barroom rock". The Toronto Star declares Fred Eaglesmith as an artist who is "without doubt, relentlessly true to his craft, to his world view, and to his fans." Having grown up working on a series of family farms in Southern Ontario and known for writing songs about genuine people living real lives, Fred is actually a natural for the country charts. The award-winning singer-songwriter inspires comparisons to icons like Woody Guthrie and Bruce Springsteen, tops the roots music charts, and boasts devoted fans that include fellow musicians like Toby Keith and The Cowboy Junkies. Film folks like Martin Scorsese and James Caan, consider him one of the stellar musical and lyrical talents of our day.

Great Canadian Songs Concert

On Monday we celebrate BC Day and our country Canada with the Great Canadian Songs Concert. Sing along with some of our favourite Canadian musicians- songs that capture the spirit of Canada. Vancouver Island musician Jake Galbraith will host the Great Canadian Songs concert, complete with surprise special guest. Until just before he walks on stage, Jake himself does not know who the special guest will be. Maybe a well known folkie who has had a significant impact on the Canadian music scene, or maybe an unknown talented musician about to be discovered. Canada has its own rich folk tradition, a musical heritage of creating wonderful music, arranged and sung from the heart. Songs that paint pictures with lyrics and melodies, rekindle many happy memories and have the ability to touch the soul.

House of Doc – Manitoba

House of Doc wants to revamp folk music. They begin by putting their best foot forward in the form of superb four-part vocals. Their dazzling instrumental capabilities cover everything from drums to piccolo, detouring to places such as bass recorder & bassoon, and making it apparent that House of Doc is so much more than just a singing group. Dan Wiebe, sister Rebecca Harder, and husband Matthew compose and perform (as only a family does) with uncanny unity and cohesion. Jesse Krause is the newest member of the quartet, having replaced former member (and brother) David Wiebe who left late in 2005. Jesse's remarkable multi-instrumental capabilities and intricate musical imagination have helped propel the House of Doc to a new level of achievement.

Ian Tamblyn – Quebec

Ian Tamblyn has been a musician, songwriter, playwright and producer for many years. He has recorded several albums and countless soundtracks for theater and film. In recent years, Ian has had a close association with adventure and scientific expeditions – recording a number of instrumental music albums inspired by his travels from the icebergs of Greenland to the underwater world of Antarctica.

JP Cormier – Cape Breton

JP Cormier began playing guitar at the age of five and quickly became immersed in the rich musical heritage of his Cape Breton roots. By the age of nine, he was considered a genuine prodigy and won his first guitar competition against thirty other players three times his age. By his mid-teens, it became obvious JP could play almost any stringed instrument he picked up. However it was his guitar playing which shone with his flawless executions of tunes he learned from records of giants like Chet Atkins and Doc Watson. At sixteen, JP recorded his first album, a collection of bluegrass instrumentals. With the project in hand, he worked his way across the US festival circuit performing for anyone who might take notice. These appearances led to a move to the US, and ten years of session work, live appearances, and many memorable nights at the Grand Ole Opry with such notable artists as Waylon Jennings, Marty Stuart, Earl Scruggs, Bill Monroe, Charlie Louvin, and Vince Gill. Since his return to Canada over a decade ago, JP has released eleven award winning recordings. His impressive body of work has earned him a vast and loyal fan base, and multiple award nominations and wins, including, twelve East Coast Music Awards, Canadian Folk Music Award, five Music Nova Scotia Awards, a Juno nomination, and Commendations from the Govenor General of Canada and the Premier of Nova Scotia.

Jake Galbraith – BC

As mainstage MC and host of the Great Canadian Songs panel concert, Jake Galbraith facilitates the connections between audiences and performers, drawing on a life-long love of music and the craft and ritual of musical performance. Jake's musical career began in Los Angeles during their version of the late 1950s folk-revival. Since moving to Victoria, BC, in 1973, Jake has immersed himself in the local music community as a performer and in various aspects of concert and record production. As a performer who embraces many styles, Jake performs these days with his Hawaiian music band the Malihini Boys as well as performing solo and with other ensembles.

Jill Barber – Nova Scotia

Drawing on influences from old-time jazz standards, folk balladry and traditional country, Halifax's Jill Barber has become one of Canada's most distinctive young voices. Striking a balance between classic and contemporary songwriting styles, Jill demonstrates a keen melodic sense, and clever and compelling lyrical abilities. She was awarded Female Artist of the Year at the 2007 East Coast Music Awards and has toured extensively across Canada, the US, the UK and Ireland. There is sense of timelessness to Jill's songs, and a sensual quality to her performance that promises to raise her to the ranks of Canada's finest.

