2021 ISLANDS FOLK FESTIVAL I STREAMING LIVE ON FB, JULY 25 11AM-8PM Greetings Islands Folk Festival Fans! As the new Artistic Director for The Cowichan Folk Guild, I’m excited to be bringing my experience to the Islands Folk Festival. This year we have a fabulous line up of live entertainment that will be streaming from Providence Farm on a variety of platforms. Enjoy The Show!
Bruce Gerrish Artistic Director
2021 PERFORMER PROFILES
West My Friend with The Cascade Strings Quartet http://www.westmyfriend.com/ In the modern musical landscape, it’s rare to hear something as put-together as this three-piece Cascadian folk outfit West My Friend - something so layered, deeply symphonic, baroque, and mysterious in its own winking way while still courting an edge of disaster. Simple is safe, but complex is fiery, intricate, and ultimately more rewarding.
Justin Hewitt and The Temps https://justinhewitt.com/ World class recordings, great performances, and empathetic lyrics. Songs about love, its excitement, sadness, reassurance, and hope. The loneliness of mental illness, how unfulfilling artificial connections can be, and the yearning to drive away from fear but lose control in the heart. The realization that you can’t always win, but having love can keep the pain from crawling back. There are many ways to #loveyou.
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that is palpable. Both are not only exceptional songwriters but charismatic performers and their love of music- and sharing that music- shines with every note. Doug Cox & Jeff Plankenhorn www.dougcox.org https://en.everybodywiki.com/ Jeff_Plankenhorn Brodie Dawson www.brodiedawson.com Named ‘Vocalist of the Year’ at the Vancouver Island Music Awards and nominated for ‘Best Live Act’ for 2 years consecutively, Brodie Lee Dawson is a force to be reckoned with. It’s her voice that jumps out at you. It’s rich, pure and powerful, and full of soul.
Yiddish Columbia State Orchestra https://yiddishcolumbia. wordpress.com/ There are many musical sides to this swinging and versatile orchestra. The band shifts effortlessly from the basic klezmer forms such as freylachs and bulgars to swing and jazzinfluenced sounds, with shades of New Orleans style marching bands and even bluegrass thrown in.
Heartwood Band http://www.heartwoodmusic.ca/ Genevieve Charbonneau and Jack Connolly are two Vancouver-Island based musicians with their own successful careers who have come together to create Heartwood, a folk-roots duo showcasing original songs. With a stunning vocal blend, the two share a chemistry and energy
Doug Cox- Doug’s talent and passion for music is nearly boundless. Doug began playing and ultimately recording with masters such as Ellen McIlwaine and David Essig. Eventually his musical world expanded to include such diverse virtuosos as Indian slide guitarists Vishwa Mohan and Salil Bhatt. Doug also has a 40+ years as a successful Festival Producer and is the Artistic Director/Executive Producer of Vancouver Island MusicFest in Comox Valley Jeff Plankenhorn- Jeff Plankenhorn is an American singer-songwriter of rock, folk and blues, music. Known as “Plank” to fans and friends, he is an accomplished multiinstrumentalist and slide guitar virtuoso. Adrian Dolan with Adam Dobres http://adriandolan.com/ www.adamdobres.com AdrIan Dolan is multiinstrumentalist, producer, and arranger based on Canada’s west coast. Classically trained on piano, violin and viola, Adrian also began pursuing traditional music on fiddle and accordion in his early teens, and audio production shortly thereafter. For 19 years, Adrian has been a fixture in roots outfit The Bills. Adam Dobres is a folk-oriented guitarist with a fluid talent and adaptive sensibility. Born in Canada and currently living on Pender Island, he has toured all
over the world with acts ranging from folk ensembles The Wailin Jennys, The Ruth Moody Band and pop rock singer Toni Childs. Ed Peekeekoot https://peekeekoot.ca/ Multi-instrumentalist, singersongwriter, and story-teller, Ed Peekeekoot is a skilled and seasoned performer. He has a timeless kind of cool that appeals to audiences of all ages. Ed’s performances go from blazing guitar work to foot stomping fiddle and haunting Native flute – all sprinkled with his Cree humor and philosophy.
The Lunch Box Legends http://chrishansenband.com/ The Lunch Box Legends provide a great selection of music that has a wide appeal to audiences, combining poignant lyrics, toe tapping grooves, and seasoned musicality. Ideal for a sunny festival afternoon. Emerging Artists Showcase The Emerging Artist Showcase offers up and coming artists an opportunity to introduce themselves and their music to a new audience. These artists are hand picked by the festival and represent the ones to keep you eye on. www.islandsfolkfestival.ca
Bruce Gerrish is an award winning singer, songwriter and producer and the new Artistic Director for the Cowichan Folk Guild.
