Martín hails from Andalucia, Spain. He studied in Málaga and Madrid, honing his compositional style of playing, and studying for a time with Paco de Lucia. He has performed and recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London and in concert halls all over the world. His international company, “Flamencovision” promotes high quality flamenco music worldwide through recordings, books, and a troupe of musicians brought in from Andalucia. Fourteen albums and numerous television features later, Martín continues to dominate the flamenco guitar world. He doesn’t play to show off; he plays to keep flamenco alive. He has studied, played, and recorded flamenco from its roots in the 12th and 13th centuries and so has kept music alive that otherwise would have been forgotten. Martín plays “with a mixture of the dazzling and the profound,” quotes The Observer.

“Punching through the walls of tradition, the McDades’ celtic-rooted music fuses the spontaneity of jazz improvisation and infectious global rhythms.” (www.mcdades.com). The McDades are the 2007 Juno Award winners for Best Roots/Traditional Album Group, the 2007 Independent Music Award for Best World Album-Traditional, and the 2006 Canadian Folk Music Awards for Best World Group and Best Instrumental Group.

Hailing from Edmonton, Alberta, Shannon, Solon, and Jeremiah grew up playing music with their parents and with artists from around the world. They are joined by two other musicians, guitarist Simon Marion and percussionist François Taillefer. As a group, they bring their musical experiences together to create a truly Canadian sound.

The McDades will dazzle you with their virtuosity and harmonies, with music that is traditional and composed, in English and in French. Listening to them will make you realize that they “find their groove somewhere between a down-home kitchen party, a jazzy after-hours club, and a folk festival.” (London Free Press)

“Martyn Joseph is a performer like no other. Shades of Springsteen, Knopfler, and Dave Matthews there may be, but he stands in his own right, built on a reputation for giving what thousands have described as the best live musica experience of their lives.” (www.martynjoseph.com)

Joseph is a Welsh singer-songwriter with a 25 year career. He has had five Top 50 UK chart positions, and has toured with Suzanne Vega, Joan Armatrading, Clannad, and Celine Dion. He won the 2004 BBC Welsh Music Award for Best Male Artist and has numerous humanitarian plaudits and awards to his credit.

His strength lies in being able to use a lyrical narrative style to sing about anything from social injustice to the intricacies of love. He seems to be able to pin down the feelings that we all have in songs that we can all relate to.

This man with his guitar is able to create songs with “outstanding lyrical intelligence.” (BBC’s Bob Harris). As Martyn himself says, “It’s the song that can soothe, explain, or even in a small way save us.”

Local musicians Andrew Smith and Norm Strauss team up to present some of the songs that have earned them contracts in Nashville this past summer. Smith, winner of Okanagan Instrumentalist of the Year and Producer of the Year, is a singer-songwriter with passion and lyricism. He is also known for his tap-style acoustic guitar playing reminiscent of Don Ross. Strauss recently won Okanagan Songwriter of the Year, no doubt for his strong writing and melody capabilities. He has toured in Canada and Europe and has appeared on 14 full-length recording projects

“Eric Bibb is indeed one of the blues' great storytellers and troubadours.” (Indiana Daily Student)

“After nearly three decades, Eric Bibb is still hitting his stride” (FolkWax)

“If I could write as entertainingly as Mr. Bibb sings, by the end of this article you would have clapped and sung along, laughed, applauded wildly and maybe even cried a time or two. You would file the experience under the heading "Made life sweeter." (The Virginian-Pilot)

"Eric is one of the new, young singers that has appeared on the scene that, much to my delight, has a great voice, is an excellent performer and has a great knowledge about the roots of this music.” (Taj Mahal)

"Peter Mayer is a magician...(his) universe is full of metaphor and meaning, story and symbol — everything contains more than meets the eye." (Bill Reed, music editor, Colorado Springs Gazette)

"His guitar work is breath-taking, his lyrics mind-spinning, his singing soul-soothing and his feet-on-the-ground optimism nothing short of healing." (Marilyn Rea-Beyer, music director, WUMB Radio, Boston)

There are at least a dozen Peter Mayer songs that I would love to learn myself, but I could never play them as well as he does." (David Wilcox, Singer/Songwriter)

"I’m a huge Peter Mayer fan, but only when I don’t feel like killing him for being so good. I love Peter’s work, though it irritates me that he plays so much better than I do. If I rocked half as hard as Peter does, I’d own the world by now." (Janis Ian, Singer/Songwriter)

"This native of Minnesota is a master storyteller." (Folk Roots Magazine)

Ari Neufeld, winner of the 2008 award for the Okanagan’s Best Male Performer, has a uniquely raw and organic delivery intrinsically woven into a warm musical quilt of intelligent multi-hued lyrics. He gained new fans this year at the Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival. If you live here and you haven’t seen Neufeld perform yet, make sure you do!