Tag Archives: Music

Ruby Singh & Michael Datura visit Folk U

On Friday, October 25, host Manda Aufochs Gillespie was joined by musician Ruby Singh and musician and principal of the Cortes School Michael Datura, to chat about biosonification, technology, and their collaborative projects kraKIN and Polyphonic Garden. Tune in for music, philosophy, and lively discussion.

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Jemma Hicken plays for the Village Commons Music Series

On Friday, August 23, Jemma & the Good Thing performed a live + live-broadcast FolkU concert in the big Village Commons tent. Hosted by Louis Belcourt,Cortes Island-based Jemma Hicken (Jemma & the Good Thing) weaves together tender lyrics, funny storytelling, and catchy sing-a-longs to create a feel-good Canadiana-folk show.

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Sean Coyote performs in the Village Commons

On Friday, August 16, Sean Coyote performed a live + live-broadcast FolkU concert in the big Village Commons tent. Hosted by Greg Osoba, Sean is a long-time Cortes resident who has been a musician & music lover since he was young. Sean mostly performs in his living room for the benefit of the cat, however he does occasionally sneak out for a few rare public performances.

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Folk U: Witch Pop Performs in the Village Commons

On Friday, August 9, WITCH POP performed a live + live-broadcast FolkU concert in the big Village Commons tent. Hosted by Louis Belcourt,WITCH POP emerges as a new duo of Heather Wolf & Raqa Down, fusing queer intuitive pop with folk lineages, moody soulful vocals, minor drones of the Appalachian mountain dulcimer layered with synth & 808 beats. They create dark wave electro psych folk trance rooted in the multidimensionality that is witch wisdom. Their music is quirky and playful, while descending into scorpionic depths, spellcasting visions for a healing collectivism.

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Ann Mortifee: Coming Home To Cortes Island

Conclusion of a 4 part series, originally published on Oct 27, 2023.

Hollyhock brought Ann Mortifee to Cortes Island. She was one of Vancouver’s leading singers, but had no previous teaching experience when they invited her to do a workshop. That was 40 years ago. 

“Martha Abelson convinced me to give it a go. I remember the first workshop I did. I went into a wild panic because I’m not a teacher, I’m a singer. I went to the library to find out how I could teach,” she explained.  “At the end of the first session in the morning, I told  Shivon Robinsong (a co-founder and Director of Hollyhock), ‘I can’t do this. I’ve used everything that I was going to use in the five days in the first morning. I have no idea what I’m doing for the rest of the week. I have to give them the option to leave. I’ll pay for everything that Hollyhock would lose.'”

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