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Artist's Bios

Lead Sled Rocket

An old sound with a new twist has become a phenomenon in Durham Region.

Lead Sled Rocket define themselves as a Rockabilly/Surf/Psychobilly Band, playing the likes of Buddy Holly, Stray Cats, Elvis and original music you would think came right out of the 50's but with a twist. Their stage presence and professionalism would make you think the band has been together for ages, but this talented group of individuals have been playing together for only a couple of years.  In that time, the band has gained a huge following of loyal and devoted fans who follow them to every show.  Their loyal fans have made them a great band to hire at a venue because they will fill up your establishment and get the house rockin’.

Mickey Sick leads the band playing on an upright bass that gets under your skin and vocals that make you want to get up and dance.

Little Vicious playing on the drums has only been playing for little while before the band got together but she definitely holds her own with the best of them.

Stretch Smith on lead guitar and the occasional electric banjo should have gotten his nickname for stretching the envelope with his versatility & not his height.

Mark Sytnyk fills in the band with smooth sounds of rhythm guitar and back up vocals that make everyone want to croon along.

Together these members put on a dynamic high energy show like none other in this day and age of good music.

Cuff the Duke play a mixture of folk, country, alternative and rock music. They are generally classified as Alternative/Country. They released their first album “Life Stories for Minimum Wage” in 2002.  Although the band members were only 21 at the time, critics praised the work for it's maturity. A self-titled album followed in 2005.

This four piece group is currently made up of  Oshawa's Wayne Petti (lead vocal and guitar), Paul Lowman (also of Oshawa) on bass and piano, Halifax native Dale Murray (pedal steel and guitar) and Montreal's Corey Wood on drums. In 2007 Cuff the Duke released "Sidelines of the City". Their most recent work "Way Down Here" (2009) has earned them a Juno nomination in the category Adult/Alternative Album of the Year. Port Hope Estival! 2010 is very proud to present Cuff the Duke as part of our big Saturday evening concert.

Trish Robb. Port Hope Estival! 2010 is proud to announce that local singer/songwriter Trish Robb will be performing as part of our Saturday night concert (July 31st). Trish recently opened for Ron Sexsmith at his Valentines day concert at the Park Playhouse in Cobourg. Her music is described as Accoustic/Folk/Pop and you can hear some of these great tunes by going to her MySpace site. Trish hails from Bowmanville and has a new CD due to be released soon.

Stephen Fearing will headline the Saturday night concert at Port Hope Estival! 2010. In the 20 years since releasing his first, self-titled, album Stephen Fearing has built up a loyal and international audience. Listeners have recently been delighted by his eighth solo album “Yellowjacket”. Two decades of  consistent high quality musical performances have earned Stephen a West Coast Music Award for Best Folk Music Recording and five Juno Award nominations as a solo artist. Stephen's eclectic musical taste does not confine him to any one musical genre. Some may better recognize Stephen Fearing's name as a long-time member of  the Canadian roots rock trio Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, whose latest album “BARK” won a Juno Award.

LeE HARVeY OsMOND. Acid folk” was born in an old garage off Clinton Avenue in Toronto, concocted by Tom Wilson from Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, a few Cowboy Junkies, and some Skydiggers. Allowing bass, hypnotic rhythms and a lot of groove into their songwriting circle, the artist collective LeE HARVeY OsMOND created a sound that would creep out of the Northern woods and across the Great Lakes into the South, the same way The Band did forty years before them.

Tom Wilson (guitar and vocals) struck Canadian rock gold in the ‘90s as the leader of the much-loved Junkhouse, and then found a whole new audience as a crucial component of roots-rock super-group Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, who have just released a compilation of some of their most loved songs entitled “Swingin’ from The Chains of Love” on True North
Records. He released solo albums in 2001 and 2006, and his 2005 collaboration with Bob Lanois, The Shack Recordings, was critically acclaimed.

A Quiet Evil is the first release by LeE HARVeY OsMOND. The CD will be released on Latent Records in 2009, and the group will tour with the Cowboy Junkies in the U.S. to support the release. Whether as a stripped-down solo show by Tom Wilson, or with a full five-piece band, LeE HARVeY OsMOND will take every audience member along on their "Trip"...

My Sweet Patootie is more fun than drinking martinis at a tractor pull! They are the “li’l big band” that’s busy ripping up the pea-patch with their very own strain of hayseed jazz. Armed with fiddle, finger-style guitar and two voices, My Sweet Patootie is an old-fashioned shotgun wedding of cool uptown swing and rural Ontario grit. Mark S. Tucker of the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange (FAME) describes them as “a world of string wizardry”.

Based in Mount Forest, Ontario, Terry Young (guitar & vocals) and Sandra Swannell (fiddle & vocals) met as soloists touring and recording with Canadian Folk Music Award winning veteran roots-group Tanglefoot. They soon discovered a mutual love of big bands and swinging country blues. Thousands of miles and shows later, when Tanglefoot made the decision to trade in a life of touring for shuffleboard and wearing pants up to their armpits, Terry and Sandra changed into their zoot suit and party dress to re-emerge as My Sweet Patootie. They had one goal, to produce fun music with deadly playing. While their new sound is a complete departure from Tanglefoot, Terry and Sandra deliver a stage show packed with the same amount of energy, charm, wit and humour.

Sandra and Terry are both long established artists in the Canadian folk-roots community. Terry Young's dexterity and aggressive approach to his finger style guitar work is described as a "virtuosic" by BBC critic James Harrox, and "jaw dropping" by FAME's Mark S. Tucker. He is a skilled multi-instrumentalist (mandolin and banjo) and holds a bachelor degree in music for voice from Western University.

When Sandra Swannell recorded with the legendary Stompin’ Tom Connors (2005), she was in the middle of writing a suite of musical sketches for string orchestra. After years of juggling the folk world with classical (principal violist of the Georgian Bay Symphony), she finally grabbed her fiddle and jumped the fence into the roots music world for good.

Lindsay Barr and the Bullies "Lindsay Barr is a Canadian Independant Artist who has released her first CD "Devils of Pride". formerly a member of both Firewires & Mad Man Orchestra, Lindsay now has an solo career and appears backed by the Bullies.

The CRISIS KINGS are well known for their energetic live performances and extreme lighting ensemble. From searing guitar solos to rythmic vocal harmonies, these guys continue to pack venues with their musical diversity and talent. Band members Gary Williams, Steve O'Donoghue, Robert Theriault, Steve Chandler and Pat Duerden have collectively shared stages with such music greats as April Wine, Kim Mitchell and Donnie Walsh of Down Child Blues band. The Crisis Kings are tested professionals who continually strive to raise the bar for live entertainment.