Canadian blues is the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and blues-related music (e.g.,

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

) performed by blues bands and performers in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Canadian blues artists include singers, players of the main blues instruments: guitar ( acoustic and

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

("blues harp"), keyboards (

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

), bass and drums,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

s and

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

s. In many cases, blues artists take on multiple roles. For example, the Canadian blues artist

Steve Marriner Steve Marriner, (born 1984 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and record producer based in Toronto, Ontario. He first garnered attention in the Ottawa blues scene in his early teens as a prodigy blues harp ( ...

is a singer, harmonica player, guitarist, songwriter and record producer. Due to Canada's long shared border with the birthplace of the blues, the United States, there has always been collaboration and contact between Canadian blues artists and their US counterparts. Top Canadian blues artists perform at major US blues bars and festivals and travel to the US to play and record with influential US blues artists. Similarly, US blues bands routinely play in Canadian clubs and blues festivals, and perform and record with Canadian blues artists. For example, Canadian blues guitarist/singer

JW-Jones JW-Jones (born July 15, 1980) is a Canadian blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He is a Juno Award nominee (2015), ''Billboard'' magazine Top 10 Selling artist, and winner of the International Blues Challenge for "Best Self-Produ ...

has invited the US bluesman

Kim Wilson Kim Wilson (born January 6, 1951) is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for the Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s, " Tuff Enuff" (which was the group's only Top 40 ...

(lead singer for

The Fabulous Thunderbirds The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974. Career After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...

) to Canada to play with JW Jones' band and so that Wilson could record with Jones and act as

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

on one of Jones' mid-2000s albums. There are hundreds of local and regionally based Canadian blues bands and performers which perform mainly in small venues in their home city or town. A much smaller number of Canadian bands and performers have achieved national or international prominence, due to the sales performance of their recordings, acclaim from blues music reviewers and performances at major festivals in Canada, the US, and Europe. These notable bands and performers are supported by a broader Canadian "blues scene" that also includes city or regional blues societies, blues radio shows, blues festivals, blues clubs and informal blues "

jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without exte ...

s".

Origins

Due to Canada's proximity to the United States (there is a huge shared border), and to the fact that most of the Canadian population lives close to the border, many US blues artists have played in Canadian towns and cities. As well, many Canadian musicians and bands have been able to play in US towns, particularly Canadians who live near US cities close to the border, such as

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. These two elements have given Canadian blues musicians a substantial opportunity to be directly influenced by US artists. Canadian blues is based on the major US blues styles, such as Chicago Blues and Mississippi Blues. The proximity of the two countries also facilitates collaborative projects featuring artists from both countries. For example, the Canadian bluesman

had his third album, '' My Kind Of Evil'' (2004), produced by the US artist

(singer and harmonica player for

), and subsequent albums included collaborations with US saxophonist

David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s and ...

and US blues artists such as

Little Charlie Baty Little Charlie & the Nightcats was an American electric blues and swing revival combo, active from 1976-2008. Several members reformed as Rick Estrin & The Nightcats. Biography Charles Baty (1953–2020) was studying mathematics at Uni ...

Junior Watson Junior Watson is an American jump blues guitarist and singer. Career Watson is a West Coast blues guitarist. He was a founding member of the blues band The Mighty Flyers and, starting in the early 1980s, he performed with the band for a decade. ...

Richard Innes Richard Innes (born ) was a Scottish cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler who played for Norfolk. He was born in Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a cit ...

, and

Larry Taylor Samuel Lawrence Taylor (June 26, 1942 – August 19, 2019) was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Canned Heat from 1967. Before joining Canned Heat he had been a session bassist for The Monkees and Jerry Lee Le ...

. Canadian harp player and band leader David Rotundo has visited many of the key US blues regions, which greatly influenced his musical development.

