Aerialists (Canada)
In a world where hyphenated genres are becoming the norm, all kinds of monikers are available for a contemporary folk band: post-folk, trad-core, alt-roots. Aerialists fit best with the beautifully contradictory term “prog-trad.” They meld ferociously creative harmonic sensibilities with a deep love of folk traditions.
Guitarist Adam Iredale-Gray (Fish & Bird), lever harpist Màiri Chaimbeul (Darol Anger), and fiddler Elise Boeur (Jenny Ritter), formed the group at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Since debuting in 2014, Aerialists have toured across Canada, the US, the UK and Europe. Working with bassists and drummers who share their fascination with craft and harmony, Aerialists draw from the wells of Nordic and Gaelic music and add expansive textures and meticulously sculpted arrangements to create captivating, genre-defying new music.
Aerialists were nominated for a 2018 Canadian Folk Music Award for Best Emerging Artist. Their new album, Group Manoeuvre, is a powerful collection of neo-folk compositions and was nominated for Instrumental Album of the Year at the 2019 Juno Awards.