Homeroutes.ca

Dennis Ellsworth well anticipated in Thompson

2013-04-11T01:42:29Z

From Yukon to Brazil, Home Routes has brought professional artists into Thompson, MB since 2009 as part of the Borealis Trail in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

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The Schotts Home Routes Tour Story...

2013-03-27T22:10:15Z

The Schotts
Red Square, Home Routes Tour 2013

Well we started off in Water valley
Where the Dalton Gang would hide
The path would lead
to drink some mead
it's sweet and that's no lie

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Next was Claresholm Library
people were nice
and the books were free
Visited the folks at Casa Roma
the restaurant used to be
Alison's home away from home -- a

Next on down to Beaver Mines
With a "red seal" chef
the dining was fine
Lemon ricotta and avocado mousse
Sang me: dang me,
hang me with a noose
Snowshoeing down in Waterton
Alison stayed and wrote a song

All the way to
Eastend, Saskatchewan
Debbie cried and said,
"no more Gramma songs"!
Stopped to help a car in the snow
they waved us on and said
"go man go"
Got a text sayin' "thanks for the show. By the way that was my son and I stuck don't ya know."

Now we're on to Medicine Hat
Family and Friends
who can beat that
We're in the post office
sendin' a letter
We saw a lady
and we knew we'd met her
She was from the
"tongue on the post"
She tried to find us a
"house concert host"!

Off to Lethbridge, ate venison meat
met Kristina from Finland
she sure was sweet
Wolves and bears and elk and deer
Up on the wall for all to fear

Up to Okotoks, drove right in
400 kids blowin' like the wind
Later that night
found a cello in the room
picked it up and played one tune

Now we're off to Calgary
in flew cousins Candace and Ellery
Learned a lot from Zen and Eslin
like hypnobugs
and my pants need mendin'!

Now we're off to
Rocky Mountain House
Standing "O"
with a pretty full house
Met a girl and her Gramma too
Met her next day
and picked out a few

Played a "flatiron building"
in Lacombe
Thought I heard singin',
it was a train whistle blowin'

We were the first to play
Bittern Lake
had "cream supreme" donuts that only Ken makes

Played in Whitecourt
by the polar bear
Lodge pole pine and deer that stare
Little boy dancin'
with the fastest feet
Girls got up and sang
and we kept a good beat

Spruce Grove is last on the list
Cousin Cody came
and the baby we kissed
He smiled when he heard
the mandolin
He fought with his eyes
but he finally gave in

We're out on the highway
and soon on a plane
Goodbye Alberta
We'll be back again ♥

Join a House Concert Circuit Now - Folk or Classical Sept. 2013-Apr. 2014

2013-03-25T15:32:40Z

Would you like to host exciting acoustic concerts in your home for your friends and neighbours? Home Routes is starting to plan next season and now is the time to let us know if you would like to participate in one of the most unique forms of concert circuits in the world.

]]> Putting together over a thousand shows in an eight month period every year is no easy task. Of course planning ahead is the key to any large undertaking and we're starting now for September through to April 2014.

Each host produces a series of concerts in their living room - Sept, Oct, Nov and Feb, Mar, and April. These concerts are made up of a variety of folk and classical music's. On the classical side of Home Routes, the concerts are presented in the same casual and intimate format as on the folk side. We like to secretly call it "Bach meets Levi Strauss". Artists eat and stay overnight with the host and this leads to a real friendly human experience for all. For more info, our FAQ page is here.

Be it folk or classical music, house concerts are a great intimate way to enjoy acoustic music. By presenting shows in your home, the music itself becomes more accessible to your community of friends. We're looking for gregarious music lovers who would like a plug a house concert series into their home to share with their friends and family and neighbours. If benefiting the community is your thing or even if you'd like to know what it's all about, give us a call 1-866-925-6889 or send us a message info@homeroutes.ca.

Kinobe fractures hand, sis & bro Qristina & Quinn step in

2013-02-13T21:45:17Z

Ugandan artist Kinobe informed us recently that upon his arrival to New York he abruptly slipped on the icy sidewalk and fractured his playing hand. He is in a lot of pain at the moment and our hearts go out to him through this hard time.

Brother/sister duo Qristina & Quinn Bachand have agreed to step in and will be hot off the trail of their Yukon Trail tour.

