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 Richard Thompson, Sarah McLachlan, Tom Wilson, Colin Linden, and most recently producing "Happy Here" the latest juno-nominated album from Suzie Vinnick.

The Man Who Married Music is a 'Best Of' collection, with tracks handpicked by Stephen Fearing, 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.

Born in 1963 in Vancouver, he spent most of his boyhood and teenage years in Dublin. There, he picked up the guitar and traces of the Irish and English musical traditions that have informed his music ever since. After a short stint in the U.S. Midwest, he returned to Canada, and is now long-established as a regular and popular fixture on the folk club and festival circuit in North America and the U.K. Successful appearances at the prestigious WOMAD and Reading Festivals in the U.K. confirmed Fearing’s ability to engage large audiences with his onstage charm.

- Bio courtesy True North Records

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.

Her solo debut ‘nothing is where it was’ (2006) received glowing reviews from as far away as the UK. She received a nomination for Female Recording of the Year from Music Nova Scotia in 2006. Having just completed a month long tour of eastern Canada, she has plans to head west later this summer.

“MacDonald’s second release is nothing short of delicious”---Exclaim!
“This record simply oozes class….a mighty fine album”—Americana UK

www.normamacdonald.com
www.myspace.com/normamacdonald
www.sonicbids.com/normamacdonald

Dave Carroll is a Halifax songsmith finally coming into his own with the release of his first solo recording, Perfect Blue. His songs, while refreshingly unique, are injected with a "coming home" sense of familiarity as he subtly transcends musical barriers by bridging the genres of pop, rock, country and folk. All the while this “Pop-Folk” sound maintains an appeal to diverse audiences through his strongly hooked melodies and insightful lyrics.

Dave's approach to songwriting starts with the belief that all musical styles can be connected in some way and so part of his craft involves combining his influences without trying to achieve "one sound" for all songs. As a result Perfect Blue has been recognized by several associations for its excellence as a Pop, Country, Folk, and Inspirational recording and has been awarded in five international songwriting competitions in 2008.

As the primary writer for over a decade with the band Sons of Maxwell, Dave has written, recorded and released dozens of songs on the band’s 8 recordings, shared in awards and nominations for multiple ECMA’s (East Coast Music Awards), Nova Scotia Music awards, and has toured Canada, the US, Europe and China.

His clear, warm vocal style has been compared to James Taylor, Neil Finn, Chris Isaac and Keith Urban but more often than not what strikes listeners is that Dave Carroll sings with his own voice. Perfect Blue represents the culmination of years spent learning the songwriting craft, the art of phrasing, and an artistic maturity shown in his confidence to push, but never exceed, his vocal ability.

www.davecarrollmusic.com

On a most basic level, 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 who worked on the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts 2005, an award-winning artist and a touring musician, RyLee’s life overflows with fascinating experiences that surface throughout her music. Often coined as inspirational and feel good music, this organic artist writes story songs with a commercial edge and diversity that guarantees satisfaction for the listener, no matter what their genre of preference.

RyLee’s recording career, which began in 2002, exemplifies one of the independent entertainment industry’s successful and steady climbs to the top. Six singles from her debut CD ‘the life of rylee’, received national and international radio support earning her the 7th most played female country artist on Canadian Country radio 2003. In 2004 she released her second CD ‘Christmas At Home’ and 2006 anticipates the release of her third CD titled ‘Me & Cinderella’.

After spending a year traveling between Virginia & Washington, DC working with her producer John Jennings (Mary Chapin Carpenter) and engineer Bob Dawson, her new CD is filled with rich production, mature lyric and an honesty that takes her sound to a very exciting edge. The result is a twelve-song CD featuring such stellar musicians as Harry Stinson-percussion/harmonies, Jon Carroll-keys/harmonies, & John Jennings - guitar/harmonies. Jennings has brilliantly captured the range of RyLee’s vocals and the scope of her sophisticated songs on one very tasteful album.

She is a four-time winner of the Music Industry Association of Nova Scotia (MIANS) Awards, two-time nominee with the East Coast Music Awards, two-time Just Plain Folks Award nominee – USA, and was recently presented with a special MIANS Humanitarian Helping Hands Award, created specifically to recognize her work with the American Red Cross.

She has performed at Tootsies – Nashville, Festival de Craponne – France, Whelans – Dublin Ireland, Half Moon – Cork Ireland, Roisin Dubh Pub – Galway Ireland, the CCMA Songwriters Café and Gospel Show, Stan Rogers Folk Festival, Contact East, the Jubilee, the MIANS Awards show and the Tribute to Sylvia Tyson during Country Music Week, to name a few. RyLee has shared the stage with George Canyon, Ken Tobias, Chely Wright, the Good Brothers, Gordie Sampson, Patricia Conroy, Dave Gunning, Lennie Gallant and many more.

RyLee, who was born and raised in Halifax, traded her love for music shortly after high school to secure a full time commercial design career. However, shortly after completing her diploma, her life experienced a twist of fate. She was involved in a severe car accident while returning home from her first on-site inspection as a designer. The next five years were spent recovering from a permanent back injury. Fortunately, her voice and her creative talents were only temporarily silenced. "I believe that everything happens for a reason,” says Madison. “This was God’s way of placing me where I belong, making music".

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.