“Masterful and amazing!” ~ Tampa Acoustic Music Exchange
Ken Whiteley has been playing folk, blues, gospel and other roots traditions at the highest level for well over fifty years. He has received many awards including a Canadian Folk Music Award, 7 Juno nominations, 18 Maple Blues nominations, a Genie Award (for Best Song in a Canadian Film) and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Mariposa Folk Festival, The Maple Blues Awards and Folk Music Ontario but ultimately for Ken his music is all about making connection. He loves to get people singing with him whether he’s on a concert stage, a folk festival, a church service or a yoga ashram.
Ken has made over 32 albums and his most recent one, “Long Time Travelling” was just nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award as Best Traditional Album this year. He has written over 400 songs that have won numerous awards and been covered by more than a dozen artists. Ken is a living link to the traditions of people he has sung and played with including Pete Seeger, The Georgia Sea Island Singers, Tom Paxton, John Hammond Jr., Blind John Davis and many others. He brings this vast experience to each performance as a way to allow all of us to come together through the power of song.
The precarity of our ever changing world needs some counterbalance and I suggest music as just that.
I’ve got lots of music to soothe the soul, reinforce our inherent connection with each other and the universe and also songs that look realistically at some of the many challenges we face, both personally and globally. Take Fast Freight Train, the newest single from my newest album Unseen Hands 12 songs 12 strings.
A still from the animated video for the song Fast Freight Train. Animation is by Andres Gutierrez.
Fast Freight Train is a rollicking wake up call, featuring my 12 string guitar improvisations and Roly Platt’s outstanding harmonica, comparing our world to a freight train out of control. Musically, Ken is firmly in control, anchored by the solid rhythms of co-writer Bucky Berger on drums and Ben Whiteley on string bass and fine harmony singing of Ciceal Levy. The message of this fast paced, bluesy number is unequivocal: we better find the brakes if we’re even going to slow down our runaway, man made climate catastrophe.
The single is officially released on January 20. Here’s the link to video with great animation by Andres Gutierrez. Leave a nice comment if you feel so inclined.
In February I’m delighted to be part of this year’s Winterfolk Blues and Roots Festival, Feb. 14, 15 & 16. I’ll be playing mostly on the Sunday. Ticket info is here https://www.winterfolk.com/wristbands/ Thanks to Brian Gladstone and all the volunteers for a great lineup and great way to enliven February right here in downtown Toronto at the good old Tranzac Club (Brunswick & Bloor).
Jackie Washington in the 1950’s
On February 21 at noon I will be giving a free concert at the Hamilton Public Library marking the 50th Anniversary of Jackie Washington Day in Hamilton. You can find more about that here. Jackie was a dear friend, great musician and over 50 years I had the pleasure of playing, recording and touring with Mose Scarlett, Jackie Washington and Ken Whiteley (Scarlett, Washington & Whiteley).
On February 28 I’m excited to be playing a concert of old jazz and blues at the Old Mill, 9 Old Mill Rd., Etobicoke, a short walk from the Old Mill subway station. I’ll have a great band of Richard Underhill (Shuffle Demons) on sax, Gary Craig (Bruce Cockburn, Colin Linden) on drums, Gord Mowat on string bass (The Dust Poets, the Beulah Band) and fabulous singer Ciceal Levy (Ken Whiteley, Tom Cochrane, etc.). You can get more information here.
