Canadian Musicians

JT

There are a lot of good suggestions from other posters, although they are quite diverse in terms of style. I'm not quite sure how wide you're casting your net in terms of musical genres.

What caught my eye was your comment about having been in Nova Scotia. The Maritimes are the part of the world where I was born and raised. I don't know if there is another part of Canada that has such a rich musical tradition. Although it is mostly known for traditional Celtic music, it is certainly not the only thing that comes out of there. You mentioned Holly Cole and Sarah McLachlin for instance. Both of these ladies come from Nova Scotia, as well as the late great traditional country musician, Hank Snow. Anne Murray as well, although I get the feeling from your post she's not quite your cup of tea (although your mother or girl friend might like her)

Anyway, using the Maritimes as a theme, here's a selection of some of the better known artists from that region.

Ryan's Fancy - three lads who immigrated to Canada from Ireland. They played traditional pub style Irish music. No longer together but huge when they were. I have eight or nine of their albums. If they ever got together for a reunion in the Maritimes it would take a Beatles reunion to outdraw them.

Great Big Sea and the Irish Descendants - two groups who carried on the tradition of Ryan's Fancy, playing traditional Irish music with some local compositions thrown in. Both still exist. Great Big Sea are quite well known nationally in Canada at the moment. They've broken out beyond the Maritimes.

Ashley MacIsaac and Natalie MacMaster - fiddlers, both with national profiles. Natalie is a traditional east coast fiddler, jigs and reels, that type of thing. Ashley is a mixture of traditional and edgy contemporary. He's a bit eccentric, but a superb fiddler. By the way, the Premier of Nova Scotia is a fiddler too.

Mary Jane Lamond - popular locally, not well known outside the region. She sings traditional songs in Gaelic.

The Rankin Family and The Barra MacNeills - both are family groups (think of the Corrs). They play a mixture of traditional and contemporary compositions. The Rankins are known nationally so you are more likely to find their CD's, although they have recently broken up. One of them, Jimmy Rankin, has a solo career going. A bit of a country flavour to his solo music, sort of like Blue Rodeo.

Bruce Guthro and Rita MacNeil - both fairly well known outside the region. Bruce is a singer-songwriter, playing contemporary and traditional music leaning towards folk. Rita used to have a TV show which was broadcast nationally. A powerful and beautiful voice. More ballad oriented. If she can't bring you to tears, you have no heart.

Dutch Mason and Matt Minglewood - two bluesmen who have been around the Maritimes forever although not well known outside the region. When I was in university thirty years ago, Matt and Bruce Cockburn were both playing at the university during the orientation week at the start of the school year. Even back then, Matt Minglewood was something of a local blues legend.

And of course, the best music of all from eastern Canada occurs on weekend nights, every weekend, where every house has a fiddle or a guitar, or both. Put two Maritimers (or Newfoundlanders) together in a room and a party breaks out. The ceilidh is one of the great cultural traditions back home, and it is why easterners naturally congregate in the kitchen when they visit friends, and why a strong musical traditional continues to exist.

Oh, and I haven't even mentioned bagpipes.

Slainte

Mark

Go to http://www.canehdian.com

This site contains a list of Canadian artists. The links on the left of the home page provide a break down by genre. The site has some glaring omissions, for example, Ian Tyson isn't there, but there's enough there to keep you busy for a while. I would suggest you try to link to the artist's website where you can download samples of their music.

I wanted to comment on a couple of people.

If you're into blues, check out the Jeff Healy Band. He covers other people's work. He's a tremendous guitarist.

Also check out Colin James. A bit hard to pin down in terms of style. A mixture of swing, big band and blues, with a touch of rock. You can't listen to his music without getting up and wanting to dance.

Someone else mentioned Gordon Lightfoot. He's a folk type who is an icon in Canada. He's been around for fifty years. He is to Canadian music what Bob Dylan is to the U.S. (that's acoustic Bob, not electric Bob)

Ian and Sylvia were also mentioned. That would be Ian and Sylvia Tyson. Folk with a country feel. On Neil Young's album "Comes a Time", he does a cover of Ian Tyson's "Four Strong Winds". Neil also played this song last year at Bob Geldof's Live 8 concert. Neil was the closing act at the Canadian venue for this worldwide concert. He described it as "the quintessential Canadian song". I agree.

Judging from the female singers you listed, you might also like Chantal Kreviazuk, Amanda Marshall or Sass Jordan. Contemporary adult is how I would describe them. Top 40 type of stuff, but who knows, you might like it. Sass Jordan has a bit of blues rock in her material.

Someone also mentioned Loreena McKennitt. She plays Celtic influenced music, with an ethereal New Age feel to it. (think of Enya). She plays the harp and she sings. You only have to hear her sing for five seconds and you wonder why she isn't an opera singer. Her voice is spectacular.