The Canadian Folk Music Awards take place in St. John’s, NL from April 3-7, 2024.
One award that will be presented is the Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award.
This award recognizes a solo artist, duo, or group taking creative risks to create folk-based music that is innovative, original, and imaginative. The award has been there since the beginning. Its namesake died in 2008, and he was the recipient that year. It was named after him in 2014.
See the nominees below!
Al Qahwa – Weyn Allah
The group name Al Qahwa is Arabic for “the coffee house”. It was inspired by the coffee house culture in the Middle East where people would go to hear the latest news, music, poetry, and stories. The repertoire began with traditional songs from Syria, Egypt, and Iraq. In 2018, the group started adding original repertoire by members of the band. Al Qahwa’s new recording Weyn Allah adds Waleed Abdulhamid (bass, vocals) to the core group. It was made with support from The Toronto Arts Council and The Ontario Arts Council.
Connect with Al Qahwa:
Website
Facebook
Instagram
De Lònga – Codex XXI
De Lònga is a fourtet of passionate, creative, and daring musicians. Through their constant artistic research, and drawing inspiration from all musical cultures, they organically blend the natural warmth of their acoustic instruments with their unique variety of real-time sound effects.
De Lònga stands at the crossroads of multiple musical genres, generating a new and incomparable sound. Thanks to a well-groomed performance, incorporating original video projections, the musicians immerse themselves and the audience in a total visual and sonic experience.
De Lònga, is music that travels beyond borders, beyond time!
Connect with De Lònga:
Bandcamp
Facebook
So Long Seven – only elephants know her name
So Long Seven, a delicious mix of jazz, classical, blues, folk, and music from around the world, is both a funky, relentless force and an atmospheric cornucopia of sound. Nestled in the rhythmic drive of tabla player Ravi Naimpally, Neil Hendry (guitar), William Lamoureux (violin), and Tim Posgate (banjo) create an aural space beyond boundaries. The quartet references several global traditions including musical forms of India, Europe, Africa, and the many traditions of the Americas, in a unique and cohesive cultural bridge.
Connect with So Long Seven:
Website
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram
Kuné – Universal Echoes
KUNÉ is an eleven-piece musical collective made up of ten immigrants to Canada and one Métis-Canadian. KUNE’s artistic practice captures and recreates the experience of living the cultural diversity that makes up Toronto. It is a space in which to remember where we came from and learn from each other’s differences, finding common language through sound. Together KUNE members compose, arrange, and perform music that honours their cultural roots and creates connections with others through curiosity, experimentation, and dialogue.
Connect with KUNÉ:
Website
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram
Kyle McKearney – A Traveler’s Lament
Kyle McKearney has continued to deliver excellence since the release of his debut album, Down-Home. His sophomore album A Traveler’s Lament has been met with an impressive 22x award nominations to date, including 4x recent Canadian Country Music Award nominations for 2023. Earlier this year Kyle also celebrated being named the Canadian Folk Music Awards’ “Contemporary Singer of the Year”, marking his first-ever national award win. Look out for more from Kyle as he works towards creating record #3, announcing tours, and performing in select markets internationally.