Nationally or internationally-prominent artists

A small number of Canadian blues bands and artists have achieved national or international prominence by touring across Canada, the US, or Europe, and releasing recordings that have received critical or audience acclaim in Canada and abroad. The performers below are listed according to the decade during which they first achieved national or international prominence.

1950s-1970s

In late 1950s, US-born

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

pioneer

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

(born 1935) came to Canada, where he became a key player in the 1960s

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and blues scene in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. 4 October 2002 was declared "Ronnie Hawkins Day" by the city of Toronto when Hawkins was inducted into

Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame (french: link=no, Allée des célébrités canadiennes) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a ...

, and he was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame at the Canadian Music Industry Awards in 2004. His pioneering contribution to rockabilly has also been recognized by the

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...

. His 1984 LP, 'Making It Again', earned him a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for Country Male Vocalist. KBB

Richard Newell (1944–2003), who performed under the nickname "King Biscuit Boy", was a vocalist, arranger, songwriter, slide guitarist, and harmonica player. He released his first solo recording, "Official Music", in 1970, and it charted on the US Billboard album charts. A native of Hamilton, Ontario, he had learned his craft playing in blues rock bands and backing up Ronnie Hawkins, who gave him his nickname. In 1980, his release entitled "Mouth of Steel" appeared on the "Red Lightning" record label from England. In 1987, his recording "King Biscuit Boy AKA Richard Newell" was nominated for a Juno Award in the Best Roots and Traditional category. In the 1970s, the

Downchild Blues Band The Downchild Blues Band is a Canadian blues band, described by one reviewer as "the premier blues band in Canada". The band is still commonly known as the Downchild Blues Band, though the actual band name was shortened to "Downchild" in the ea ...

was formed in Toronto by

Donnie Walsh Joseph Donald Walsh, Jr. (born March 1, 1941) is a front office adviser of the Indiana Pacers and a former professional basketball coach. He is also the former President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers. Early li ...

. The band has released fourteen albums and performed in thousands of venues over three decades of continual cross-Canada touring. The Downchild Blues Band still performs regularly. Another important Canadian bluesman who became notable during the 1970s was Norman "Dutch" Mason (born February 19, 1938 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, died December 23, 2006 in Truro, Nova Scotia). Mason was a Canadian singer, guitarist, and pianist who was nicknamed the "Prime Minister of the Blues" in the 1970s for his prominent role in the Canadian blues scene. His albums included ''Dutch Mason Trio at the Candlelight'' from 1971 (Paragon ALS-263) and ''Janitor of the Blues'' from 1977 (Solar SAR-2020). In 1991 he released ''I'm Back'' (Stony Plain SPCD-1169). He was inducted into the Canadian Jazz and Blues Hall of Fame, and in 2005, he became a Member of the Order of Canada. That same year, son Garrett Mason won a Juno Award for Best Blues album.

1980s-1990s

In 1980, the Powder Blues, led by

Tom Lavin Tom Lavin is a Chicago-born musician and record producer and founding member of the Juno Award winning (1981) Canadian group, Powder Blues. Leader, Tom Lavin has written many of the band’s best-known songs including ‘Doin’ It Right’ a SOC ...

, had double platinum sales for their debut album 'Uncut', which also had four top ten songs. The band won a Juno for 'Best New Group'. The second album, ''Thirsty Ears'', released on Capitol Records had platinum sales, and a top 5 single. In 1983, Powder Blues played at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. In 1986, the band won the W.C. Handy Award for blues in Memphis, Tennessee for 'Best Foreign Blues Band'. Studio albums and touring continued from the 1990s until the present day. David Wilcox Fergus 2008a

In the early 1980s, David Wilcox became a well-known songwriter, singer, and guitar player in the blues and roots scene. His many years of performing have given him five gold albums and numerous awards. Wilcox played the college campus circuit in the early 1980s, then signed a recording contract with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

