JUNO Nominee Chris McKhool (Sultans Of String) Celebrates 30th Anniversary Of Family Music With New Album “Little Leaf”
“Little Leaf” is the new family album from 3x Parent’s Choice Award Winner Chris McKhool, his first since releasing the CFMA winning and JUNO nominated “FiddleFire!” 17 years ago. The album is released on November 7, 2025 with the title cut out now.
“The title track is inspired by my long-time collaborator, Ojibway Elder Dr. Duke Redbird” says Chris, who was recently awarded the Key to the City by Burlington’s Mayor for his work creating community through music. “The lyrics are based on conversations with Duke, and pulled from his poems ‘Little Leaf’ and ‘Sparrow’, which I really love. You can pick up a leaf, and name it – when you name the plants and the animals around you, they become personal, and you see them as part of your circle. The children in the song also represent little leaves, falling free from their parents and becoming independent, while forever connected to their family and natural environment.”
The other songs also speak to how all living beings around us are part of our community, including “Plant a Tree!”, “Miracle in my Backyard”, “A Place in the Choir”, “Walk and Roll”, and “Cosmic Storm”, another co-write with Redbird. For three decades, Chris has taken his audience beyond the 3 R’s of ecology (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) to a new level of understanding of our global connection to forests, air, water and animals, leaving everyone with the feeling that they can really make a difference in the world around them.
“Little Leaf” features musicians from Chris’ bandmates in the 3x JUNO nominated, 6x CFMA winning global groove band Sultans of String, including guitarist Kevin Laliberté, bass master Drew Birston, and nyckelharpa player Saskia Tomkins, along with gorgeous backing vocals by singer-to-the-stars Rebecca Campbell, and a children’s chorus. The album is produced in Dolby Atmos by Chris along with Laliberté and Grammy/JUNO Award winning engineer John ‘Beetle’ Bailey.
Chris is a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal recipient for creating community through music. One of Canada’s hottest musicians for kids, he has been hailed as a “Children’s musical star” (National Post) and “Canada’s greatest eco-troubadour for young people” (Mississauga Living Arts Centre). Everything Chris does comes from the heart, and he has been delighting audiences with his joyful songs and exotic world instruments for three decades, reaching over 1 million children live in concert, with hit performances on YTV’s Treehouse, TVO’s Crawlspace, Mr. Dressup, CITY-TV and the CBC.
A champion of environmental issues, Chris created the World Largest Bicycle Bell Orchestra at Yonge-Dundas Square with over 800 bell ringers! He was nominated for a JUNO Award for Best Children’s Album, and won the Canadian Folk Music Award for Children’s Album of the Year! He’s also a multiple Parents’ Choice Award Winner and a Green Toronto Award Winner. Chris was just also inducted into the Burlington Performing Artist Centre Hall of Fame, along with his Key to the City.
The accompanying 30th Anniversary Tour is fully interactive, as kids join the band on stage playing percussion instruments from around the globe, dance to the global grooves, and sing songs about taking care of our planet.
Hi, Chris! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
I live in Burlington Ontario, sandwiched in between the Niagara escarpment and Lake Ontario, where there is lots of inspiration for songwriting from my natural environment. This year I am celebrating my 30th Anniversary of performing for family audiences, and I really love performing for them because they are super fun and energizing. They sing and clap along, and are always ready to have a great time! I feel very fortunate because music has allowed me to travel all across Canada from coast to coast to coast, and around the world including the U.S, U.K., Cuba, Guatemala and Tibetan schools across the Indian Himalayas.
Little Leaf is inspired by Dr. Duke Redbird’s poetry. Can you talk about how those conversations with him shaped the song?
First of all, I read Duke’s poems Little Leaf and Sparrow, which are in his excellent book of poetry. I always love reading his poems and we speak once in a while about turning more of his poems into songs. I started working on a melody for Little Leaf, and he was explaining to me the deeper meaning behind the words, how all living beings around us are part of our community. That you can pick up a leaf, and name it – when you name the plants and the animals around you, they become personal, and you see them as part of your circle. From there I continued writing the second stanza and the chorus.
We made a super fun video in Algonquin Park, and I was also imagining that the children in the video represent little leaves, falling free from their parents and becoming independent, while also forever connected to their family and natural environment. I always dreamed of filming a video in a single take, with no editing, and we did it here for Little Leaf with Drew shooting it on my iPhone. You can see it here https://youtu.be/11AvH7YR2OQ
This is your first family album in 17 years since FiddleFire! — why did now feel like the right time to return?
