Raves and Reviews - The Duhks
Duhks to play four NC dates on upcoming tour |
The Duhks haven't spent much time together as a band in recent years, as they've been too busy.
Individually talented, members of the group have been involved in too many side projects to get the band together for long tours or recording. The Winnipeg, Manitoba-based unit that infuses bluegrass, folk rock and jazz for its sound has finally gotten a tour together and, as founder and banjo player Leonard Podolak said, is “coming back to the cradle of the Duhks.” The Duhks (pronounced “ducks”) will play four North Carolina dates during its eight gig tour. They play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Pisgah Brewing Company in Black Mountain with a $15 cover. The show, which was originally scheduled for outside, will now be inside with the Dehlia Low opening. “We're going to put on a really high-energy danceable show and it's going to be a fun time,” Podolak said. A lot of the fun will be had by the band's members, as they haven't really played together in a while. They haven't gone a year without doing a show together, but they “haven't done get-in-the-van-and-go in a long time,” he said. Podolak put the group together almost 10 years ago and accolades were quickly dropped on them. Albums were produced by heavyweight musicians like Bela Fleck and Tim O'Brien and Nashville producer Jay Joyce (John Hiatt, Emmylou Harris). In 2007, they earned a Grammy nomination and a Juno Award.
“As the dust settled, we all found out because of the work we've been doing that there were tons of opportunities out there for us,” Podolak said. “The last year has been really exciting for each of us on an individual level. “So much of our life experiences are defined by what's gone on with the Duhks and the journey it has taken us on.” Siblings Sarah (vocals) and Christian Dugas (percussionist) have signed on to Zac Brown's Southern Ground label and have released an album. Guitarist Jordan McConnell doesn't just play the instrument, he also builds them and his reputation has grown. Seth Avett, of the Avett Brothers, played one his guitars on the Grammys and has purchased a couple more from McConnell. Podolak recently took part in the Cecil Sharp Project in the United Kingdom and is working on an old-time album in Ireland. “The break has let us spread our wings a little bit and explore what else is going on out there,” Podolak said. “We're going to come back together and see what happens.” Asheville native Duncan Wickel, a recent Berklee School of Music graduate, plays violin with the group, replacing Tania Elizabeth. “He's someone you're going to hear from a lot in the future. He's a monster,” Podolak said. “Super young and super excited and he brings that young energy and vibe to us.” With the excitement of getting the group back together to tour, Podolak is excited to see what will come from it. Next year will mark The Duhks' 10th anniversary and Podolak wants to do a project to commemorate the milestone. “Who knows what kind of new ideas people are going to bring,” Podolak said. “I know I have some new ideas and I'm sure everyone else does, too. We want to gear something up for the 10th anniversary.”
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| Jason Gilmer |
Shakori Hills featured artist |
The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance will hold its annual fall festival from Thursday, October 6 to Sunday, October 9, 2011 in Silk Hope, North Carolina. The festival will feature more than 50 bands and performers on two big outdoor stages, a large Dance Tent, and an intimate Cabaret Tent. Featured acts include: Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Donna the Buffalo, Brett Dennen, Sidi Touré, The Duhks, Rosie Ledet, Nawal, Preston Frank, Emmit-Nershi Band, Eilen Jewell, Toubab Krewe, Bearfoot, The Old Ceremony, Locos Por Juana, and Hobex.
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| World Music Central |
Top CD Picks of 2008 |
"Canada's premier neo-tradsters romp from world-beat to blues, urban-pop to old-timey, with wild-eyed invention, haunting traditionalism, and spine-rattling groove. Who says the Frozen North can't sizzle, eh?" |
| The Boston Globe Scott Alarik |
The Duhks create own brand of ecological world-view music |
They've been hailed as innovators, blending folk, punk and world music for an ethnic stew with ingredients from around the globe. But the lead song "Mighty Storm," on The Duhks latest release, Fast Paced World, has some wondering if the band possesses prophetic powers as well. The song recounts the deadliest hurricane in American history making landfall in Galveston in 1900. In the wake of the devastation hurricane Ike recently left on that same city, the lyrics are chilling -- "The trumpets gave them warning/ you'd better leave this place/ but no one thought of leaving/ till death stared them in the face." Duhks fiddler Tania Elizabeth says although the band didn't think the song would end up being as prophetic as it turned out to be when they recorded it in 2007, they are using the song's popularity to steer people toward making donations to the Red Cross or helping Ike victims. "We're encouraging people that have heard it on the radio to go to their Web site, www.redcross.org," Elizabeth says. "We've got a blog about it [on the www.duhks.com site], encouraging people if they're inspired to go and help in any they can." The band endorses eco-consciousness, including the sale of BoGo lights (the initials stand for Buy One, Give One) flashlights rechargeable by solar power. The Web site www.bogolight.com lists ongoing projects, and you can direct the path of your donated flashlight to multiple locations all over the world. "We don't make any money off of them, but we sell the lights in our stores to encourage people," Elizabeth says. "Every little bit makes a difference." When they're not busy saving the world, the band gets down with a heavy-bottomed worldbeat sound that's more intense than on previous outings. The addition of two new band members -- soul-inspired vocalist Sarah Dugas, who replaces former lead singer Jessee Havey, and replacing former percussionist Scott Senior with Dugas' drummer brother Christian, who works with a drum kit -- have given The Duhks a bigger sonic footprint. They had some electronic help as well from new producer Jay Joyce, who beefed up their bass-less sound buy using a polyphonic octave generator to enhance