Music Canada. Five of his albums with EMI achieved Gold status. Johnny V Mills is a Calgary blues guitarist who has been nominated for several Juno awards, including on collaboration recordings with Richard Newell and Amos Garrett. In 1986 Elder Chicago blues performer Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater hired Johnny as a sideman. In 1989 Johnny released ten original songs titled ''Roosters and Hens'' and won a Juno Award in 1991 for his song "I Need A Woman". In 1998, Johnny toured with Clearwater in the US, Europe, and South America. In 1999, he joined Billy Branch's band "The Sons of Blues". He released an independent live CD in 2001 titled "Mustard and Relics" and in 2005 he recorded and released the CD "Agnostically Eclectic". ''Westcoast Blues Review'' stated that "...Johnny V Mills is the true heavyweight champion of the Great Blues North" and praised him as the "...best blues songwriter in Canada". JV and Firebird 05

In the mid-1980s, singer and blues guitarist

Jeff Healey Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz singer, guitarist, and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Ang ...

caught the public's attention with his unconventional lap-top style of playing electric guitar and emotional guitar soloing. Healey, who lost his sight to a form of cancer called

retinoblastoma Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a rare form of cancer that rapidly develops from the immature cells of a retina, the light-detecting tissue of the eye. It is the most common primary malignant intraocular cancer in children, and it is almost exclusively fo ...

, was praised by

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

for "his virtuoso technique" and by

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...

, who said that Healey would "revolutionize guitar playing." The

Jeff Healey Band Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz singer, guitarist, and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " A ...

was formed in 1985, and released a debut album that achieved platinum sales in the US, in part due to the hit single " Angel Eyes". The Jeff Healey Band won a Juno Award for Canadian Entertainer of the Year and two

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominations, and performed a cameo role in the movie " Road House". Healey was a jazz radio host for the CBC and

CJRT-FM CJRT-FM (91.1 MHz) is a Canadian public radio station and charitable arts organization in Toronto, Ontario, known as JAZZ.FM91. The studios are on Pardee Avenue in the Liberty Village neighbourhood of Toronto. The station describes itself as Ca ...

, a blues club owner, and performer (

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

and

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

) in traditional

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

groups. Healey died on March 2, 2008 due to cancer. JeffHealeyAug312002

In the late 1980s, vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter

Colin James Colin James (born Colin James Munn, August 17, 1964) is a Canadian rock and blues singer and songwriter. Biography Early years James was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. His grandpa was Serbian. He got his break opening for Stevie Ray V ...

(whose full name is Colin James Munn) (born in 1964) first attracted attention with his blues-rock songs. He has released nine studio albums that blend the blues, rock, and swing genres. As well, he has won six

Juno Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

: 1989 - Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year; 1991 - Single of the Year ("Just Came Back"); 1991 and 1996 - Male Vocalist of the Year; 1998 - "Best Blues Album" for National Steel; and 1999 - Best Producer. He was also a guest on the

Blues Band album "My Kind of Evil" produced by

. Ontario blues band Fathead was formed in 1992. In 2014 they released their ninth album "Fatter Than Ever" featuring new guitarist Papa John King. Over the years they have been nominated four times for The

' "Blues Album of The Year", winning twice (1998 "Blues Weather", 2008 "Building Full Of Blues"). In addition, Fathead has been nominated or won a total of 77

Maple Blues Awards The Maple Blues Awards are Canada’s blues awards, "honouring the finest in Canadian blues". They are the only comprehensive national best in blues awards program. The program's goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize out ...

2000s-2010s

In the 2000s (decade) and the 2010s, Canadian blues performers with international blues careers included singer-guitarists

Jack de Keyzer Jack de Keyzer is a British-born Canadian blues guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer. He has twice won the Juno Award, Canada's highest musical honour, and seven times received Maple Blues Awards, including for Blues Album of the Year in 2 ...