]]> With three Canadian Folk Music Award nominations, three Irish Music Award nominations and two Irish Music Award wins for Top Traditional Group & Top Duo - and all since 2009 - Qristina & Quinn Bachand are quickly becoming two of the most important young musicians in the Celtic music world.

Twenty-one year old Qristina Bachand is an expressive and passionate fiddler with a unique style that is bold and edgy. Qristina captivates audiences with her spirited performance - showcasing her energy and her love of Celtic music. A talented and soulful vocalist, Qristina has begun adding songs to the duo's repertoire and is already receiving rave reviews as a vocalist.

With "diverse musical talents and a bottomless pool of creativity", sixteen year old Quinn Bachand has been called the "young lion" of Celtic guitar. He is one of the most gifted and creative guitar players today, adding a contemporary edge to traditional Celtic music. His unique harmonies, hard-driving strumming, inventive chord voicing and powerful rhythmic effects that make even the most well-worn tunes seem new and exciting. A sought-after sideman, Quinn has accompanied Canadian fiddling icons Ashley MacIsaac and Natalie MacMaster on a national and international tours.

Qristina & Quinn Bachand perform at Folk and Celtic festivals across Canada, the U.S. and Europe, and have been featured on numerous national and international radio and television programs. They have opened for, and played with, some of the world's top musicians including Cape Breton fiddling sensation Ashley MacIsaac, Quebec's Le Vent du Nord, Ireland's Lunasa, Scotland's Battlefield Band, Cape Breton's musical family The Barra McNeils, and many more.

Sam & Joe Herrmann bring old-time Appalachia to the prairies

2013-01-22T22:55:26Z

West Virginian old-time fiddler Joe Herrmann and his wife Sam on guitar are coming to Manitoba this February 4-17 to tour the Central Plains circuit through North Dakota, southern Manitoba and Saskatchwan. This will be the first time Joe has been back to this part of Canada in over 25 years when his group Critton Hollow performed at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Contact Home Routes if you would like to go to any of the following house concerts:

Wales, ND - Winnipeg, MB - Eriksdale, MB - Gimli, MB - Teulon, MB - Holland, MB - Neepawa, MB - Arden, MB - Grandview, MB - Gilbert Plains, MB - Inglis, MB - Shellmouth, MB - Regina,SK - Buena Vista, SK - Lumsden, SK - Montmartre, SK

If you were lying on the grass at the Pigtown Fling in Augusta, West Virginia last summer, you might have caught Joe & Sam playing tunes with banjo player David McLaughlin:

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Host Kayla Luky tours the Red Square Route

2013-01-18T17:17:14Z

This February will mark the first time a Home Routes host will tour one of the circuits. Kayla Luky of Grandview, MB has been hosting for three seasons now since she bought her home in 2009. She sent us an application as a performer last year and we loved what we heard. ]]> If you live in any of these Alberta communities,

you can check out Kayla too and see what we mean!

Calgary - Claresholm - Pincher Creek - Lethbridge - Eastend - Okotoks - Calgary - Rocky Mountain House - Lacombe - New Norway - Edmonton - Spruce Grove

Call us at 1-866-925-6889 or email info@homeroutes.ca for concert info.

Kayla writes: "As of June 2009 I became a home-owner in the community of Grandview, MB, population about 1000. My home is an old character home, 3 bedrooms, over 1400 square feet. So there's lots of room for everyone! (I'm also Ukrainian, so you can imagine there's no shortage of food.) The main floor has held 50 spectators comfortably (some were eating/milling around) but easily 40 were seated. I became the Recreation Programmer in my town, so I thought if you guys needed more hosts, the two would go hand in hand. Plus I only know so many people out of town, and Home Routes gives us an opportunity to get musicians in that we may have never had otherwise!"

If you'd like a sample of her music, you can check out her website. We think she's great. http://kaylaluky.ca/

This Saturday, January 19th, Kayla will be performing as part of the Occupy Winter movement at the Wasagaming Kitchenette, behind the Visitor Centre, and has written a song about what winter means for Canadians and why support is needed for our National Park recreational programs in our fourth season.

"To answer that question, living in rural Manitoba between two fantastic mountain ranges has meant a lot of time spent in the outdoors, especially through our longest season of the year.

