Catherine McLelland

Catherine MacLellan, one of Canadian folk music’s true gems, returns with her anticipated seventh album, COYOTE. This self-produced release is a travelogue through heartbreak, loss and the joy of life.
COYOTE contains 14 songs that are reflective, poignant and hopeful. They were all recorded and produced by Catherine at her home studio in PEI.
“It’s a dream home, a big old farm house with a long history of music. In the early days, there were big kitchen parties, with someone always rocking the piano and people square dancing. When I moved here, I really got the sense the house wanted things to be happening, and music to be played.”
COYOTE adds some of that traditional East Coast instrumentation of accordions, fiddles and bouzouki. The songs touch on themes of change, vulnerability, and letting yourself be seen; the good, the bad, the pretty, and the ugly.
The past four years have been a busy and important time for Catherine, she set aside her own songwriting to celebrate the life and legacy of her late legendary father, Gene MacLellan. During this time, she recorded and released the album, If It’s Alright With You: The Songs of Gene MacLellan; produced a stage show by the same name; and an award winning documentary, The Song and the Sorrow – all in tribute to him. Gene MacLellan is recognized as one of Canada’s most celebrated songwriters with worldwide hits including, Snowbird made famous by Anne Murray, and Put Your Hand in the Hand by Ocean. 
Though the acclaim for Catherine’s own work was already significant, it reached new levels when she took home a Juno Award in 2015 for her standout album, The Raven’s Sun. This was an intimate look into her musical work with long-time collaborator, Chris Gauthier.  Catherine has also been recognized with multiple East Coast Music Awards, Canadian Folk Music Awards, and Music PEI Awards. 
Catherine MacLellan, is a musician’s musician, respected by her peers since releasing Dark Dream Midnight, her first solo album, in 2004. As with many performers, Catherine feels most at home on stage. That moment of connection is what matters most.
“Perhaps we don’t have the same story but we all share the same emotions and many of the same experiences.  Being able to share my songs and stories with people and finding that connection point is what it’s all about for me”
Going to a Catherine MacLellan show feels much like catching up with an old friend, having those long-heartfelt conversations that mean so much.
For publicity inquiries, product request or interview opportunities, refer to Catherine’s contact listings.

Andrea Warner

Andrea Warner (she/her) writes and talks. A lot. She’s the author of the best-selling book Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography (2018) as well as We Oughta Know: How Four Women Ruled the '90s and Changed Canadian Music (2015). Her new book, Rise Up and Sing!, will be published Fall 2023. She’s the co-writer and associate producer of the forthcoming Buffy Sainte-Marie documentary, Carry It On. Andrea is also a part-time associate producer at CBC Music and a freelancer with bylines in a wide-variety of publications including Pitchfork, Chatelaine, Bitch, the Literary Review of Canada, Maclean’s, the Globe and Mail, and Exclaim! Since 2015, she’s co-hosted the weekly feminist pop culture podcast, Pop This! Andrea is a settler who was born and raised in Vancouver on the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. @_AndreaWarner

Celeigh Cardinal

Discovery is the beauty of music. It reveals itself in layers. Such is the evolution of Celeigh Cardinal. With a confident voice and boundless energy, Cardinal owns a stage, connecting deeply with her audience through humour, passion and love. In 2020, Cardinal achieved one of Canada’s highest musical accolades, a JUNO Award for Indigenous Artist of the Year. She also received two Western Canadian Music Awards nominations, including Indigenous Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. With two full-length albums completed and her third release in the works, Celeigh’s voice is quickly becoming one of the great Canadian voices that make up the fabric of the Canadian roots music scene. Her voice is rich and deep with a burnished maturity and technical virtuosity that wraps itself around notes. Her songs are authentic and heartfelt and connect us to the healing power of music. 

Jane Miller

Jane toured her acclaimed, self-penned solo show, Disco Goalie, across Canada on the Fringe Festival circuit and was featured on CBC TV's "Hockey Day in Canada". Her current solo micro-performance, These Are the Songs That I Sing When I'm Sad, which she co-created with Brian Quirt of Nightswimming, premiered at Boca del Lupo in Vancouver and ran at the Blyth Festival. She has earned Dora Award nominations for Lucy in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (YPT) and for the musical Shaking the Foundations (Buddies in Bad Times Theatre).
 
Having performed at theatres across Canada, her personal highlights include The World Goes Round at the Gravenhurst Opera House; Speed in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Shakespeare in the Rough); Jane Foster in To Master the Art (Grand Theatre, London); QEII in Nightmare/Dream (Campbell House Museum), and Baruska in Once (Grand, Royal MTC).

Artists 2022

Welcome to our 2022 Artist’s page. We were thrilled the Ryga Arts Festival returned "in-person" August 13th to 21st, with ten days of festival activities. If you have a few moments, please click below to meet last summer's visiting and local artists.

Celeigh Cardinal

Catherine MacLellan

Jane Miller

Andrea Warner

Rice & Beans Theatre

Roark Critchlow

Erick Thompson

Mackenzie Shaw

Peg Barcelo

Dawn Bassett

Rob King

Erick Shaun McNutt
& Anna Lock

Small Kitchen Chaos

Ed Schneider

Glen Cairns

Gena Lock

Silvia González Taylor

Joanna Chiu

Ann Doyon

Jack Godwin

Jan Nachtegaele

Eviah Shimshon Obadia-Wong

Betty-Ann Xenis

Jenni Goy