Artist Bios

Dala

To simply say that Dala is comprised of Toronto folk/pop singers Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine is not nearly enough. The fact is that their seamless harmonies are ethereal and pitch perfect and they are able to trade off lead vocals effortlessly, leaving the audience contentedly transfixed. Their introspective lyrics are mostly about both the joys and uncertainties of love and are delivered with a sincerity and poignance that are honest and real.

Dala’s career has gathered momentum in recent years. They are four-time nominees for Canadian Folk Music Awards and have opened for Jann Arden, Tom Cochrane, Matthew Good and, most recently, Chantal Kreviazuk. Dala was the only Canadian act invited to the 50^th anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival and, following a superb performance on a small stage, were invited to play the mainstage. Sharing the Coldsnap stage with Martyn Joseph, Dala is sure to delight.

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Ndidi Onukwulu

As proof of Canada’s amazing ability to accept and absorb cultural and ethnic diversity, and to offer the freedom to grow and express musical gifts, you needn’t look any further than Ndidi Onukwulu. Born and raised in B.C. of Nigerian and German parents, Ndidi grew up listening to all kinds of music, but has gravitated towards blues and roots music with a sometimes gospel tinge.

Constantly moving to the music, Ndidi can break hearts with soulful, smoky torch songs or have the audience tapping their feet and clapping their hands along with her. With crystal clear vocals and a warm, engaging personality, Ndidi engages her listeners with songs both poignant and whimsical, connecting with all who come and listen. Having just returned from touring extensively in France, Spain, Germany and Switzerland, Ndidi will bring her polished, original music to eager Prince George listeners.

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Delhi to Dublin

At first glance, what possible link could exist between the hot, dusty plains of northern India’s Punjab and the temperate, windswept shores of Ireland? The answer is in the driving, rhythm-based fusion of Celtic and Bhangra musical styles. Delhi 2 Dublin is a five-piece Vancouver group that employs fiddle and guitar, electronic keyboards, and drums known as tablas and dhols to produce a surprisingly successful marriage of eastern and western music.

Bhangra is distinctly Punjabi and is often featured in the massive dance scenes in Bollywood movies. It is infectious and makes the audience want to move in time to the driving beat. Celtic music, with its use of the bodhran hand drum, has an often similar tempo, so the fusion works well. Delhi 2 Dublin has a loyal, cross-cultural following all across North America and Britain and has been featured on both BBC and CBC radio.

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Joel Plaskett

Joel Plaskett is a driven musician. In addition to winning six East Coast Music Awards, he has also won two songwriting awards and has been nominated for a slew of others. Playing in a folk/rock/pop genre, Plaskett writes lyrics which are compelling and which show off his imaginative spirit and playful use of language. These are not standard boy-meets-girl songs, but songs that provoke thought and an emotional response.

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Plaskett tours extensively through North America, Britain and Australia, bringing audiences his keenly honed songwriting abilities and upbeat, catchy melodies and rhythms. A native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, there is also an inevitable tinge of Maritimes Celtic influence in some of his music. Overall, Plaskett works hard to engage his audience, and has been rewarded with a growing army of fans.

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Out of Alba

Together 16 years, Prince George’s Out of Alba features Celtic sounds with Scottish, Irish Welsh, French Canadian and East Coast Canadian influences. Expect original instrumentals and songs as well as arrangements of traditional melodies.  With shows ranging  from pubs, clubs, concert halls, theatres, and house parties, expect a rollicking good time with Out of Alba.

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Hannah Georgas

It happens once in a blue moon, if you’re lucky. You stumble across a new artist and fall so quickly and madly in love, you want to stand on top of a desk, a building, even a mountain, and let the whole world know.

 Vancouver singer-songwriter Hannah Georgas is the new love of your life – and she won’t break your heart. Her voice, bittersweet yet as spunky as an indie film heroine, will make you swoon as she sings about love, language and awkward situations.

 Just listen to the two sumptuous acoustic-pop songs on her split 7-inch with Mark Watrous (Shudder To Think, Gosling), due out November 3, 2009. The Deep End was inspired by daily phone conversations with one of her older sisters while Chit Chat recounts a recent dining experience with someone who wouldn’t shut up. 

