Vernon Folk Roots Music Society
The Vernon Folk-Roots Music Society (VFRMS), formed in the spring of 2014, is dedicated to bringing quality folk musical acts to the North Okanagan. Folk-Roots encompasses folk, blues, roots, Canadiana, Americana, country and more.
Season Events
Madison Violet
Doors open 6:45pm$40.00 Per Person
Including Fees & Taxes
Madison Violet is a Canadian Juno-nominated female musical duo, consisting of Lisa MacIsaac and Brenley MacEachern.
The pair, who both have roots in rural Cape Breton, came together musically in the late 1990s, over many evenings in Brenley’s grandmother’s kitchen, which was always bursting with food, family, friends, and instruments.
Influenced by their maritime heritage, the East Coast musicians began creating music together that had roots firmly planted in their past, but with contemporary and modern elements generously overlaid. Categorizing Madison Violet’s music is an impossible task, in that one can hear elements of folk, singer-songwriter, pop, indie, bluegrass, and country flawlessly interwoven throughout. MacIsaac and MacEachern are exceptional story tellers, skilled multi-instrumentalists, and together, perfect harmonists. Their voices soar, perfectly complimenting each other, as they sing lyrics that will both mend and break your heart. MacIsaac and MacEachern have released more than 10 albums together. Their latest record “eleven” was self-recorded and produced, ranking MacIssac and MacEachern among the less than 2.1% of female-identifying music producers in the industry.
The musicians have received dozens of notable accolades for their work, including a JUNO nomination for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year. They have brought home a Canadian Folk Music Award for Best Vocal Group Album of the Year, have reached the top 5 on the Canadian iTunes download charts, amassed over one million streams on Spotify, and have placed on CBC’s Top 20 multiple times throughout their career.
No minors. 19 yrs and older
The Wardens
$40.00 Per Person
Including Fees & Taxes
The Wardens don’t just sing about the land, they’re part of it.
The Rocky Mountain-based band’s stories and songs rise from the very land they’ve protected as Canadian national park wardens. With haunting three-part harmonies and chilling tales, the band’s mountain music - blending folk, roots and western styles – reflects Canada's protected wilderness areas. Celebrating the return of wild buffalo, wrangling grizzly bears, lonely nights on the packtrail and reflecting on an environment in crisis, a performance by The Wardens has been dubbed “the quintessential mountain-culture concert experience."
Following the 2021 release of their third full-length album Sold Out at the Ironwood, band member Ray Schmidt was nominated Traditional Singer of the Year by the Canadian Folk Music Awards. The band has also received numerous regional nominations including 2022 Touring Artist of the Year by the BC Touring Council and Album of the Year by Country Music Alberta.
No minors. 19 yrs and older
John Reischman and the Jaybirds
Doors open at 6:45pm – Show at 7:30pm$40.00 Per Person
*Including Fees & Taxes
Like the powerful mandolinist and composer at its helm, John Reischman and the Jaybirds fashion a stylish take on bluegrass that seamlessly blends original songs and instrumentals with Appalachian old-time music for a truly unique band sound. Now in their 20th year, with seven acclaimed albums and two Juno nominations, the Jaybirds are simultaneously innovative and unadorned, sophisticated and stripped-down, happily old-fashioned and 21st-century contemporary.
Bluegrass Unlimited calls John Reischman “one of the world’s undisputed masters” of the mandolin, famed for outstanding tone and taste. Many of his dozens of original instrumentals have become popular favourites for sessions and covers, such as the jam standard Saltspring. He has three critically acclaimed solo instrumental albums and has recorded on many other projects, including the Grammy-winning True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe. John also plays Latin-based jazz and choro music with highly regarded finger-style acoustic guitarist/composer John Miller; the duo has released three superb albums.
No minors. 19 yrs and older
Martyn Joseph
Doors Open: 6:45 pm - Show: 7:30 pm$40.00 Per Person
Including fess & taxes
Martyn Joseph is a completely unique and mind-blowing artist. Take everything you think you know about singer songwriters….and rip it up. For one man and a guitar he creates a performance with a huge far-reaching sound that is energetic, compelling and passionate. Be it to two hundred people or twenty thousand, he blows the crowd away night after night.
He is gifted with the rare ability to speak to the soul with his expressive and poignant lyrics and has a career spanning over 40 years, 35 albums, over a half a million record sales and thousands of live performances.
Compared to Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer, Bruce Cockburn and Dave Matthews, he has created his own style and reputation as a mesmerizing live performer and stands in his own right, built on a reputation for giving what thousands have described as the best live music experience of their lives. A unique talent driven by passion, social awareness and love for his trade, he’s a jaw dropping guitar player who has developed a unique percussive style, teamed up with a powerful show stopping voice, and has been called “The Welsh Springsteen”.
No minors. 19 yrs and older