John Mann – BC

John Mann is perhaps best known as the front man for Spirit of the West, but he is also a solo alternative folk roots artist. His solo material has none of the frenetic catchiness of Spirit of the West's best known songs. Rather, John lopes along at an easy pace, backing lyrics with simple instrumentation. John pens beautiful melodies with emotionally honest lyrics that capture the intimate moments of his hometown of Vancouver, its occupants, the fragile details of their dysfunctional love and the loss of a city's innocence. John is also an actor in stage, film and television.

Kids Yoga Workshop

Traci Skuce is a certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor. She's been studying and teaching yoga for the past 12 years. Traci enjoys practicing yoga with her five-year old son, Emile. Together they have brought yoga to preschool classes and now they'd like to bring it to you! Join in to balance like a flamingo, graze like a giraffe or slither like a snake. Also, we'll play a variety of games that encourage flexibility and freedom in your body.

Ken Hamm – Saskatchewan

Ken Hamm is one of Canada's foremost interpreters of traditional roots and blues music. Emerging from early coffeehouses and Northern Ontario blues bands, Ken has been playing professionally since the late 1960's. He has a reputation as a dynamic, moving performer, mixing hot slide finger style acoustic blues with original songs based on his travels and encounters. Ken has also become well known as a guitar instructor of finger picking and slide guitar styles. He was nominated three years running as Best Acoustic Blues Guitarist by North America's Guitar Player magazine. Ken is a blues and roots music artist with an international reputation constantly touring Canada, England, Scotland and Europe.

Meeks Family Circus – BC

Meeks Family Circus appeals to audiences of all ages with their proficient juggling and clowning. They are creative and entertaining performers who inspire children and encourage their participation. Their rapport with children is genuine- they engage their attention and give them plenty of opportunity to join in enthusiastically. Their inventiveness and enthusiasm always makes them a hit. Michael Meeking is Meeks the Clown, a professional entertainer since 1981. This is a family business and each member of the Family Circus has performed with Meeks (their Dad) from 1st memory. Now, they have developed a tight juggling repertoire with unicycling, balancing and comedy. Meeks Family Circus will amaze you.

Murray McLauchlan – Ontario

Murray McLauchlan is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and harmonica player. Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, he emigrated to Canada with his family when he was five years old. Murray began writing songs and performing them in his late teens and after engagements at music festivals and clubs such as Toronto's Riverboat, began to attract wider attention. Now Murray has eighteen albums to his credit, has won eleven JUNO awards, and in 1993 received The Order Of Canada. A dimension of Murray's continuing support for the art of songwriting was his career sideline as host of the national CBC radio programme Swinging on a Star for five years. With over a quarter of a million listeners every Saturday this show focused attention on the artistry of distinguished and famous writers as well as the new and upcoming.

One Woman Circus – BC

Sand Northrup is a One Woman Circus of fun and frolic. Her popularity is due to her ability to let the children who participate be the stars of the show. Sand loves to teach the skills she uses in her own performances: juggling, unicycling, clowning and equilibristics. Since 1984, she has brought circus arts to literally thousands- schools across the country, innumerable community centres, festivals, corporate events and special education projects. She coaches at Saskatoon's Circus Arts Project and the One Wheel Wonders, a unicycle basketball team. She recently coordinated the wildly successful Circo Circuit project for the Vancouver International Children's Festival and now takes her mobile "Circus School" to schools throughout BC.

Richard Grainger – England

Richard Grainger is a singer and songwriter steeped in the Northumbrian and English Folk Traditions. He is acknowledged as one of the finest exponents of folk song in the UK. He is a guitar player and has evolved his own unique approach to accompaniment. Richard has taken his music around the world, composed four productions for the stage, written some British folk 'classics', appeared on TV and radio and has more than a dozen albums to his credit. He's got a sense of humour too and is widely acknowledged for his introductions which turn into fascinating and often hilarious stories in their own right. A folk singer in the truest sense, Richard continues to write, perform and release music, particularly focusing on the heritage of the north east of England. He tours from his base on the North York Moors in Northern England.

Roy Forbes – BC

Roy Forbes has been a strong presence on the Canadian music scene since the early 1970s as a performer, songwriter, recording artist, record producer, and broadcaster. He has developed into a totally original, dynamic, exciting performer of deeply resonant lyrics. Roy has not only had success singing his own songs – they've also been performed and recorded by a myriad of other performers and have been used as source music for movies and television. He is also a producer of other artists, contributes regularly to CBC Radio One with the occasional but popular Snap Crackle Pop and is now hosting a weekly radio show on CKUA. After more than thirty years, Roy remains one of Canada's favourite and best loved acoustic artists.

