The Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival today announced a staggering slew of international talent, adding The TransCanada Highwaymen, Alex Cuba, Steven Page, Hollerado, Paper Lions, as well as Chali 2na & The Funk Hunters, Start Making Sense, Greg MacPherson, Amasa Hines, Muddy Magnolias, and nearly a dozen additional acts to its 2017 edition, September 12-17.
“We’re so proud to present a schedule that offers such tremendous variety, with a calibre of talent that once again solidifies Harvest as Eastern Canada’s premiere musical experience,” said Brent Staeben, Harvest’s Music Programmer. “This line-up pairs international headline acts and Fredericton favorites with buzz bands and rising stars, which positions New Brunswick as a major destination event on the North American festival circuit.”
Featuring Moe Berg (The Pursuit Of Happiness), Chris Murphy (Sloan), Craig Northey (Odds), and Steven Page (Ex-Barenaked Ladies), The TransCanada Highwaymen is a supergroup comprising four of Canada’s best ever songwriters.
Resettling from Cuba to Canada in 1999, Alex Cuba’s magnetically hooky, groove-laden sound has earned two Junos and three Latin Grammys, while anchoring collaborations with the likes of Ron Sexsmith, Feist and Nelly Furtado.
Returning to Harvest with his second solo release, Heal Thyself, Steven Page’s distinctive voice is among the most instantly recognizable in Canadian music, blessed with a myriad of international awards while selling in excess of twelve million albums worldwide.
Hollerado’s Juno nominated debut album Record In A Bag came out in 2009, and they haven’t had a moment’s peace since. Returning with Born Yesterday this spring, the band have affirmed themselves as one of Canada’s preeminent pop/rock institutions.
A band whose music is heard by millions every year, Paper Lions exploded on the scene in 2008, going from a bar crowd favourite around the Maritimes to wowing crowds across the planet – from Italy to Nashville, China to New Orleans, and showcasing at the Vancouver Olympics.
Rounding out its full ticketed schedule, Harvest also announced The Hip Abduction, Atlas Road Crew, The Ghost of Paul Revere, Reeny Smith, Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire, City Natives, Earthbound, Stephen Lewis & The Big Band of FUN, Brent Mason & Jessica Rhaye, David in the Dark and Brookside Mall. Performers showcased on the Festival’s numerous free stages will be announced later in the summer.
“Our ability to introduce new talent to Fredericton audiences has allowed us to turn Harvest into a launch pad for some of the biggest names in music today,” said Staeben. “This schedule is fresh and dominated by artists who’ve never before played Harvest, and who will reach out to new audiences to keep the Festival energized and thriving in the coming years,” he said. “We are very proud to bring this phenomenal array of talent to Fredericton.”
These artists will join previously announced headliners Trey Anastasio Band, Colin James, Bruce Cockburn, Steve Earle & the Dukes, Martha Wainwright, Sloan, The Revivalists, Matt Andersen & the Bona Fide, Lettuce, Brandon Niederauer “Taz”, The Marcus King Band, Terra Lightfoot, Sonya Rae and the Sleepwalkers, The National Reserve, Matt Minglewood Band, Garrett Mason, Keith Hallett, Downtown Blues Band, Christine Campbell, Earle & Coffin, Joe Murphy, Amanda Jackson Band, The Gary Sappier Blues Band, The Honeyboys, Buck Tingley, Blind Dog and Quinn Bonnell for the 27th annual festival.