, Sue Foley,

Roxanne Potvin Roxanne Potvin (born March 31, 1982 in Regina, Saskatchewan) is a bilingual French-English Canadian singer, guitarist and songwriter based in Gatineau, Quebec. Potvin has earned a Juno nomination, seven Maple Blues awards nominations, making ...

and

David Gogo David Gogo (born March 18, 1969), is a Canadian blues guitarist, singer-songwriter and bandleader who is currently signed to the independent Cordova Bay Records label. He was formerly signed to EMI Records. Between 1994 and 2014, he released 12 ...

. Jack de Keyzer is a blues guitarist, singer and songwriter who has performed at many major blues festivals and is a winner of Canada's Juno award in 2003 for his album ''6 String Lover'' and again in 2010 for his album "The Corktown Sessions". His band has toured throughout Canada, the US, Mexico and Europe including events such as the BB King Blues Festival. Other awards include a 2001 award from ''Jazz Report'' magazine; a "Live Act of the Year" award in 2001 from ''Real Blues'' magazine; and Guitarist of the Year awards in 1999 & 2002. Suefoley

Sue Foley is a blues/

roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid subgenres from the later 1960s, including blues rock, country rock, Southern rock, ...

guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. She has ten studio CDs, five from

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

-based blues label Antone's, three from the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

independent Sanachie Records and a live CD on

Ruf Records Ruf Records is a German independent record label, which was founded in 1994 by Luther Allison’s manager, Thomas Ruf, to promote Allison's career. The motto of the blues label is "Where Blues Crosses Over". The company's office is located in ...

from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and Justin Time in Canada. In 2000 she won a

, the Canadian equivalent to the Grammy for Best Blues Album for her CD "Love Comin' Down", and in 2002 she was the

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...

songwriter of the year. In addition, she was awarded the Trophée de blues de France in 2000 (Best female Guitarist), 2001 (Best Female Guitarist), and 2003 (Best Female Guitarist).

is a blues guitarist, singer, and bandleader born in 1980 who was signed to the Canadian

NorthernBlues Music NorthernBlues Music is a Canadian independent record label, which specializes in blues music. The label was established in 2001, and a number of its artists and albums have since been nominated for and won Blues Music Awards. President Fred Litwi ...

label. His band, the JW-Jones Blues Band has recorded five albums. Known as "Canada's Top Touring Blues Act" due to the number of performances per year, he has played at blues festivals and clubs in 13 countries and four continents including Canada, US, Europe, Australia, and Brazil. His band's third album, '' My Kind Of Evil'' (2004), was produced by multi-

nominee

(singer for

), and features fellow Canadian singer

on two tracks. In 2006, the band had their fourth release with NorthernBlues Music, ''Kissing in 29 Days'', featuring saxophonist

(who played with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

' band for 12 years). The 2008 album '' Bluelisted'' included as guests the guitarist

and

, drummer

and upright bass player

(former bassist with

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. The group is noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists and rock music. It was founded by two blues enthusiasts Alan Wilson and Bob ...

and bassist on many

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

albums). The liner notes were written by US blues radio show host and actor

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

is a Canadian

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

and singer from

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

, British Columbia, who is currently signed to the

Cordova Bay Records Cordova Bay Records is an independent record label in Victoria, British Columbia. The label operates in conjunction with Cordova Bay Music Publishing under the parent company Cordova Bay Entertainment Group. The company was founded by Michael Bur ...

label. After a European tour supporting

, Gogo signed a solo record deal with

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

. He soon after performed at the 1991

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

. Gogo's first album was released in 1994 and led to a JUNO nomination for Best New Solo Artist in 1995. Several successful European tours and American blues festival appearances followed, as well as the albums "Change of Pace" (a rock-oriented blues album) and "Dine Under The Stars" (a live rock-oriented blues album) in 1999, "Bare Bones" (an acoustic blues album) in 2000, "Halfway To Memphis" (2001), "Skeleton Key" (2002), and "Live At Deer Lake" (2004). Gogo was named Musician of the Year at the 1999/2000 West Coast Music Awards. His eighth album, entitled "Vibe" (2004), is a compilation of original songs written with Tom Wilson,

Craig Northey Craig Northey (born February 9, 1962) is a Canadian musician and film and TV composer. He is one of the founding members of the band Odds, which released four albums between 1991 and 1996. They were best known for the radio singles " It Falls Apa ...

