Top Five: Artists To Check Out At Summerfolk Music & Crafts Festival

Jenna Melanson·August 16, 2023

Summerfolk Music & Crafts Festival takes place over the weekend of August 18-20 in Owen Sound, Ontario at Kelso Beach at Nawash Park.

Attendees will be treated to a surplus of fantastic music, crafts, food, and more!

Summerfolk features some very well-known performers, such as Serena Ryder, Loreena McKennit, and Matt Andersen, but today we want to put focus on five Canadian acts that you may not have heard of, but we think you need to check out!

Shane Pendergast

Maritime folk artist, Shane Pendergast hails from Prince Edward Island and is keeping the Maritime folk tradition alive with his honest and insightful compositions.

His 2021 album Second Wind won Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at the Music PEI Awards, and his live album The House Before the Bridge was nominated for Roots/Traditional Album of the Year at the 2023 ECMA Awards.

Playing Saturday, August 19 at Gazebo Wine Bar at 1:50 pm, as well as A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot at 12:10 pm, and on Sunday in a showcase called A Mighty Wind at 12:00 pm, alongside Jessica Pearson and the East Wind, and Paige Warner.

Connect with Shane Pendergast:
Website
Facebook
Instagram

Allison Lupton Band

Born and raised on a second-generation dairy farm in rural Ontario, Allison Lupton has always been immersed in Canadian folk life, but it took a love and intense study of Irish and Celtic music for her to find her way to the Canadian folk music tradition that she has grown up around.

Her newest album, Words of Love showcases her original material, songs that fit so perfectly into the cannon of Canadian folk music that they could easily be mistaken for traditional numbers. Along with her bandmates Andrew Collins, Shane Cook, Tony McManus, Joseph Phillips, and Ivan Rosenberg, Allison brings to life the best of the contemporary folk music scene in Ontario, while incorporating the Celtic influences that have been such an important part of the Canadian immigrant story as well as her own musical path.

Playing Sunday, August 20 at the Amphitheatre at 4:00 pm as well as various other showcases at Down By The Bay over the course of the weekend.

Connect with Allison Lupton:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Mimi O’Bonsawin

Mimi O’Bonsawin is an award-winning roots songstress. You can find Mimi out on the road bringing songs and stories to diverse audiences all over this country and abroad. Her songs are heavily influenced by her French Canadian and Abenaki roots and flow through a centre of love and creativity. Her compositions are nurtured by the beauty of her home landscape, and her performances are honest and raw.

Her previous release ELLE DANSE is a self-produced French EP that has been gaining momentum with placements on Spotify, Amazon, and Apple Music curated playlists. Her latest album, Fiddleheads and Ferns is out now.

Playing Friday, August 18 at the Amphitheatre at 7:00 pm, Sunday, August 20 at Family Village for a Kids Concert, and at two showcases at Down By The Bay on Saturday, August 19.

Connect with Mimi O’Bonsawin:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Morgan Toney

Canadian Mi’kmaq fiddler and singer Morgan Toney was nominated for three East Coast Canadian Music Awards, and his debut album, First Flight was reissued by Indigenous record label ISHKODE RECORDS.

In just a short amount of time, Toney’s been able to invigorate both the Atlantic music communities and Mi’kmaq communities by bringing together the fiery fiddling of Cape Breton Island with the old songs of the Mi’kmaq, one song dating back up to 500 years. He calls this fusion Mi’kmaltic (Mi’kmaq + Celtic) and it’s his way of celebrating his language and heritage. He’s honoring the elders who’ve taught him the songs and the language, and he’s taking his place on the front lines of Eastern Canada’s cultural divide.

On First Flight, reissued March 25, 2022, Toney sings songs so old that modern Mi’kmaq speakers struggle to understand the lyrics, but he also sings songs meant to reflect the turmoil of our current times, shining a hard light on the racism and violence forced on First Nations populations in Canada today.

Playing Friday, August 18 at the Amphitheatre at 6:00 pm, as well as four showcases at Down By The Bay on Saturday and Sunday, including one with Digging Roots at 1:30 pm on Saturday.

Connect with Morgan Toney:
Website
Facebook
Instagram

Angelique Francis

JUNO Award-winning artist Angelique Francis is a versatile and exceptionally gifted musician. This multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist, multi-genre singer-songwriter and composer has wowed audiences across the globe with her electrifying performances, instrumental abilities, and powerful, textured vocals.

Over the past few years, Angelique Francis has established herself as a bona fide star on the Canadian Blues, Soul, Jazz, and Folk scene. In March of 2022, she released her most recent album Long River. The record weaves through a variety of styles from Blues to Soul and Classic R&B.