So many enormous thanks to the artists and companies I have had the immense pleasure of working with over the last year:

Peter Katz, Rob Szabo, Corin Raymond (& The Sundowners!), Scott Cooper, David Newland, Jonathan Byrd, Rob Lutes, Jaron Freeman-Fox, Laura Repo, Sean Russell and his Tangents North Music clients, Johan Hultqvist and all the Pinwheel Music clients.

And thank you to everyone who has spread the word about what I am doing and helped me find work.

My life is charmed.

EJJ

PS Here’s a link to a really cool band that I don’t know but love listening to! They are a folky bluegrassy band from Toronto called Union Duke and that is all I know about them. Check it out, you can stream their whole album and then give them money if you want to (recommended!): http://unionduke.bandcamp.com/

My good friend Dave Cool and I originally compiled this database of Canadian Folk Festivals in January 2011 and it seems wrong to not continue it. Since then, we have received a ton of feedback from the folk community with suggestions that could be added to the list. Thanks to Roots Music Canada for sharing their database as well as the many members of the folk/roots music community who chimed in with great suggestions. Please feel free to download the Excel version and add your own personal notes, additional festivals or update the database for yourself as new information becomes available throughout the year.

It includes a listing of folk festivals in Canada along with their contact information, deadlines and application guidelines. It is a powerful resource for any folk/roots artist inside our outside of Canada. The 2013 version is even more detailed than before!

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You can download the database for FREE in the original Excel format or as a PDF file. Click on the format of your choice below.

You may also PWYC (Pay What You Choose). This database takes many hours to research and update each year. Any amount you contribute will be greatly appreciated.

Note: The Excel file will download immediately. The PDF will open in your browser then you may press “save”. The text in the PDF will look realllyyy tiny – just press “zoom”! 

Thanks also to Dan Murray who helped with researching this year. Happy 2013!

Emma

P.S. By all means, please share this on Facebook, Twitter, etc- using the sharing links below!

P.P.S. Any festivals that need updating or wish to be added may email festivals at emmajulien dot com. I probably won’t update it again very soon,  but accurate info would be appreciated for inclusion in future versions. Thank you.

Going to pick up Peter’s car in Calgary/Mike Evin saving our lives: In May, two days after I got back from 2 weeks in Scotland, I hopped on a train and headed to Alberta, where I was collecting my sisterfriend Madison, and having her drive me and Peter Katz’s car back to Toronto. I don’t have a license, so I roped Madi into driving the entire distance herself, in three days. It was a crazy fun road trip and if it weren’t for Mike Evin’s entire catalogue, we might not have made it the whole way to Winnipeg on that first day. Madi was fading after our dinner stop in Regina, and it took songs like “Stripper In My Car”, “Do You Feel The World?” and “Rockin’ Receptionist” (plus several handfuls of chocolate covered espresso beans) to get the energy levels back up in the car. Thank you Mike!

“Still Mind Still” CD release show: on June 7 we celebrated Peter Katz’s new album, “Still Mind Still” with one of the most beautiful shows ever at The Great Hall. I  don’t know how many times I have seen Peter perform, but he never ceases to blow me away. This night was particularly moving.

The Great Canadian Tire Caper of 2012: For the rest of my life I will never be able to pass a Canadian Tire without smiling. Corin’s crazy caper quickly took on a life of its own and by the end of January 2013, we expect to have collected enough Sandy McTyre bills to completely fund the production of Corin Raymond & The Sundowners’ live double-album, “Paper Nickels”. Come be part of the magic on Jan 22 and 23 in the TRANZAC Main Hall where we will celebrate the CD release and announce the final tally. Here’s a video from the recording shows in early Jan this year.

Jonathan Byrd’s official showcase at OCFF: Anyone who was there will understand why JByrd’s official showcase at OCFF in October was special. Jonathan Byrd is without a doubt one of my favourite songwriters and performers, and on this occasion, he proved it to a room full of several hundred folkies. I think that the singalong on “If You Got It, A Big Truck Brought It” is responsible for energizing us all and keeping us going until the wee hours. Here’s my favourite JByrd song.

“Quiet Company” on vinyl: Scott Cooper and his producer Rob Szabo made a damn gorgeous record which we released in the fall. Not enough people wrote about it and not enough people have played it. This is the under-rated album of the year. When Coop hooked me up with the vinyl copy and I set that needle upon it, I melted into a pile o’ hot wax myself. Gorgeous!

Peter Katz Juno Nomination: What a joy to see my friend and long-time client be recognized for his work with a Juno nomination! Peter’s CD/DVD “Live At The Music Gallery” was nominated in the Music DVD of the Year category, alongside David Francey, Feist, Tegan & Sara and Rush. Feist took it home. (This time.)