(

Odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...

) and

John Capek John Joseph Capek is a composer, arranger, keyboardist, producer. Biography John Capek was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). on 27 November 1947. He is the son of Fred Capek, a concert pianist and Mechanical Engineer, and ...

, and features

on the track 'She's Alright'. His 2006 album, "Acoustic", his 2011 album, "Soul Bender", and his 2013 album, "Come On Down", were each nominated for the JUNO Award for Blues Album of the Year. "Soul Bender" received the 2012 Western Canadian Music Award for Blues Recording of the Year. Gogo has also been awarded the CBC Saturday Night Blues' Great Canadian Blues Award for a lifetime contribution to the blues in Canada, and has twice been named Maple Blues Guitarist of the Year. Steve Strongman

(born March 31, 1982) is a bilingual

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

-based singer,

and

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

. Born in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

, Canada, she has performed for clubs, festivals, and special events across Ontario and farther afield. She has performed in France at a major festival in 2007 and she has played the Toronto Women's Blues Review show twice (most recently in November 2007 at

Massey Hall Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to seat ...

in Toronto) and in 2008 she was nominated as "Female Vocalist of the Year" at the

. Several other performers who garnered attention in the 2000s are

, an Ottawa-based harp player, guitarist and singer who fronts the Juno-winning band MonkeyJunk, David Rotundo, a Toronto-based blues vocalist, songwriter and

player who won the CBC/Galaxie "Rising Star" award from Canada's national public broadcaster for his second CD, "Blues Ignited", Richard Carr is a French-Canadian singer-guitarist who has performed at a number of blues festivals in Canada and blues venues in the US., James King and the Jackhammer Blues Band, aka "Canada's Blues King" who reformed in 2009 and have been featured at B.B.King's Blues Club in Memphis with 'Blind Mississippi' Morris, at numerous blues festivals in Canada and the US, as well as being named to The Yale Nightlife's Top 10 Canadian Blues Artists of All Time;

Labels

Canadian blues records have been made on a number of labels, including mainstream labels that are mainly associated with pop or jazz music, and smaller independent labels that specialize in acoustic or roots music. One of the oldest Canadian labels which specializes in blues and related musics is

Stony Plain Records Stony Plain Records is a Canadian independent record label, which specializes in roots music genres such as country, folk, and blues. The label has released more than 300 albums. History Stony Plain was founded by Holger Petersen and Alvin Jahns ...

, a record company based in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

which was established in 1976 by

Holger Petersen Holger Petersen, (born 23 November 1949) is a Canadian businessman, record producer and radio broadcaster. He founded the independent roots music record label Stony Plain Records in 1975 with partner Alvin Jahns. The label was sold to True Nor ...

. The label has released over 300 albums of "roots" music styles, such as blues, classic R&B, folk, country, bluegrass, and rock and roll. Jerry Wexler, one of the founders of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

, states that "Stony Plain, as an independent company, is an endangered species in a dangerous world – and a source of wonderful music." In 1997, Andrew Galloway launched Electro-Fi Records, which has both international blues performers such as Mel Brown,

Mark Hummel Mark Hummel (born December 15, 1955) is an American blues harmonica player, vocalist, songwriter, and long-time bandleader of the Blues Survivors. Since 1991, Hummel has produced the Blues Harmonica Blowout tour, of which he is also a featured p ...

, Harmonica Shah,

Fruteland Jackson Fruteland Jackson (born June 9, 1953) is an American electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Henry Townsend stated, "My respect for Fruteland Jackson is very high. He and my boy Alvin Youngblood Hart is the future sound of true acoustic ...

