Don Ross has been touring the world long enough now to have become an influence on a generation of guitarists and other musicians.
He feels fortunate to have grown up sheltered from the influence of too many other acoustic guitarists, as it had made it easier for him to focus on the composing and playing of music, rather than focusing on technique-based pyrotechnics.
That said, he has still managed to be the only player to win first place twice at the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship (鈥�88 and 鈥�96). he has released over a dozen solo albums as well as collaborative CDs with Andy McKee and Men of Steel (Beppe Gambetta, Dan Crary, Tony McManus and Ross).
Born in montreal to a Scottish immigrant father and a Mi鈥檏maq aboriginal mother, Don has been touring full-time since 1989. In 2006 he released a live CD entitled Live in Your Head and he released the Thing That Came From Somewhere with McKee in January 2008.
His all-vocal CD Any Colour was released in April 2009 and his most recent all-solo-guitar CD Breakfast for Dogs was released in November 2010 on Candyrat Records.
Hailing from Prince Edward Island, Miller has abilities as a singer-songwriter and guitarist that have been showcased across North America, Japan and Europe over the past several years. Her first recording, Lending an Hourglass, was released in 2003.
Recognized and signed by the mavens at Sony Music Publishing in New York, Brooke released her gorgeous second CD, You Can See Everything, in 2007.
She counts Ricki Lee Jones, the Police, Bruce Cockburn, Tom Waits and Lenny Breau as influences on her style, which is characterized by smoky vocals and impeccable fingerstyle guitar work.
Winner of the 2007 Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award (conferred by the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals), Brooke is destined for recognition as one of Canada鈥檚 strongest new crop of writers of acoustic music.
In 2010, she released Shake It Off. 2011 saw the launch of Brooke鈥檚 self-titled release, which finds her playing electric and acoustic guitars.
She performs regularly across Canada, the U.S., Japan and Germany. Don and Brooke live in Halifax.
Doors open this Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Cumberland Hotel. The show begins at 8. Tickets are available at the hotel.
鈥� Vancouver Island MusicFest