Rob Szabo’s Cameron House Residency: Some of the best news I heard all year was that Rob Szabo was going to be playing every Wednesday in October in my favourite place: the front room of the Cameron House. Rob has been so focused on producing other peoples’ records that he has hardly had time to think about his own music, so this string of performances was warmly welcomed by his fans. Rob will forever be one of my great musical loves. I get so nostalgic when I hear songs from “A Battery of Tests” which I remember first listening to on my discman, leaning against my locker at lunch time. (Not that it was sooo long ago!) Massively fun times were had during this residency – and we get to enjoy it all over again in February 2013!

Leonard Cohen live: I don’t think there was a single person seated further back/higher up than me in all of the ACC that night. There were even empty rows in front of me. I moved around until I found a good spot where I didn’t feel like I was going to fall 150 metres to my death and where I couldn’t hear the ventilation system too much. This seat ended up being closer to one of the follow spot operators than any other audience members, and I’m sure he was moved by my solo audience participation throughout the show. It still hasn’t totally hit me yet, that I. Saw. Leonard. Cohen. It was amazing and is definitely one of the musical highlights of my entire life so far. Here’s an amazing video from someone who was approximately 200 rows ahead of me, and in London.

Andy Frank’s concert / July 17th 2012: In January,  David Newland postponed his CD release to make room for a concert to help raise some support funds for Helen and Andy while he underwent treatment for colorectal cancer. The concert was stunning but sad, and at the end of the night I went home and sobbed in the kitchen so loud that it woke up my roommate Daniel (who actually thought I was laughing with our other roomie, Erik, who was consoling me. Erik did end up making me laugh when he told me he’d accidentally kicked my cat). The concert was a beautiful moment, but it was definitely not a favourite (how could it be!???) the truly beautiful part was on July 17 2012, when Andy posted his last cancer blog entitled “Freedom”. No more cancer!!! Angels were singing. Definitely musical. Definitely the best news of all time. This list is unnumbered, but this is #1. Man, do I ever love that guy!??!!?!! Frankers!! Here is a picture of Frankers wearing my hair. (Ok… maybe not a “picture”…)

Other albums of note

JP Hoe- Mannequin
Annabelle Chvostek – Rise
David Newland – Give It A Whirl
Steve Strongman – A Natural Fact
Kathleen Edwards – Voyageur

Honourable mentions that didn’t come out in 2012 but were on repeat anyway:

Ariana Gillis – Forget Me Not
Matt Andersen – Coal Mining Blues  (PS. I am in love)
Everything ever released by Patsy Cline
Jordie Lane – I Could Die Looking At You (The fake Scottish person in me exclaims, “Tune!!!”)

Guys, I am so excited for this. I am in the absolute NOSEBLEEDS but I can not wait to see Leonard Cohen live this December!! Just had to share…

Stoked that this is happening in my favourite place on Earth – the Cameron House!! Can’t wait for everyone to hear Coop’s new album.

Father’s Day always gets me kinda mushy- I’m a total Daddy’s girl, there’s no doubt.

I’m his only daughter, I’m the youngest- there was just no way around it. As the years

Daddy, can we just go for a drive and listen to Led Zeppelin II again?

go by and I (very gradually- all ya’ll are reading this going, YOU’RE SO YOUNGGGG!!!) get older, days celebrating my parents are meaning more and more to me. Dad was, and is, the biggest supporter of my career choice. He used to drive me to shows downtown, drop me off, go do whatever he had to do, then come back and stand at the back of the room waiting for me for the extra hour or whatever it took for the show to finish because it was undoubtedly always running late. The Montreal music scene got to know my pop pretty quickly. Sometimes he’d drive me to Ottawa for shows. Oh, you want to go to Toronto to do merch for Peter Katz? No problem!

So thanks papa, for just letting me do my thing.

And of course, thanks Ma, for also not freaking the f out every time I ran off downtown to hang out in bars with people 20+ years older than me. And for asking Richard Flohil who the hell he thinks he is hanging out with your daughter!?!?? And for the Leonard Cohen and the Roy Orbison and The Band and the blues and the country music love. And yknow, for raising me and all that.  Yeah, PARENTAL LOVE!!

Anyway, summer is upon us folks, and things are gettin’ hott. That’s where I was headed with all of this. I got sidetracked by memories associated with Nelly. I’m super busy and I love it!!! I work with the nicest people. I’m homeward bound this weekend to attend COCA in Monteal, representing Tangents North Music artists Sarah MacDougall and Peter Katz. Sarah just released her amazing album, “The Greatest Ones Alive”, on vinyl, and for nerds like me, that’s really exciting. It’s sooo good, and you should pick it up in any format you please, just mosey on over to her site and you can even stream some tracks there. It’s like a breath of fresh air, innit?

