
Stephen Fearing Multiple Juno Award winning Stephen Fearing is one of the foremost performing singer-songwriters in Canada. Mixing powerful lyrics, creative arrangements and brilliant guitar playing, Fearing has built up a loyal and dedicated international audience with a wide range of songs - from his 1988 release Out to Sea, to his last Juno winning album Yellowjacket. A founding member of Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, Stephen has collaborated with many artists including Shawn Colvin, Richard Thompson, Sarah McLachlan, Tom Wilson, Colin Linden, Margo Timmins and most recently producing Happy Here the latest Juno-nominated album from Suzie Vinnick. His latest recording, The Man Who Married Music is a 'Best Of' collection, with tracks handpicked by Stephen, featuring some of the best music he has released over his career as well as two brand new tracks No Dress Rehearsal and The Big East West. www.stephenfearing.com

Norma MacDonald is a singer-songwriter and avid biology nerd. She was raised on AM country stations and Willie Nelson cassettes in her hometown of New Waterford, Cape Breton, but has made her home in Halifax, NS for the last number of years. On her sophomore recording, ‘the forest for the trees’, MacDonald manages to seamlessly meld her innate old-school country sensibilities with contemporary influences (Wilco, Patty Griffin, Bruce Springsteen) without losing a drop of authenticity. By the time the band kicks in on the opening track “a little longer”, one gets a sense they are listening to an artist who has finally come into her own. Juxtaposing lyrical sophistication with playfulness, MacDonald balances a visceral sense of nostalgia and longing with hopefulness for what lies ahead. Her efforts were awarded with a 2009 ECMA nomination for Female Solo Recording of the Year. www.normamacdonald.com www.myspace.com/normamacdonald www.sonicbids.com/normamacdonald

With a clear, warm and intimate approach to music that has been delighting audiences for over a decade, Dave Carroll is pleased to release his highly anticipated debut solo recording, Perfect Blue. This collection of twelve refreshingly unique and insightful songs, is injected with a "coming home" sense of familiarity that subtly transcends musical barriers,bridging the genres of pop, rock, country and folk. Perfect Blue represents a new chapter for the Halifax musician who has enjoyed a successful career as songwriter and performer with the ECMA award-winning band, Sons of Maxwell. Dave has written, recorded and released over 40 original songs on the band's eight cds, shared in awards and nominations for multiple ECMA and Nova Scotia Music awards and has toured Canada, the US, Europe and China. This project was recorded in the fall of 2007 in Halifax, Nova Scotia using some of Atlantic Canada's finest players and was co-produced with the highly regarded Jamie Robinson. Three of the songs were co-written in Nashville with Bernie Chiaravalle, Grammy winner Jon Vezner, and Canadian Steve Fox. www.davecarrollmusic.com

RyLee Madison is an honest performing songwriter who writes music inspired by her own observations and take on life. As an Ambassador for the Canadian Red Cross, an award-winning artist and a touring musician, RyLee’s life overflows with fascinating experiences that surface throughout her music. RyLee’s recording career includes three albums and 8 national country radio singles in Canada. Currently living in Nashville TN writing full-time, RyLee is anticipating the release of her fourth CD in the early spring of 2010. She is a five-time winner of the Music Industry Association of Nova Scotia (MIANS) Awards, five-time nominee with the East Coast Music Awards, two-time Just Plain Folks Award nominee – USA.	www.RyLeemadison.com

In Laura Smith's music, real emotions ebb and flow. Your heart is in her capable hands, and likewise, she has entrusted you with hers. As she sings, her strong, melodious voice waves and catches, snagging on a scar here and there, surfing on a wonder, staring down a riddle... As you listen, the two of you go along together; brave and surfacing; calm and inquisitive. Smith's music is direct and honest. Sometimes, fiddles and guitars gently lift and carry her spirited vocals, while her melodies and careful poetry dig deep. "My work is all very simple, earth-based," says the Maritime-based singer/songwriter. Her work is not so much written, as painstakingly designed, cut and stitched together. "Like quilt craft," she explains. "I make it body and soul, with everything I have available - my sensibilities, my ability to play. So many things come into the making of a song. When I say write, it limits what I bring to bear." www.laurasmith.ca

Emcee Russell MacKenzie - FX101.9 Host / Music Director Born and raised in Halifax, this home grown boy is thrilled to be on the air in his hometown. After graduating from the Atlantic Media Institute, Radio took him off to Summerside, then The Annapolis Valley and now back home at FX101.9. Since letting in his first stray cat at age 4, appropriately named 'Hobo', this animal lover has been attempting to speak for those who can't, and will help out any way he can, knowing how much our furry friends appreciate us all being here today, and how our continued support is essential.

all proceeds go the the Bide Awhile Animal Shelter