Kalyna Rakel has always done things her own way. After early success at 16 with a video on Much Music, she walked away from a pop record deal in Europe to teach herself guitar and play music on the street. Since then she has recorded four independent albums and played her songs for thousands of people all around the world.

Her songs come straight from the heart, sung with a voice that has been described as Amy Winehouse meets Janis Joplin. With her tour van, Daisy, and Handsome, her steel resonator guitar, the stories in her songs evoke the raw sound of the travelling blues. Her latest record, ‘Before & After You’, is a two-part concept album telling the story of love gone good and bad. Featuring some of Canada’s top musicians, including legendary guitarist Kevin Breit, the album ranges from distorted garage blues to dreamy ethereal folk. The record comes with a 24-page comic book of Kalyna’s original drawings, featuring the album’s lyrics to tell the stories of the songs.

Whether she is playing for tips on the street or on a festival main stage, Kalyna delivers her songs with an honesty that can move a crowd to tears. As her following continues to grow, she remains true to her music and grateful for the opportunity to share her stories.

Jeremy Facknitz has been entertaining audiences with his lovingly crafted music and high-energy performances for over 20 years.

Since the 2002 break-up of his Detroit-based band “The Ottomans” (2001 Detroit Music Award Winner, Best New Alternative Band), Jeremy has performed primarily as a solo act, sharing through song his intimate stories of life, love, and “the journey home”. Facknitz’ songwriting style epitomizes the strength of such confessional greats as Jim Croce and Gordon Lightfoot, with an obvious wink to Michael Penn in the chord changes and an appreciation for melody and structure that might make Elvis Costello feel as though the torch had been passed.

Today, Jeremy continues to tour the United States, Canada and the U.K., performing primarily at house concerts and listening rooms in promotion of his latest retrospective album, “People and Places”, recorded live at Sloan Song Studios in Castle Rock, Colorado in November of 2017. When he’s not on the road, he and his backing band are recording songs for his 5th album of original material with producer/engineer Jarrod Headley at Northpark Studios in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His past albums “Gimmick”, “What a Day”, “Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”, and “All’s Well” can be found at Bandcamp.

Clear-eyed and tough-minded, songwriter/playwright Katie Dahl is known for her smart songs, wry wit, and wise spirit. A small-town celebrity on the Wisconsin peninsula where her family has lived for 175 years, Katie is also an internationally touring, radio-charting artist who “delivers razor-sharp lyrics with a hearty, soulful voice” (American Songwriter). In live shows that are both courageously honest and devilishly funny, Katie dives deep into questions of land and love, family and body image, grief and joy. “In unsettled times,” says Peter Mulvey, “Katie Dahl brings us a grounded spirit.”

Katie’s five albums of original songs showcase her creamy alto, abiding love of the land, and trademark humor, as well as her unflinching vulnerability. Her recent work finds her exploring deeper territory than ever before, from anxiety to body image to the challenges of growing up queer in an evangelical church. Richly steeped in the American songwriting tradition, Katie navigates the muddy waters between the personal, public, and political with tenderness and dexterity.

In 2024, Katie was named a Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Finalist, as well as “Most Wanted to Return” at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist Showcase. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes, “Katie Dahl . . . combine[s] old-fashioned populism, an abiding love of the land and wickedly smart love songs, all delivered in a rich and expressive alto.”

Katie was a first-year college student in Minnesota when she slipped on a patch of sidewalk ice and broke her wrist. Suddenly unable to play the oboe in her college orchestra, Katie used her newfound free time to learn guitar, teaching herself chord shapes as she strummed the strings with her stiff right hand. Twenty-odd years later, that icy day has proven to be a blessing in disguise, leading Katie into a life of work that Dar Williams calls “the very best kind of songwriting.”

Katie’s most recent album, Seven Stones (2023) is a deep dive into vulnerability originally titled Things Katie Dahl Finds Hard to Say. Produced by Julie Wolf and featuring appearances by such luminaries as Kris Delmhorst, Peter Mulvey, Eliza Gilkyson, Vicki Randle, Todd Sickafoose, and Jenny Scheinman, the album was praised as “breathtaking” by Country Queer and spent a month at #2 on the folk radio charts. Her 2019 album Wildwood, which explored her ancestry and contemporary life in Door County, was produced by JT Nero (Birds of Chicago) and features Allison Russell; the album’s song “Worry My Friend” hit #6 on the folk radio charts in 2019.

Rachael Kilgour is a Minnesotan songwriter and performing artist whose sincere, lyric-driven work has been called both brave and humane.

Married in her early twenties, Kilgour devoted her young adulthood to parenting her stepchild and building family and community. Her work from that time (Self-Titled 2008, Will You Marry Me?  2011, Whistleblower’s Manifesto 2013) chronicled her life as a young parent in a same-sex partnership and addressed sociopolitical issues from government corruption to income inequality and religious hypocrisy. Kilgour’s music career took a backseat during those years as she lived a slow, home-focused life.

In 2014, divorce brought an unwanted end to her role as a member of the family she had helped to grow. In the aftermath, Kilgour found solace in songwriting. Her third full-length album, Rabbit in the Road, was born out of that time.

Called “…a heartfelt slice of master crafted indie folk brimming with the battle-tested capacity to endure the worst in others” by Billboard, Rabbit in the Road took an intimate and often painful look at the failed marriage and loss of family. Kilgour’s writing and delivery cut deep, with resolute simplicity. Ravelin Magazine observed “this sort of metonymic ability to evoke the whole of someone or the entirety of a feeling is typical of Kilgour’s poetic songwriting.”

In February of 2019, Kilgour follows up with the release of her new EP, Game Changer. The aptly titled work examines the artist’s tentative first steps into a new existence, post-heartbreak. With a clear head, Kilgour touches on the complicated nature of romance and relationship, sets up a stunning defense of queer love, and reassesses her priorities as a citizen of a changing wider world.

“Few are writing songs like Jackson Emmer.” – Rolling Stone

Jackson Emmer is an award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer from Carbondale, Colorado. His work blends humor with heartache, and tradition with exploration. Emmer’s writing is often compared to that of John Prine and Guy Clark. He has toured the US since 2009, collaborated with Grammy-winners, and co-written 40+ songs with folk music legend, Tom Paxton. Emmer has opened for Robert Earl Keen, Sierra Ferrell, and Tim McGraw. His work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Billboard, 1200+ Spotify playlists, and 200+ radio stations worldwide.

Taking her cues from the likes of Hoagy Carmichael, Dr Teeth & the Electric Mayhem, and The Sons of the Pioneers, Brownlee smacks of timeless, quality taste and a heckuva good time for a broad audience. Her original songs are folksy, cheeky, and thought-provoking—her stories are insightful—her charm is undeniable. Whether by house concert or recording, bringing this modern-day bard into your home will not disappoint.

In 2013 Olivia began working on a communications course she calls “Music as a Second Language” and hopes its continued development will be the answer to her interest in cross-cultural collaboration.