Here’s a song that is not by Sarah MacDougall.

PS. Turns out it’s Sarah’s birthday today!! Aww! Buy her album. 

Super busy here at the EMMA HQ (aka my kitchen) as the PK HQ (aka also my kitchen sometimes) prepares for the release of “Still Mind Still”, Peter Katz’s beautiful new studio record, and the tour supporting the release. Please check Peter’s site, www.peterkatz.com for shows- he’s going west of Toronto, so if you live there, you can go see him!

You can order a hard copy of the album on Peter’s site now. 

Then, I’m off to jolly auld Scotland in a couple of days to see some friends, eat some sausage rolls and drink some scotch. But don’t worry, it’s not a vacation or anything. More of a… working holiday. Didn’t you know that this is what life in the music industry is like?*

Really, life is good. Hope yer all enjoyin’ it as much as I am.

*sarcasm

How great are these cards?? I got them from Moo.com. You can upload whatever photos you want onto them or use premade packs. I scanned my hair for these ones… I was a little worried about it turning out all voodoo-y, but they’re pretty neat, huh? They are beautifully printed and cut and were even delivered over a week earlier than I had anticipated. Thank you, Moo.com, for making me look so good! Get yours here.

CMW got me thinking a lot about different conferences and festivals that I have been to or would like to attend in the future. Two of those festivals announced their 2012 performers this week: Osheaga (Montreal) and Winnipeg Folk Festival (um… it’s in Winnipeg).

In 2006, for the first edition of the Montreal music festival Osheaga, my best friend and I made our way down to the site,  ticketless and moneyless, hoping to find our way in, somehow, to see Lindy’s band Major Maker. After a couple of hours of standing around outside front gate, we were about to give up hope of finding tickets in the bushes and head home when a gentleman with a young daughter exited the park and offered us their day passes, for free! We missed Major Maker though had a blast and saw Wintersleep, Metric and K-OS, among others. The following year, we returned as volunteers, having front-row experiences of Feist, Damien Rice, Bloc Party, Interpol… not toooooo shabby!

EDIT, June 21 2012: So many people have contacted me asking if I can tell them how to volunteer this year. I have two things to say to you people: 

1. You are very resourceful. Good job.

2. No, I don’t know how you can volunteer at Osheaga this year. Email the festival through the contact page on their website, or Tweet them. Staff and procedure has changed over the years – I don’t have a clue who you should contact. 

Osheaga has just announced their lineup for 2012, a killer bill that is sure to draw most people in Montreal who enjoy listening to music at least sort of, featuring two of my favourite beardy men, Dan Mangan and James Vincent McMorrow. There are some much bigger names booked as well but I don’t really care, as I am blinded by my love the aforementioned singer-songwriters and fail to see any other names on the poster. I have seen Dan Mangan many times, and James Vincent McMorrow’s sold-out El Mocambo show last year is in my Top Three Favourite Shows Ever So Far. Still, my initial reaction was not to run to Montreal (where I am actually from) for this festival… was kinda thinking I might sit this one out. After all, I haven’t been back since 2007… and then the Winnipeg Folk Festival announced their performers.

I had a week of vacation time last summer and decided to take it surrounding the Winnipeg Folk Festival. I had never been to Winnipeg, never been to a festival of this size, and perhaps most significantly, had never camped alone. I complained a lot (to myself, and to my poor one friend in Winnipeg, whose downtown apartment I escaped to several times during the festival to save myself from heat stroke) about all of the water in my body evaporating in the heat. Turns out I’m not much of a camper. I really would have enjoyed having brought along a buddy to share the experience with… but overall, it was an incredible time. They have thought of everything at that festival! I loved it. Oh, and I only got six mosquito bites – pretty impressive for July in the middle of a Manitoba provincial park!

Anyway, like Osheaga, the festival has just announced its 2012 lineup. I instantly decided to go. Guess who is on the bill? JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW!! Also, the Winnipeg FF has some more artists I love including Matt Andersen, Feist, Iron and Wine, Adam Cohen. Some others I will be happy to see: Blitzen Trapper, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Charles Bradley, Chic Gamine, De Temps Antan, Doug Paisley, Elliott Brood, Fish & Bird, Justin Rutledge, Royal Wood, Ruthie Foster, The Beauties, The Barr Brothers… I mean, the list goes on! I’m too much of a folkie for Osheaga to truly steal my heart I guess, but Winnipeg’s line up continues to make my dreams come true. I do wish Dan Mangan would be back at Winnipeg, but I saw him I think four times there last year! More performers are listed on the site, check it out. Winnipeg, here I come… www.winnipegfolkfestival.ca