Don Alder is truly gifted with an amazing talent to capture any crowd!
Don Alder plays acoustic fingerstyle guitar with a passion that has quickly earned him a reputation as Vancouver’s “best kept little secret”. Don is a world-class fingerstyle guitarist with a “wow factor” that has let to multiple endorsement deals with major manufacturers and a collaboration with Greenfield guitars to produce a signature acoustic guitar- the “Don Alder G4″ model.
Don currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His unique style of playing incorporates fingerpicking with simultaneous percussion on the …

Paolo Brian and The Steamclocks are releasing their first full length album Blue & Gold on March 31st. This group formed in 2009 when Paolo wrote and presented a few songs to some talented musicians and friends Alex, Dan and Mike thus forming the Steamclocks. With Influences like The Beach Boys, Paul Mc Cartney and Paul Simon, Paolo writes warm lyrics and creates these pop rhythms that makes you feel good.

Check out this indie troubadour from Jacksonville, IL. with his exclusive new video “Tide Pulls From the Moon” from the upcoming album release Gold In The Shadow, set to hit the streets on March 22, 2011.

Singer songwriter and passionate world traveller Chris Mapstone’s musical repertoire consists of playing the guitar, didgeridoo, djembe, bongos, harmonica and singing. His lyrics reflect his passion for cultural equality, freedom of speech, self reflection, relationships, and the environment.

In 2007 Chris attended the Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival in Australia where he was impressed by the creativity, lifestyle, and beauty he found there. Shortly after his arrival in Byron Bay, Chris met bass player Thomas Morgan, a jazz-schooled international bassist who commands a superb technical fluency on the double bass, and six string electric bass. The musical chemistry was instantaneous. Tom’s intricate, and captivating, groove inspired bass lines complimented the raw resonant warmth of Chris’s voice and lyrics.

While Cassandra plays, these elements combine to create a physical outpouring of emotion and soul, which ultimately reflects the living and breathing vivacity of her music

Every Tuesday at Displace Hashery 3293 West 4th , the best open mic in the west side of the city. Come and enjoy the performances of amazing musicians or come play and network with the music community. Sign up at 8:30 PM

Victoria’s favorite folk and traditional musician, Oliver Swain, has finally recorded his solo album! Join Oliver and his new band “Big Machine”

Boasting over a dozen TV screens, pool tables, and weekly meat draws, The Princeton Pub has more of a neighbourhood sports bar atmosphere than anything else. That is, until January 14, 2011, when the local rock & metal scene decided to come out and play… Friday nights’ line-up was pulled together in only 4 days and opened with a tremendous acoustic set from Chris Jones (guitarist & singer from Cottonmouth Jones @ www.cottonmouthjones.com ) and Joe Turner (www.myspace.com/joeturnerband ). They traded off on leading songs, casually blending Turner’s alternative & rock style with Jones’ rockabilly & punk influences. The half hour set, highlighted by Turner’s cover of U2’s “New Years Day”, closed with a solid duet punctuated by the trains rumbling outside.

Marley Daemon is a new breed of songstress whos sophisticated compositions and passionate lyrics seek to explore the deepest questions surrounding human identity.

Nothofagus is a genus of 35 species of tress and shrubs that grow in the southern hemisphere, but that is as far as the band relates with the tree, “Because I am from Chile and the tree grows in Chile” told me Javier one day shortly after departing from the defunct mariachi punk band Los Malos, he also said he liked the tree and the name so they baptized the project Nothofagus. The name does carry something mysterious and I think they like that sense of mystery in their music. This experimental duo is comprised of Javier and his wife JP, he is from Santiago de Chile and she is from Bretagne, France. The music is described by them as PsychoNoir Art Folk Acousmatic / Tape music / Folk / Minimalist. Definetely is one of the most interesting musical experiments in Vancouver.

Vancouver based singer-songwriter, Hún
Hún (pronounced [huːn], as in hoon) is a singer-songwriter, composer, producer and multimedia artist of South Korean origin, born 1986 in Seoul. Currently based in Vancouver, Canada. Having spent childhood immersed in musical influences ranging from french impressionists, scandinavian and irish scenes, he became serious about music composition by the time he reached high school. Hún is very open in terms of medium and genre, constantly evolving as a musician and very passionate about putting together abstract emotive elements consisting of unique melodies, harmonies, structure and sonorities in order to create an experience that has both sublime and real-life, aesthetic and sensual value. He believes in a genuine kind of positive energy and powerful emotional communication via music.

Olenka Krakus is Polish but has Vancouver ties, having lived and played here for a long time she left a lot of friends here. She was born in Poland but grew up in Canada. Now she resides in London Ontario but she played the Biltmore on a visit to Vancouver with a stellar line up that included members of Aunts and Uncles and Like Animals Again who also played the show. Olenka and the Autumn Lovers formed in early 2008. has a sound that mingles a strong Eastern European influence with elements of North American country and folk music. The band’s diverse instruments (cello, violin, accordion, trumpet, saxophone, lap steel, mandolin and glockenspiel) provide a unique musical backdrop to Olenka’s sophisticated, often narrative, form of songwriting. Influenced by her memories of Communist Poland and by the country’s folklore, Olenka investigates themes of social injustice and personal responsibility, populating her songs with melancholy outcasts from both Polish and Canadian landscapes.

Glynn left behind a budding career as a character actor embodying pimps and junkies to emerge as a gifted singer-songwriter. The Vancouver-based musician composes on acoustic and lap-slide guitars, as well as a balalaika, a Ukrainian folk instrument passed down through a century of his ancestry. A storyteller in his own right, Glynn has the ability to hypnotize listeners with tales of sinners, lovers, and redemption-seekers. In concert, he is a captivating and passionate performer, often using only his voice to carry the weight of his words. “[Glynn has] a haunting voice that needs no help in commanding your attention…the power exuding from his stage presence is something that needs to be witnessed for it to be understood” (Music Makes Worlds).

I met Jimmy Hayes from Harlan Pepper at 88.1 FM CKLN in Toronto just last week. He was fresh off a bus from a show.

Tannis Slimmon is a critically acclaimed Canadian musician who has been singing, songwriting, recording, and touring locally, nationally and internationally for over 30 years. In 2008 she was honoured with the Contemporary Vocalist of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards for her album ‘Lucky Blue’. Tannis Slimmon has been a constant in the Canadian music scene
since the 80¹s and is still a total delight. Shows at the Railway, Trees Organic and Rogue Folk Club