With less than 90 days until the North’s most popular music festival, Folk on the Rocks has revealed their second wave of artists who will be in attendance.
The first wave was announced on Friday, March 22nd, and the third wave is scheduled to be announced on May 17th.
Here are the newly announced artists;
ALADEAN KHEROUFI:
Coming from an Algerian background, Aladean has skills with multiple instruments, and has also been a songwriter, arranger, producer, recordist, and a DJ. His music is described as being full of varying emotions, but with an optimistic edge.
AURORA FIDDLE SOCIETY:
A Yellowknife fiddle group that performs all across the North Slave region.
BABE CORNER:
A relatively new group, Babe Corner released their debut LP in 2023. They have proven to be unafraid of competition, and are quickly becoming one of Canada’s fastest growing indie groups.
BEATRICE DEER:
Coming from Montreal, Beatrice fills her music with deeply personal emotions born from her half-Inuk, half-Mohawk heritage. She has seven studio albums to her name, with her latest full of traditional Inuit children’s songs.
BEGONIA:
A JUNO nomination, two Polaris Prize nominations, multiple number 1 songs, and named as one of NPR’s “Artists You Need to Know.” These are some of the accolades achieved by Begonia. Some of her recent music touches on topics of sexuality, self-discovery, acceptance, and empowerment.
BOOGEY THE BEAT:
With a well established history of collaboration with other artists, Boogey excels at boosting the sounds of his friends and colleagues. He makes use of a strong percussive beats and drums, adding in vocals and other instruments as he goes along.
CLEREL:
Beginning as a local performance in Montreal, Clerel Djamen has since used his voice and guitar to create an EP with Japanese-Canadian guitarist Kento Kataoka in 2019. More recently, Clerel has released a digital 45 and a Francophone project, and appeared as a contestant on the Canadian version of The Voice.
GINALINA:
Over her career, Ginalina has managed to claim nominations for four JUNOs and 5 Canadian Folk Awards. Her signature is family folk music, as well as children’s books that celebrate family, nature, community, and culture.
GNARWHAL:
A four-piece rock band that weaves in touches of fuzz rock and progressive metal. Getting their start right here in Yellowknife, the band is credited with helping to restart interest in heavy music across the Territory. Their self-titled debut album helped to earn them a nomination for the 2023 Western Canadian Music Award.
HALEY BLAIS:
With addicting tunes that are both humorous and defiant, Haley has amassed over 20 million streams on online platforms around the world, and has even sold out entire venues in the US and UK.
MATTIE LEON:
A skilled guitarist and pianist, Mattie is always brushing up on those skills to keep himself sharp. Coming from Hamilton, Ontario, he is inspired by the songwriting styles of the sixties and seventies, giving a nostalgic twist to his new sound.
NIX & MENNO:
Best friends since childhood, Nix and Menno discovered similar tastes in music, and ended up teaching each other new skills and practices. For almost thirty years, the two have performed in more than twenty countries, earning several songs in Top Ten positions on Singles lists.
NORTHERN MOSAIC NETWORK:
An NWT staple, the Northern Mosaic Network is putting together a Performing Arts & Queer Justice Camp with Folk on the Rocks. The camp will see two Canadian artists, one from the NWT, teaching their skills to young and aspiring artists, while also discussing issues that currently affect LGBT youths.
SKYE WALLACE:
Drawing inspiration from multiple rock foundations, Skye’s work makes her talent undeniable. With music filled with self-introspection, Skye guides her audience through her own process of owning her past mistakes.
TANYA SNOW:
A Yellowknife singer and writer from Ranklin Inlet, her throat singing began when she was in her late teens, and she has kept those skills sharp ever since. She will be performing alongside Al Be and Andrea Bettger, the trio improvising with other instruments along the way.
THE DANDY LIONS:
A Yellowknife based folk music group.
TROUBLESOME 96:
A Zimbabwe native now living in Yellowknife, Troublesome 96 has an unmatched love for music, and has lived his whole life taking in every part of the human experience that he can. He hopes that his music will inspire and empower others to follow their own dreams.