, and

Snooky Pryor James Edward "Snooky" Pryor (September 15, 1919 or 1921 – October 18, 2006) was an American Chicago blues harmonica player. He claimed to have pioneered the now-common method of playing amplified harmonica by cupping a small microphone in his ...

; and Canadian musicians such as Julian Fauth,

Diana Braithwaite Diana Braithwaite is a Canadian electric blues singer, songwriter and screenwriter. She is a multiple Maple Blues Awards, Maple Blues Award winner. More recently she has teamed up with Chris Whiteley and they have been acclaimed as "blues icons" ...

& Chris Whiteley, Harrison Kennedy and Juno Award-winner

Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne (born Kenneth Wayne Spruell, November 13, 1944) is an American blues, boogie-woogie and jazz pianist, singer and songwriter. Music journalist, Jeff Johnson, writing in the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' stated, "There's no boogi ...

. ''

Juke Blues ''Juke Blues'' is a British magazine covering blues, R&B, gospel, soul, zydeco and jazz. It was established in 1985 in London by Cilla Huggins, John Broven and Bez Turner, and is now published in Bath, Somerset, England. Cilla Huggins has been so ...

Magazine'' from the UK called Electro-Fi "Canada's Top Blues Outlet" in 2005. The next addition to the family of Canadian blues labels is

, a blues label that was launched in 2001 by Fred Litwin, who aims to "add substantially to the blues repertoire" with interesting, original music. In 2011, Nicky Estor launched Iguane Records, which specializes in roots music (blues, swing, jazz, soul, funk, reggae, etc.); the labels artists include Nicky Estor, Nico Wayne Toussaint, Natalie Byrns, Ben Racine Band and Richard Carr.

Societies

Canadian blues societies are non-profit community organizations that help to promote the appreciation and performance of blues music. Blues societies are often involved in the organization or promotion of local blues festivals and educational activities. Blues society educational activities include presentations on blues history, elementary school "outreach" activities, and workshops. Some blues societies organize awards for blues musicians. For example, the Toronto Blues Society has organized the

, an awards show for all Canadian blues musicians that has an annual gala. Blues societies such as the Loyal Blues Fellowship in Belleville, east of Toronto, encourage local blues musicians, run educational programs, and organize blues events. The Loyal Blues Fellowship also collaborates with the Loyalist College's Hospitality and Tourism program to give students practical work experience with the running of the Fellowship's annual blues festival. East coast-area blues societies include the East Coast Blues Society and the Tantramarsh Blues Society from New Brunswick. Central Canadian blues societies include the Ottawa Blues Society, the Toronto Blues Society, and the Canada South Blues Society, which has members from a large area of Southern Ontario. Western Canadian blues societies include the Saskatoon Blues Society, the Edmonton Blues Society, the Calgary Blues Music Association, the Prince George Chapter of the "Blues Underground Network", the White Rock Blues Society, the Fraser Valley Blues Society and the Nanaimo Blues Society.

Festivals and venues

Canada has a number of blues festivals, ranging from small, community-based festivals that feature mostly local performers to major corporate-sponsored festivals that draw nationally and internationally prominent blues bands and huge crowds. Some of the large festivals include the

Ottawa Bluesfest Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. While the festival's lineup historically focused on blues music at its inception, it has increasingly showcased mainstream pop, ...

, the Fredericton

Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival The Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival is an annual music festival held each September in downtown Fredericton, New Brunswick, that features blues, jazz and world music. The first festival in 1991 was held over four days in various existing venues ...

in New Brunswick, the Dutch Mason Blues Festival in Nova Scotia, The Hamilton Blues & Roots Festival in Ontario, Calgary International Blues Festival and the

Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival The Edmonton Blues Festival (formerly Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival) is an annual blues music festival in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which was first held in 1999. The festival runs for three days (a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) in mid-August a ...

and the Nanaimo Blues Festival.

References

External links

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