“I broke a bone in my ankle in February 2025 and wasn’t supposed to walk on it so I began sitting, playing guitar, and writing the songs that became my 37th album, Keep Going,” says veteran Ontario musician Ken Whiteley. “As I was writing and compiling the songs for this recording, the theme of perseverance emerged. Keeping going in these troubled times is an expression of powerful determination and survival, tempered by the recognition of earthly transience. I immersed myself in old blues and gospel tunes and that message kept coming up. May listeners find the inspiration to themselves keep going!”
A Canadian folk legend, Whitely brings his vast experience to each performance as a way to allow all
of us to come together and share connection through the power of song. For Keep Going, he assembled four
classics that spoke to today, seven original songs, and one co-write with Eve Goldberg to close the album. The lead track alone, “Everybody’s Got to be Tried,” demonstrates his ability to build something new from the resources of tradition. “Pallet on the Floor” shows Ken taking a familiar song to new places.
Whiteley has won many awards including Canadian Folk Music Award, Genie Award (for Best Original Song in a Canadian feature film), and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Maple Blues Awards, Mariposa Folk Festival, and Folk Music Ontario (now Folk Canada). Ken changed the course of children’s music working with Raffi, Nancy Cassidy (Klutz Press), and dozens of others. He’s shared stages and recordings with Pete Seeger, John Hammond Jr., Blind John Davis, Stan Rogers, Tom Paxton, and countless more. He has written over 400 songs, and they have been covered by more than a dozen other artists. A powerful singer and a stellar multi- instrumentalist, Ken is deeply versed in gospel, blues, and a broad range of traditional folk styles. With 60 years of performing and touring across North America and 36 albums, he continues to grow and evolve as an artist. He has released four albums since 2020 including CFMA award nominees Long Time Travelling and So Glad I’m Here.
Download the album here:
MUSICIANS
Ken Whiteley – vocals, National resophonic guitars, 6 string guitar, electric guitar, Hammond organ, piano, string bass, electric bass, mandolin, mandola, mandocello, harmonicas, washboard
Ciceal Levy – vocals
Gord Mowat – string bass
Bucky Berger – drums
Chris Whiteley – harmonicas, cornet
Betty Richardson – vocal (Track 8) Eve Goldberg – vocal (Track 12) Pat Patrick – vocal (Track 12)