These songs share my love of nature and animals with children, and also speak to embracing diverse viewpoints people of all walks of life, and I thought that these are really important messages to be sharing right now. I really love writing and recording for this audience, but touring with Sultans of String really took off, and we got so busy recording and touring that it has been hard to find the time to make a new family recording. But then I also realized that my 30th anniversary was coming up and I really wanted to celebrate that milestone with some new songs.
Also, I have learned so much about songwriting, recording, and producing, from my work with Sultans of String, and I want to bring that high level of artistry to young audiences. Little Leaf features my regular bandmates Kevin, Drew and Saskia, along with gorgeous backing vocals from singer-to-the-stars Rebecca Campbell, and a children’s chorus. We produced it in Dolby Atmos along with Sultans guitarist Kevin Laliberté and Grammy and JUNO Award winning John ‘Beetle’ Bailey, and it sounds awesome in headphones!
You’ve reached more than a million children through your music. What’s the most memorable reaction you’ve had from a young fan?
Maybe my favourite stories now are from folks who come to see me perform with Sultans of String after having grown up with my albums when they were little kids! Some have even become fiddle players after seeing me perform. I can’t think of anything better than inspiring a young person to pick up an instrument and learn to play!
One of the first children I ever played for ended up coming to a show as an adult. Turns out he was taking his pilot’s license and he took me in a tiny plane all around Ottawa, which was super thrilling!
Your upcoming tour mixes fun, interactivity, and environmental awareness. What can families expect when they come to see you live?
The concerts are super fun, because we get kids up on stage with us playing percussion instruments from around the world, and that adds an element of total randomness to the show. You never know what is going to happen! We also dance to global grooves, and sing songs about taking care of our planet. It is a super fun time. If they are nearby, families can come out and see a few free/PWYC shows at the gorgeous Burlington Performing Arts Centre. I have started a Cushion Concert series for children in Burlington, to eliminate any barriers to attendance, and we have concerts on September 28, November 16, and December 13, with my children’s concerts! Reservations are at this link https://burlingtonpac.ca/events/ We hope to see you there!
Upcoming Tour Dates:
2025
Sep 27 – Noon, Culture Days – Burlington Performing Arts Centre
Sep 28 – 1:00 pm – Burlington Performing Arts Centre
Oct 4 – 11:00 & 2:00 – Bingemans, Kitchener
Nov 16 – 1:00 pm – Burlington Performing Arts Centre
Nov 18 – Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts **
Nov 19 – Sanderson Centre in Brantford **
Dec 13 – 1:00 pm – Burlington Performing Arts Centre
Dec 21 – 2:00 pm – McMichael Gallery, Kleinburg
2026
Jan 26 – Flato Markham Theatre **Jan 27 – Flato Markham Theatre **
Jan 28 – Flato Markham Theatre **
Jan 29 – Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts **
Mar 6 – 6:00 pm – Kingston Road United Church, Toronto
Apr 12 – 2:00 pm – Razzamataz Kids’ Shows, Haliburton
Apr 13 – THEOP, Mackenzie Community School – Deep River **
Apr 22 – 6:00 pm – Iroquois Falls Arts Council – Boyle Community Auditorium
Apr 23 – 6:30 pm – Kirkland Lake Entertainment Series – Northern College Auditorium
Apr 24 – 6:30 pm – Pied Piper Kidshow, Classic TheatreCobalt
Apr 26 – 2:00 pm – Over the Rainbow – Korah Collegiate HS, Sault Ste Marie
Apr 28 – Geraldton Children’s Series – Our Lady of Fatima School, Longlac **
Apr 29 – Geraldton Children’s Series – Geraldton High School, Geraldton **
Apr 30 – 6:30 pm – Kids Kaleidoscope – Sioux North High School, Sioux Lookout
May 1 – 6:30 pm – Dryden Youth Entertainment Series – Dryden Regional Cultural Centre
May 3 – 11:00 am – Sunday Smiles Family Entertainment Series – St John Paul II School, Kenora
May 4 – 6:30 pm – Kids and Company – Townshend Theatre, Fort Frances
May 5 – 6:30 pm – Atikokan Children’s Entertainment Series – St Patrick’s School, Atikokan