Sam Roberts Band (QC) Canadian singer-songwriter Sam Roberts released his debut album, We Were Born in a Flame, in 2002, following a popular independent demo recording he made in Montréal. Before then, he had been a violinist who eventually moved…
Ruby & Smith (BC) Ruby & Smith are Vancouver’s First Lady and Duke of Uke, Daphne Roubini and Andrew Smith, known across Canada and beyond for their vintage jazz band Black Gardenia and Ruby’s Ukes, the world’s largest Ukulele School…
Rosie & the Riveters (SK) Rosie & the Riveters never planned to get political. But opening a newspaper or watching the news these days made it impossible to see the status of women around the world and stay silent. The…
Lucy Rose (UK) Something’s changing in Lucy Rose. After two albums of feeling her way through the densely-populated landscape of contemporary singer-songwriter music and emerging as a rising UK star, she chose to head off on an unusual tour. She…
Riit (NU) Riit, originally from Pangnirtung, Nunavut, is a songwriter, throat-singer, and accordion-player whose sound expands into the realms of indie, electro, and synth pop. Riit’s music makes a unique and compelling contribution to the growing amount of radio-friendly music…
Rebirth Brass Band (LA) Whether seen on HBO’s Treme or at their legendary Tuesday night gig at the Maple Leaf Bar, Rebirth Brass Band are a true New Orleans institution. Formed in 1983, Rebirth Brass Band have evolved from playing…
The Rad Trads (NY) The gentlemen comprising Brooklyn-based five-piece the Rad Trads distinguish themselves in ways few bands can. Already drawing lines around the block at home, the globe-trotting group’s singular take on rock ‘n’ roll mixes punk rock energy,…
Pharis and Jason Romero (BC) Singing vibrant duets, writing deadly songs, playing their handmade banjos, and loving old acoustic guitars, Pharis and Jason Romero have a classic story. When some scratchy old records and a custom banjo led to their…
Marin Patenaude (BC) With favourably raucous and precious moments, Marin Patenaude deftly stitches together an urban edge with the waving grasses of country folk. Layered, living, and inspirited by wildness, her voice and spirit are strong. Raised in rural Horsefly,…
Oktopus (QC) The instrumental creature known as Oktopus extends its creative tentacles across the landscape of East European music with an effervescent concoction of new and reinvented elements of the repertoire. Their exuberant harmony of bows, keys, valves, and mouths…