Sam Hurrie – Ontario

Sam Hurrie began playing guitar while in elementary school in Toronto. He spent his teens obsessed with pre-war blues, immersing himself in the Robert Johnson songbook and in later years scoured the Mississippi Delta for traces of Johnson, Son House and Charlie Patton. He started his first band in high school playing electric R&B around Toronto. There were lots of great venues and at that time all the folk blues greats came through. Sam was lucky enough to see some of his heroes including Son House, Bukka White and Sonny Terry and Browny MacGhee. The band was offered the chance to go to New York to play and they started up a house gig at the Scene. Jimi Hendrix, who lived in New York at the time, became a regular jammer. After several years touring the US Sam returned to Canada. A Comox Valley resident for many years, Sam has now moved back to Ontario where he continues to play.

Spirit of the West – BC

Spirit of the West are a Canadian folk rock band, who were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s. SOTW began in 1983 as a Vancouver-based folk trio consisting of John Mann, Geoffrey Kelly and J. Knutson. The band's first major success was with the 1988 album Labour Day, which spawned the popular single "Political" and making SOTW a major name on the folk festival circuit. When SOTW toured England they decided to bring in a drummer and experiment with a more rock-oriented sound- Vince Ditrich was brought in. The band's 1991 album, Go Figure, was the result. Although the album retained the band's folk influences, it was more hard rock than any of the band's previous efforts and won them many new fans in the alternative rock scene. In 1993, SOTW released their most successful album, Faithlift, and scored their biggest hit single, "And if Venice is Sinking". SOTW has continued to perform and to record with many successful albums to their credit.

Tiller's Folly – BC

For over a decade, Tiller's Folly has been captivating audiences with their music, stories and smokin' live shows. From the dynamic vocals, driving acoustic guitar and classic songwriting of Bruce Coughlan through the wild, virtuoso layers of creative color added by award-winning multi-instrumentalist Nolan Murray, to the solid driving foundation laid down by bassist and vocalist, Laurence Knight, Tiller's Folly is a high-energy acoustic roots music experience like no other. Tiller's Folly has released an impressive catalogue of material, covering a broad palette of the finest acoustic music, including six CDs, videos, and a complete DVD/CD package. Their CDs have topped sales charts and both albums and individual songs have been nominated and received awards and distinctions.

Tim Williams – Alberta

Born in Southern California, Tim Williams was both a published poet and an emerging coffee house phenomenon by his late teens. Quickly mastering acoustic and electric guitar, banjo, and mandolin, Tim became extremely fluent in the Delta bottleneck and Bluegrass Dobro techniques. When he moved to Vancouver in 1970, weary of America's wars and assassinations, he immediately found work as a studio musician playing on gospel, folk and country recordings, plus commercial jingles selling everything from weed killer to Toyotas. Tim co-founded the popular acoustic blues trio Triple Threat, and co-produced their JUNO-nominated CD, The Terra Firma Boogie. Leaving Triple Threat in 1994 with his solo release Riverboat Rendezvous, Tim released several more CDs and has continued to tour Canada and much of the rest of the world, spreading his blend of blues, roots and original music with three tours of the United Kingdom, two of Australia, appearances in Cuba and Morocco, as well as producing numerous CDs for other artists and working in theatre as a composer and musical director.

Todd Butler – BC

Todd Butler is a veteran contributor to CBC Radio and Television. With over twenty years of live performance experience as both a musician/vocalist and a comedian, Todd's skills are finely tuned and he swings easily from lambasting politicians in hilarious political parodies to interpreting the latest news story with a twist. Then, he enraptures the audience with poignant tales of love, friendship, what it means to belong, to be an outsider, to be searching for something real in these crazy, virtual times. Expressing himself through music is his passion, a twisting journey through such varied musical terrain as Funk, R+B, Reggae, Country Swing, Blues, Bluegrass and thoughtful ballads in the finest singer/songwriter tradition.

The Trollsons – BC

The Trollsons are a family of comedic and magical Trolls from the Canadian forest. With live music, physical comedy, improvisation, storytelling and audience participation, the audience is taken on a journey into a magical world of mischief, mayhem and joy, based on the folklore of Trolls. The Trollsons have been strolling and entertaining audiences at festivals and special events since 1995. In 2003 they brought their unique interactive Troll characters to Japan and to Singapore. In 2004, the Trollsons returned to Singapore, as they were commissioned by the Singapore Arts Festival to present interactive stories, based on world folklore. These extraordinary Troll characters often sweep audience members into the action, so get ready- you might end up part of the show, becoming a part of their unique storytelling style.

Voices Three – BC

Voices Three is a musical trio that features the combined talents of Vancouver Island singer songwriters, Helen Austin, Sue Pyper and Judy Wing. These multi talented women have created an amazing synergy from their very distinct personalities, outlooks and musical styles. Voices Three shows are more than a concert, they are a musical experience, exploring diversity of content and celebrating the common ground of love, humour and friendship. Together since 2006, their beautifully blended harmonies, engaging banter, and well crafted songs leave their audiences wanting more. All three women are also multi-instrumentalists, adding further variety with guitar, piano, flute, harmonica and bass guitar.