Jordan McConnell's guitar work giving him a thicker, chunkier sound. The result sounds like something from the Staples Singers' catalogue on the title cut, with Dugas chuffing along like Mavis in her sexy gospel mode. On "Mighty Storm," McConnell chimes along like Pops Staples, enhancing Dugas' Mavis channeling. Some claim to hear some punk going on as well, but it's well-disguised. "Jordan [guitarist McConnell] grew up listing to punk music and he incorporates it in," Elizabeth says, "but it's a fine blend of punk and traditional Irish music, so it's pretty indistinguishable unless you know exactly what to look for. If we're rehearsing or doing the sound check you hear all sorts of different riffs by the boys fooling around, metal riffs, things that I knew nothing about before I joined this band." Growing up in Canada, Elizabeth's background included classical but also encompassed a variety of Canadian fiddle styles as well as Celtic music and jazz. Despite her exposure to a variety of genres, Elizabeth is hesitant to single out one in particular. "I really like it when people transcend their instruments to where you really feel like you're getting a real glimpse into someone's personality through their music," the fiddler says. "I just like people who do their job well. I appreciate that a lot." |
| Grant Britt |
The Duhks, Recorded Live In Concert |
September 12, 2008 from WXPN - The inventive Canadians in The Duhks are widely beloved for their smooth blend of traditional roots music, bluegrass and soul, which they inject with well-placed Afro-Cuban and Celtic influences.
The recent addition of siblings Sarah and Christian Dugas has rejuvenated The Duhks, giving the band's new album (Fast Paced World) a jolt of creative energy. And, for those who like their roots music with a dose of social responsibility, the group is heavily involved in an environmental mission called The Duhks Sustainability Project.
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| NPR |
Haute Musique |
Sarah Dugas opens The Duhks' rafter-splinting set with a deep expansive vocal that quickly shifts into high gear (and high range). Her voice wraps around the meter-bending rhythmic groove of the drummer (her brother Christian Dugas) and finds melody in the lush harmonies of the fiddle (Tania Elizabeth), guitar (Jordan McConnell) and banjo (founder Leonard Podolak). The intricacies of the music, and there are many, in the hands of lesser-talented musicians could easily turn overwrought and heavy-handed. The Duhks manage to make these intricacies sound easy and what's more completely spontaneous. A clear example of this was in their second song, a factory-inspired soundscape reminiscent of Bjork's Dancer in the Dark. The song reached its climax when it broke free from its' "mechanical" underpinnings into what can only be described as a mad-Burlesque with heart--a modern Piaf moment thanks to Dugas. The band then switches metaphorical gears into an instrumental Irish sea shanty. This takes The Duhks' back to their roots, pure folk and bluegrass, and really more in line with what you experience from listening to their albums. But it's live music where the Duhks excel and in this live setting a simple folk tune magically morphs into improvisational afro-carribean rhythms combined with vocalizations more expected on the Ganges River than the Bayou. |
| Joshua Williams |
Fast Paced World Album Review |
The loss of two integral members is typically enough to spell doom for a band, but the Duhks manage to come away from just such a loss without too much internal bleeding on Fast Paced World, their first album following the departure of drummer Scott Senior and frontwoman Jessica Havey. With siblings Sarah and Christian Dugas filling those vacancies, the progressive roots band have produced another diverse set of songs that incorporate their bluegrass, Celtic and rock influences into a unique style that places them at the frontlines of modern acoustic music. While Havey—with her gritty, blues inflections—is a real force of nature and a hard act to follow, Sarah Dugas is quite impressive in her own right, and her deliveries fit within the band's aesthetic. On cuts like opener "Mighty Storm," "Sleeping Is All I Wanna Do" and the French-language "Toujours Vouloir," her powerful performances land somewhere between Kelly Clarkson and the Gossip's Beth Ditto—hardly bad company to keep, in that she balances pop polish with a genuine soulfulness. Her brother's contributions aren't quite as seamless a fit: Their use of aggressive, driving percussion is something that has always distinguished the Duhks from their contemporaries on the roots scene, but Christian Dugas's drumming is placed near the foreground in the mix on "This Fall" and "You Don't See It," which detracts somewhat from the accomplished playing of returning members Jordan McConnell, Leonard Podolak and particularly fiddler Tania Elizabeth. |
| Joanthan Keefe |
New York Times Album Review |
Just over a year ago this neo-bluegrass band from Winnipeg made a big adjustment to its lineup, bringing aboard a new lead singer, Sarah Dugas. She’s a powerhouse, and she has made herself at home, judging by “Fast Paced World” (Sugar Hill), the group’s fourth studio album, which was recorded in Nashville. Among the dozen tracks are four by Ms. Dugas and one jointly composed by Ms. Dugas and the band’s fiddler-mandolinist-keyboardist, Tania Elizabeth. The material roams freely and excitably: one original Scotch-Irish reel, by the banjoist Leonard Podolak, leads right into “Magalenha,” by the Brazilian pop eclectic Carlinhos Brown. |
| Nate Chinen |
The Duhks album review |
The Duhks (pronounced "ducks") is an unusual name for a band. But, this is an unusual band. This fivesome from Winnipeg, Manitoba, defies classification. The band was the brainchild of banjoist Leonard Podolak, whose father Mitch founded the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Podolak compiled the band after the break-up of his previous band Scruj MacDuhk. Recruiting the best musicians, the Duhks formed: soul singer and lead vocalist Jessica Havey, Cuban-inflected percussionist Scott Senior, Canadian Scots-Metis fiddler Tania Elizabeth, and Celtic guitarist Jordan McConnell. The band plays a sometimes high-energy blend of Appalachian old-time string band, Irish fiddle tunes, and kick-ass rock/folk fusion. Other times they are playing delicate finger-picked traditional instrumentals.
