First Wave of Artists Announced for 2024 Festival Lineup

Yellowknife – We’re thrilled to announce the first wave of artists for this year’s Folk On The Rocks (FOTR) music festival, July 19-21 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

Sponsored by Lawson Lundell, FOTR 2024 is going to be the North’s greatest party under the Midnight Sun, bringing together performers from the Northwest Territories (NWT), across Canada and the globe. Our stages will have something for everyone – from rap, rock and rhythm and blues, to electronica, the Yellowknives Dene Drummers and poetry.  

Featuring drum dances and drumming workshops, FOTR 2024 will be a mash-up of Northern celebrations and a variety of art, music and performances. On the festival grounds, you’ll find local eats and beverages from Yellowknife’s best food vendors as well as crafts and artwork from across the NWT and Canada. 

The festival lineup is being announced in three waves, with the second wave scheduled for April 19 and the third wave scheduled for May 17. 

Introducing the first wave of artists for FOTR 2024:

Ammoye - Singing songs of love, life and justice, six-time Juno nominee, Ammoye delivers a wholly unique future-forward reggae sound that incorporates old-school rocksteady, dancehall and dubstep with gospel, soul and R&B. With her unique, soothing and multidimensional voice and messages of empowerment, Jamaican-born Ammoye is a lightworker and self-declared soul rebel.

Amy and The Easy Hundo – Amy and The Easy Hundo are a rock group based out of Fort Smith.

Andrina Turenne – Through soulful melodies and woodsy motifs, Andrina Turenne tells stories through song, delivered in the spirit of road trips, kitchen parties, and bonfire gatherings. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada, the Franco-Manitoban and Red River Métis singer-songwriter performed in the Juno-award-winning band Chic Gamine, toured five continents and has been featured on over 50 albums. In April 2023, Turenne released her first solo project, Bold as Logs. The bilingual, spirited debut has charted on independent radio in Canada and the U.S.A, and explores the wonders of nature, the histories of her homeland and the complexity of human relationships.

Big Blue – Big Blue is smooth-flowing music written under blue skies and big water. Ben Cornel mixes together fingerstyle folk playing with soulful songwriting in this singer-songwriter solo project. Born and raised in Montreal, Ben Cornel has been an active musician for over a decade. After moving to Somba K’e (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories) in 2020 he began to compose guitar-focused instrumental pieces, which later blossomed into heart-felt singer-songwriter pieces. 

BrandonSonnet – BrandonSonnet is an award nominated Inuvialuk Musician from Inuvik, Northwest Territories. His musical journey started off just making noise with his friends but over time evolved into producing and writing for several independently released projects. Completely self-sufficient in his craft, BrandonSonnet curates his sound from start to finish by producing, writing, recording, mixing and mastering all of his own music. 

Bruno Capinan  – Bruno Capinan is a singer-songwriter reframing Brazilian rhythms with an unapologetic stage presence. A rising star in the global music scene, often described as Queer Bossa-Nova, Capinan received the Stingray Prize at Mundial Montreal 2023. Recognized as "acrobatic, sensual, both angelic and profane" by British paper The Guardian, Capinan's voice not only carries a legacy, it also amplifies the vibrancy of brazilian music on the global stage, by weaving together Bossa Nova with Funk de Favela.

DEBBY FRIDAY – DEBBY FRIDAY has won Canada's Polaris Prize for her debut long-player, GOOD LUCK which arrived on Sub Pop in March of 2023. The LP was accompanied by a short film of the same name, co-directed by DEBBY and Nathan De Paz Habib. GOOD LUCK's lead single, “SO HARD TO TELL,” saw FRIDAY shed all of her signature industrial tropes to deliver a completely out of pocket, and totally assured, falsetto pop song. This sun-bright track is a crucial signifier in FRIDAY’S expansion. One week after taking home the Polaris, DEBBY dropped a new single, co-produced by Darcy Baylis, called "let u in".

