MAIN STAGE SATURDAY EVENING, AUGUST 4

Accordion Session
Vince Collins, photo by Maeve CollinsVince Collins, Daniel Payne, Frank Maher, Art Stoyles and Allan Ricketts take turns playing their favourite tunes and having a few laughs besides. 

 
Andy Jones
photo by Justin Hall
Actor, writer and director, Andy Jones is one of Newfoundland’s best-loved and most decorated performers. His numerous awards include two Gemini awards; Gemini, Emmy and Genie nominations: election to the NL Arts Council Hall of Honour, The NL Arts Council’s Award of Excellence, and the ACTRA Award of Excellence for Lifetime Achievement. With the theatre collective SHEILA'S BRUSH, he worked to preserve, promote and adapt several Newfoundland tales, most notably Jack Meets the Cat, which was also an award-winning radio play. An accomplished storyteller, in the more traditional sense, Jones has taken his work with local “Jack” tales into schools. He has written five critically-acclaimed one-man comedy shows: Out of the Bin, Still Alive, King O’ Fun, To The Wall, and An Evening with Uncle Val. Andy has spread NL's "galoot of a culture" to the far corners of Canada, the UK, Ireland and, most recently, Tasmania.     (website)
 

Sean Panting
photo courtesy of Sean Panting Sean Panting is a bona fide indie rock icon, renowned for his razor-sharp lyrics, unique guitar playing, hilarious storytelling, and brilliant 3-minute rock 'n roll songs. His first two solo albums,- Lotus Land (2000) and Pop Disaster (2002), won MIANL awards, and in 2005 he released his rock and roll opus, Receiver, and the all-acoustic solo Victrola. His shows with the likes of Billy Bragg, Ron Sexsmith, Daniel Lanois, and THE RHEOSTATICS earned him well-deserved praise, and his sizeable catalog of albums recorded with various bands (including KELLY RUSSELL & THE PLANKS, DRIVE, and THE PANTING BROTHERS show an artist with a wide and diverse musical arsenal at his disposal.  (website)

 
Rowdy Blues
photo courtesy of Rowdy Blues BandROWDY BLUES is a tour through the back roads of the Blues. Classic Piedmont blues, gritty Delta blues and swinging Chicago blues. Acoustic guitars, wailing harmonica and stinging slide guitar delivered by top musicians of the St. John's blues scene. The wealth of blues history in this band is impressive and it all comes out on the stage. From the London blues revival, to the Illinois university scene, to a front porch in Alabama, these folks have been there. And keep going back....  (website)
 
Mahers Bahers
Photo by Matt DowneyThe MAHERS BAHERS (Frank Maher - accordion, Jean Hewson - guitar, Christina Smith - fiddle, Rick West - bodhran) have played at events and festivals from St. John's to Vancouver, interpreting their repertoire of Newfoundland singles, jigs and reels with great speed, passion and humour. Their recent CD, Mahervelous ! (2005), garnered two Canadian Folk Music Award nominations. Frank has a long list of accolades (and accolytes) to his name including the Stompin' Tom Connors Award from the East Coast Music Awards Association in February 2007 and two lifetime achievement awards for being a legendary figure ("So is a werewolf", says Frank).    (website)
 
Dyad
Photo courtesy of DyadThe Vancouver, B.C. trio of Kori Miyanishi (vocals, banjo, guitar, fiddle, jaw-harp), Leah Abramson (vocals, guitar) and Shiho Mizumoto (fiddles), came together to play traditional American Old Time music after delving into everything from indie-rock and punk to classical and traditional music of various cultures. DYAD digs deep into the song and instrumental traditions found in the Appalachian mountain region of the eastern USA. Over 100 years ago, songs were like gazettes, with the singer relating the story of a lover, the accused, the wronged, and the cruelty of fate.  DYAD sees the correlation between events of the past and those of the present day, taking on the role of storytellers for a new generation of listeners.    (website)
 
Kelly Russell & The Planks
Photo courtesy of Kelly Russell and The PlanksKELLY RUSSELL AND THE PLANKS teams up Kelly Russell, one of NL's leading traditional musicians, with Chris Batstone (bass), Sean Panting (guitar, vocals) and Adam Staple (drums).  A true fusion of the old and the new....traditional fiddle tunes being reinvented, combining both a respect for the inherent value of the original tune with the sheer, unbridled adrenaline addicting rock sounds.... utterly electrifying... crank up the volumne, blow the wax out of your ears and dance yourself into a frenzy.     (website)