The band is a magnet for good songs. Most of the songs on their debut are traditional or culled from other songwriters, including Paul Brady, Ruth Ungar, Sting, and Leonard Cohen. Many songs are seamlessly intertwined with original instrumentals.
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| David Schultz-Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange |
The Duhks, a Tough Band to Pigeonhole |
The Duhks defy easy categorization. Fans and acquaintances have used phrases like "Blue Rodeo meets Celtic rock," "progressive soulgrass" and "Destiny's Child meets the Chieftains" to describe the Canadian band. "I think what we really play is good music, music that we like," says Leonard Podolak, the clawhammer banjo player who put together the band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. "The music comes from all of us... you can't really describe it in a category."
Indeed, The Duhks (pronounced ducks) take Celtic, French Canadian and old-timey music and punch it up with shades of blues and soul and driving Afro-Cuban beats.
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| Melissa Block-NPR |
Date |
Venue |
Location |
| 06/06/2013 | Backdoor Theater | Nederland, CO |
| 06/07/2013 | Swallow Hill Music Hall | Denver, CO |
| 06/09/2013 | Pagosa Folk n Bluegrass Festival | Pagosa Springs, CO |
| 07/12/2013 | Redwing Roots Music Festival | Mount Solon, VA |
| 07/13/2013 | NC Museum of Arts Music Series | Raleigh, NC |
| 07/14/2013 | The Blind Tiger | Greensboro, NC |
| 07/16/2013 | Concert Happenings in Ridgefield's Parks (CHIRP) | Ridgefield, CT |
| 07/18/2013 - 07/19/2013 | Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival | Oak Hill, NY |
| 07/20/2013 | Green River Festival | Greenfield, MA |
| 07/21/2013 | Grassroots Festival | Trumansburg, NY |
| 07/23/2013 | Payomet Performing Arts Center | Truro, MA |
| 07/24/2013 | Burren Backroom Sessions | Somerville, MA |
| 07/25/2013 | Tupelo Music Hall-NH | Londonderry, NH |
| 07/26/2013 | Ossipee Valley Music Festival | Cornish, ME |
| 07/27/2013 | The Strand Theatre-ME | Rockland, ME |
| 07/28/2013 - 11/30/-0001 | Manchester 65 | West Warwick, RI |
| 08/10/2013 - 08/11/2013 | Trout Forest Music Festival | Winnipeg, |
| 08/31/2013 - 09/01/2013 | Castoro Cellars Winery | Templeton, CA |
| 09/05/2013 | Beachland Ballroom | Cleveland, OH |
| 09/06/2013 | The Ark | Ann Arbor, MI |
| 09/07/2013 - 09/08/2013 | Wheatland Music Festival | Remus, MI |
| 10/19/2013 | MagnoliaFest | Live Oak, FL |
| 11/01/2013 | University of Vermont Lane Series - UVM Recital Hall | Burlington, VT |
| 11/02/2013 | The West Kortright Centre | East Meredith, NY |
| 11/03/2013 | Infinity Hall | Norfolk, CT |
| 02/15/2014 | Clark Center for the Performing Arts | Arroyo Grande, CA |
| 02/20/2014 | Fort Lewis College Community Concert Hall | Durango, CO |
| 02/21/2014 | Crested Butte Center for the Arts | Crested Butte, CO |
| 02/28/2014 - 03/01/2014 | Wintergrass | Bellevue, WA |
| 04/24/2014 - 04/25/2014 | MerleFest | Wilkesboro, NC |
| 05/31/2014 - 06/02/2014 | Ogden Music Festival | Ogden, UT |