Frog Poison –Frog Poison is your not so-average, average high school band performing their own renditions of familiar, and not so familiar sounds of punk, grunge and alternative metal. Frog Poison pumps each note in the honor and memory of their former drummer Milo Thomas Martin who has given them the love and appreciation for the punk rock and musical scene. 

Glam on The Rocks – A burlesque dance show from all your local faves. 

Miranda Currie – Miranda Currie is a northern Indigenous artist living and working in Somba K’e, more widely known, as Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. She walks in two worlds, with one foot in her Swampy Cree heritage and the other foot in her Euro-Canadian ancestry. Her mission is to create authentic northern indigenous music, film and books that are accessible to all children and families. She will be joining Mo Kenney for a performance at the Snow King’s Winter Festival on March 27 as part of our Artist-in-Residence Program.

Mo Kenney – Kenney’s willingness to unflinchingly pursue their artistic impulses on their own terms has resulted in numerous accolades over the past decade, including a SOCAN Songwriting Prize, a nomination for Juno Adult Alternative Album of the Year, and too many East Coast Music Awards and Nova Scotia Awards to count. They performed at Folk On The Rocks in 2022, and we’re so excited to have them back!! They will also be joining Miranda Currie for a performance at the Snow King’s Winter Festival on March 27 as part of our Artist-in-Residence Program.

Ryan McCord – Where the romance of train hopping, the coziness of a Yellowknife shack and the crackle of an old country record on the stereo meet, you have the makings of a Ryan McCord show. Ryan previously played at Folk On The Rocks as part of family-friendly Peekaboo Kazoo. We’re super excited to see his solo performance this year! 

Sean Beaver – Sean is an independent Indigenous techno/electronic solo artist based in Calgary, Alberta. Originally hailing from the Driftpile Cree Nation in Treaty 8 Territory, he is a multi-award-winning performer whose music features select Pow Wow elements, percussion, and vocal chants throughout a high-energy performance. His sound is a cross between The Chemical Brothers and Richie Hawtin.

The David Gon Band – David Gon is a singer-songwriter from Behchoko, Northwest Territories whose Tłı̨chǫ identity resonates through his music. Raised on the land as a Tłı̨chǫ Dene in the 1950’s, David was influenced by traditional drumming and dancing from a very young age. Feeling the drum beat, hearing the voices and watching the dancers perform had a great effect on David. His songs explore themes of land, language and David’s experience navigating the white and Dene worlds. David has recorded two full-length albums, Island Miles Away and Look Ahead. Now an elder within the community of Behchoko, David remains a voice of the Tłı̨chǫ. 

Thomas Thomas – Calgary indie ensemble Thomas Thomas is the result of the creative collision of singer-songwriter Shannon Thomas and indie-rocker Thomas Englund (Bell Tower, Beta Boys). Combining their names and adding a sparkly rock ensemble, the band makes swooning and nostalgic songs worthy of the swankiest high school prom.

Yellowknives Dene Drummers – The Yellowknives Dene Drummers are from the communities of Ndilo and Dettah, and include all ages. The drummers can be booked for Northern style celebrations, event opening prayer songs and celebration songs, drum dances and hand games demonstrations.

Folk on the Rocks 2024 early bird tickets are for sale at www.folkontherocks.com/tickets.

Special thanks to Folk On The Rocks’ dedicated title sponsor: Lawson Lundell.

Further thanks to our dedicated sponsors and funders: 62 Degrees North; 100.1 True North FM (Vista Radio); Cabin Radio; Canadian North; CANNOR; Capital Suites; CBC North, City of Yellowknife; DT Electric; Government of Northwest Territories; Heritage Canada and Media Tenois; NNSL; Outcrop; Parsons Inc.; RioTinto Diavik; The Explorer Hotel.

MEDIA CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, OR INTERVIEW REQUESTS

Agata Gutkowska, Marketing Manager | 

agata@folkontherocks.com 

Carly McFadden, Executive & Artistic Director | 

carly@folkontherocks.com | 778-990-6257