Canada is known for its long, cold winters, and given our unique location, this song is a small contribution to add to the celebration and sense of community that Winter brings to this area.

Short and sweet - I guess that's all I have to say about that.

Link to Occupy Winter Event (expires Jan. 20) is https://www.facebook.com/events/243107382485981/?fref=ts

New Facebook Page

2013-01-17T22:43:31Z

NEW Home Routes Facebook Page launched today! Click above to follow the link.

Sourdough Slim confirmed for next season

2013-01-07T20:53:33Z

Al Simmons wrote to us last summer, highly recommending cowboy vaudeville artist Sourdough Slim for a tour. We called him up and he jumped on board right away! ]]>

If you live in the BC gulf islands area, chances are you'll be close to a Sourdough Slim concert in April 2014. A documentary was made about him billing him as the "Last of the Vaudeville Cowboys". The short doc can be viewed below:

Linda McRae

2012-11-26T18:37:19Z

Former 'Spirit of the West'er Linda McRae and her husband James Whitmire drove up from their home in Nashville this past October to tour the Estelle Klein Route in Southern Ontario. The tour comes hot on the trail of Linda's latest release Rough Edges and Ragged Hearts, which was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 2012 Canadian Folk Music Awards, gained the #1 spot on CKUA and, was Alison Brock's pick of the week.

"...one of the most pure, soulful, honest and distinctive voices in Roots music, period!"

Allison Brock, Wide Cut Country, CKUA

Along for the accompaniment was BC cellist Christina Zaenker who is no stranger to Home Routes, having toured the Agassiz circuit in Manitoba with BC songwriter Yael Wand in the 2007-2008 season #1.

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Ariane Mahryke Lemire in Medicine Hat

2012-10-23T19:27:26Z

Piet and Ina at Ye Olde Jar Bar taped this lovely video with the talented Ariane Mahryke Lemire a couple of days ago. Piet writes: "Thanks again to Mitch and the Home Routes organization for taking the initiative to bring great French Canadian music to communities throughout Alberta one house at a time...We thoroughly enjoyed Ariane's concert...she's a talented ambassador for live music and a pleasure to host...here's a link of one of her excellent performance pieces that she shared with us on Saturday evening."

Ariane Mahryke Lemire from piet visser on Vimeo.

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Kyle Carey and Craig Werth say thanks!

2012-10-18T21:19:42Z

Kyle Carey & Craig Werth just finished the first round of the Borealis Trail. They were so excited by the experience, they wrote a song about it. ]]>

Scarlett Jane in Lumsden, SK

2012-10-09T22:06:33Z

Well the first round of concerts is already past and the evidence is pouring in from artists and concert presenters from all over Canada.

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September artist Robert Paquette awarded Diamond Jubilee Medal

2012-10-01T16:26:44Z

Robert Paquette was awarded the Diamond Jubilee Medal of Queen Elizabeth II, created to mark the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty's accession to the Throne, for his dedicated service to his peers, to his community and to Canada.

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Season Six Fall 2012 - Spring 2013

2012-09-20T16:14:11Z

As Home Routes goes into its sixth season of operation, there are enough volunteer house concert hosts across the country to fill 16 circuits worth of 12 concerts each. This will mean well over 1000 shows produced by Home Routes and volunteer hosts in the next nine months! Folk music knows no boundaries, and this upcoming season melds songwriters and traditional musicians from Canada and all over the world into a diverse cultural line-up. Artists from Uganda, Australia, Brazil, Madagascar, and the United States will all be playing living rooms from Old Crow, Yukon to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. And most of the towns and cities in between!

Take a look for yourself on our schedule page for the 2012-2013 Home Routes season. If you would like to attend, send us your particulars (location, phone number, email) and we'll put you in touch with a house concert near you! Chances are that there is someone close by who is a host and we will be happy to connect you together so that you may enjoy the series. Email us at info@homeroutes.ca or call 1-866-925-6889 to speak with a staff member.

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Want to be part of a house concert circuit?

2012-06-05T15:55:54Z

Home Routes is looking for hosts in BC's west coastal region (Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island, Vancouver & Lower Mainland, and Fraser Valley in general up to the Okanangan.

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Now is the time to let us know if you're interested in hosting some shows. The season starts September 21st and runs until April 17th, 2013.

Call us toll-free @ 1-866-925-6889 or info@homeroutes.ca