“I do listen more than I speak,” says Hannah “I think that’s why I make a good songwriter. I was just watching home videos and I’m definitely the kid on the swing set, singing to myself. In university, I’d know the answer to questions and I would not put up my hand because I would be too scared to speak. Getting on stage, though, is completely different for me – that’s the best thing in the world. ”

Chit Chat and The Deep End are two of the tunes from her upcoming full-length debut, produced by Howard Redekopp, slated for release in March 2010.

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Martyn Joseph

If there happened to be a Royal Order of Coldsnap, Martyn Joseph would be a Knight Commander and we’d all have to call him Sir Martyn.  Returning to Coldsnap for the third consecutive year, this fiercely independent singer-songwriter always pours his considerable heart and sometimes tortured soul into his music. His original songs can be whisper tender and angrily wailed all within the space of moments and he never holds back.

Coldsnap and Folkfest veterans will also know that, other than a few favourites he plays for his friends in Prince George, Sir Martyn rarely repeats himself, so that no two shows are exactly the same. This reflects his constant quest to be fresh, to be new, and to provide new insights into universal social concerns. At the end of his performance, he will be exhausted, but the audience will be energized.

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Maurice

Sharing the bill with the Red Stick Ramblers, Victoria-based rock band Maurice is yet another act familiar to Coldsnap and Folkfest audiences. So impressed by the band’s sincerity, song crafting ability and musicality, mega-producer David Foster signed them to a division of Warner Records in 2007. The result is Maurice’s studio-produced album Young People With Faces, released in October, 2009.

This new album highlights a group whose musical maturity, layered performance and tight songwriting belies its comparative youth. Maurice is an outstanding group that appears poised for a major breakthrough which, if it comes, is not likely to change them or the integrity of their music.

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The Great Lake Swimmers

Since forming in Toronto in 2001, this five-piece group has evolved and distilled its musical themes and style into a gentle but mesmerizing brand of electrified folk music that the New York Times has characterized as creating “A wonderful atmosphere…minimalist well done.” With the judicious use of acoustic instruments such as guitar, standup bass and mandolin, the Great Lake Swimmers are sometimes reminiscent of Blue Rodeo, but are always original.

Well-known to fans of CBC3 and XM/Sirius satellite radio, The Swimmers have quietly but steadily built a loyal fan base that includes Feist and Robert Plant, for whom they have opened, as well as Lance Armstrong and NBC News anchor Brian Williams, both of whom have blogged glowingly about them. The Great Lake Swimmers are bound to create a circle of intimacy perfect for a cold winter night.

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The Leeboys

Come on Help Me Life Him Up 

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Returning to Prince George from Miami, Florida for the third time, The Lee Boys are the epitome of high energy, flawlessly played sacred steel music. Combining elements of jazz, blues, funk, soul, rock and even a touch of country, the Lees are unmistakably Southern musicians in the very best traditions of African-American music. Trained in a variety of stringed instruments since childhood, the three Lee brothers cut their musical teeth playing Gospel music in their father’s church. Along the way they added a few nephews to arrive at their current lineup.

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Audience members should be warned, though, that this is not sit-and-listen

concert music; this is jump up out of your seat and move to the beat until you drop music. The Lee Boys play at a sometimes breakneck speed with an authentic funky soul that is polished and smooth as, well, sacred steel.

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The Lee Boys will be joined by Prince George’s own Maureen Washington as well as the Freedom Singers Choir.

Red Stick Ramblers

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Hot Tamale Baby

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Making their second appearance in Prince George, The Red Stick Ramblers hail from Lafayette and Baton Rouge, Lousiana in the heart of Cajun country, so it is no surprise that their music is steeped in Cajun tradition. The Cajuns, or Acadians, are descendants of the French settlers who were forcibly evicted from Canada’s maritime provinces in the late 1750’s and who have maintained their language and culture to this day.

While some of Ramblers songs are unabashedly traditional and sung in Cajun French, the rest of their music is influenced by western swing, jazz and country, with the fiddle taking on a prominent role. Most of the music is tailor-made for dancing and all of it is thoroughly accessible. Most of all, the music is delivered with an infectious energy that will have everybody moving from start to finish.