CiTR -- The Saturday Edge

Some of my favourite memories of Mission Folk Festival down the years, plus 55 years since Dylan went electric, RIPs to Judy Dyble and Emmitt Rhodes, and a couple of dedications

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival should have taken place this weekend. Here is my personal tribute to the event, from which I usually broadcast this show LIVE on CiTR. Some of my personal favourites down the years in the park, and music from many of the performers who had been booked to play this time around.

The pandemic has shut down all major concerts and especially painful is the loss of the great Canadian festival circuit. This weekend should have been Island Musicfest in Courtenay BC. Here's my tribute to the event with some past highlights and some artists who would have been there this week. As should I. Plus some new music from Songlines magazine, and a tribute to our new electric car - Telsta...

Incredible music in the first hour by the likes of Tamikrest and Bela Fleck & Toumani Diabate. Lots of strings throughout. Many of them played by the Kronos Quartet. Today’s theme is Quartets. Being the fourth. I recorded the show on the beach at Roberts Creek on Canada Day.

Canada Day Special Preview show, with all the music - after the opening tune - performed by Canadians. Some came from away. Others were born here. Many have roots in other cultures. The hardest part was how to cram in all the songs I wanted to play for Canada Day. It's all good and we are very lucky to be here and able to celebrate all these sounds. Great country, great music, rich cultural herita...

To mark Juneteenth I played a lot of new music from Africa, and quite a few songs about slavery and its effects. Part of my motivation was Marc Fournier - CBC DJ - posting a photo of empty shelves saying this is how many records would be in his collection if he took out all the black artists and all the musicians inspired by black artists! I finished the show with some Celtic music, a few songs fo...

June 16th is Blooms Day for James Joyce. So some Dublin songs, some June songs, and some songs about Blooms. Also a request for music by Vin Garbutt - the brilliant singer songwriter and hilarious storyteller from NE England - who passed away three years ago; a "mini-concert" by Eilen Jewell; some new African music; and a request for emerging Scots fiddler Ryan Young. Plus a flourish of Canadian g...

Deeply affected by news from south of the border this week, the 35th anniversary celebration began with a lot of songs about Justice, Freedom, Hope, and Kindness - a few things which appear to have deserted the news pages. Then I cheered things up a bit with some rollicking - and some beautiful - Celtic music. Finished up with a few new songs from current faves and a classic from Canadian songwrit...

Deeply affected by news from south of the border this week, the 35th anniversary celebration began with a lot of songs about Justice, Freedom, Hope, and Kindness - a few things which appear to have deserted the news pages. Then I cheered things up a bit with some rollicking - and some beautiful - Celtic music. Finished up with a few new songs from current faves and a classic from Canadian songwrit...

This show started in Kolkatta, moved to Kenya, then a brief RIP to Mory Kante, some Afro-Canadian fusion, a shout-out to Rokia Traore's child custody woes, and moved on through West Africa to Colombia, Wales, Sweden, France, The Balkans, Mississippi, and up to the safe side of the 49th with a feature on the new CD by The Burying Ground (country blues from Roberts Creek), and all sorts of Canadiana...

looking back at the first music festival I ever attended. 50 years ago this weekend The Hollywood Music Festival took place on a farmer's field near Keele University in North Staffordshire. It was the first appearance outside North America of The Grateful Dead. Traffic - just prior to launching John Barleycorn Must Die; British jug band Mungo Jerry; and lots more! Plus new releases by Gretchen Pet...

Music From Africa to China to Mexico to Louisiana to The Great White North. Happy Birthday to Steve Winwood and Barbara Dane and Happy World Fiddle Day to one and all! The show ended with a sudden burst of laughter. This is good!!

Nostalgia rules the airwaves today! Plenty of reminiscences from 33 years of Roguery, plus new music from Laura Cortese, John Doyle, JMO, David Bromberg, Eliza Gilkyson, Pharis & Jason Romero, The Burnett Sisters, Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn, and Toronto's Sultans Of String, whose new CD - Refuge - may have led to my inadvertent underlying theme of the plight of refugees. Such cool, subversive stuff...

Started with an R.I.P. to Afro-beat pioneer and master drummer Tony Allen (Nigeria), then featured lots of music about dreams. All we can do these days is dream, it seems, so I figured we needed a soundtrack! Also new music from Pharis & Jason Romero, Rory Block, Steve Riley, Sierra Hull, and more!

Music from - and for - the people of Nova Scotia dominated the show this week after that dreadful murder spree last weekend. Plenty of cheery music too, from all over the map as we continue to self-isolate and yet keep the good vibes going

Love is the reason we're all here and it's also the theme of today's show. Seems like a lot of love is needed these days, and isolation isn't the best bed for those flowers to grow. So here are some musical seeds of love...

New music from Swiss trio JMO, several songs by John Prine and co. plus a couple of covers. A Bill Withers song or two. Some shouts out to Canadian Folk Music Award winners. Some sad songs, inspirational songs, an Easter Rising song, and some blisteringly fast Celtic medleys. Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, I say!

Some music - mostly Canadian - chosen as a result of flipping through the pages of the latest edition of the excellent Canadian magazine Penguin Eggs, plus new releases by Eliza Gilkyson and John Doyle, a mini-feature on NYC's Hazmat Modine, and some Irish punk-ish folk from Lankum.

R.I.P. Cameroon saxophonist Manu Dibango. Mostly songs of Joy and Hope for these Dark Days. Plus a little tribute to George Best and Manchester United; I'm missing them dearly.

Recorded at Rogue Towers and transmitted to CiTR for broadcast! Oh, the wonders of technology... Songs of struggle, isolation, and not a little despair. But there is still a lot of love out there, and hope too. And scintillating music that covers all the bases and conquers all ills! Stay safe, folks.

A big feature on Celtic music for St. Paddy's Day! Plus R.I.P. Laura Smith, and music by performers whose local concerts have just been cancelled, and some whose shows we hope will still go ahead. And some new world music from Songlines magazine

A swathe of female performers from around the world, plus Sharon Shannon, Martyn Joseph, and Festival du Bois previews

Played some of my favourite songs from the past 30 years, and ended up with two live bands in the studio: PEI's Ten Strings & A Goatskin, and Quebec's Bon Debarras. What a blast!!

Celebrating St. David's Day with Welsh music, and previewing Festival du Bois, Celticfest Vancouver, and Driven Bow Fiddle Festival finale - and lots more besides.

A small tribute Ladysmith Black Mambazo founder Joseph Shamabala, who passed away last week, then a big feature on Mardi Gras / Carnaval / Pancake Day, and a preview of concerts by Canadian banjoist / folklorist Jayme Stone, and the Rogue's Driven Bow Fiddle Festival which runs next week.