I'm thrilled to announce that "King High Tide" will be featured on the Georgian Bay Folk Society's Georgian Bay Roots radio show with host Kailey Jane Hawkins on both CFOS 560 Owen Sound and Blues and Roots Radio. Tune in and hear some great local music from Ontario's Georgian Bay area!

Friday, November 19, 2021  11:00-11:15pm - Blues and Roots Radio  

Sunday, November 21, 2021 4:00-5:00pm - CFOS Radio 560, Owen Sound, ON   

Tuesday, November 23, 2021 7:00-7:15pm - Blues and Roots Radio 

The show will also be archived as a podcast here!  Enjoy! 

It was so wonderful to perform at this year's NERFA (Northeast Regional Folk Alliance), and even though it was a virtual conference and festival, it felt so intimate and inspiring. Thank you to everyone who's hard work created such a success! Special thanks to Kellie Lin Knott who hosted my main stage open mic performance on Friday. 

Congratulations to my friend and mentor, the great composer, conductor, and multi-instrumentalist David Amram, recipient of a well-deserved lifetime achievement award! Hope to see everyone (in person) next year in Asbury, NJ. Peace, health, and happiness to all!

I wrote this song back in the early 90's and first performed and recorded it live at the Festival of Friends in Hamilton, Ontario for my 1996 album "Precious Life". Originally written for, and performed on mountain dulcimer, I subsequently adapted it for acoustic guitar and once again recorded it for my 2019 album "Live in L.A.". 

In honour of (or, in spite of) COP-26, I offer this version up to a better future. Words and Music © 1995 Ken Dunn (SOCAN, ASCAP). 

Tips always welcome @ my wee TIP JAR

LYRICS 

Listen to the birds/ listen to the trees /Listen to music/ that brings you to your knees 

Listen to the wind/ listen to the sea/ Listen to your heart/ and wear it on your sleeve 

CHORUS: Just don’t believe x4 

Hear the dogs of war/ knocking at your door/ They don’t even know/ what they are fighting for 

They will try to tell you/ God is on their side/ But they cannot tell you/ why you have to die 

CHORUS: Don’t believe x4 

They will try to tell you/ peace is just a joke/ Then they stand around/ while the world goes up in smoke 

They pollute the earth/ and pollute the air/ Then they have the nerve/ to say they really care 

CHORUS: Don’t believe x4 

Money doesn’t talk/ it screams and it can shout / But it cannot tell you/ what your life’s about 

So listen to the wind/ listen to the sea/ Listen to your heart/ and wear it on your sleeve 

CHORUS: Just don’t believe x4

Hi Folks, Hope you are having a lovely day! The leaves are gently falling here on the shores of Georgian Bay and the air is crisp with anticipation of frost...

At the behest of some musical colleagues, I've finally set up a Bandcamp profile and released "Ashes in the Morning" on their site... I'd love your support, so please check out my Bandcamp HERE.

Peace, best wishes, and happy listening!

I wrote this tune about one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen.

When living in Massie, Ontario I would frequently cycle or hike through the beautiful hills of Strathavon (a.k.a. Strathaven), overlooking the Bighead River Valley.

The song is based on historical records and local folklore, and tells the tale of a young woman's demise after plummeting from a cliff in the area.

I recorded the song on my 2017 album "Wondrous Beauty". Words and Music © 2015 Ken Dunn (SOCAN, ASCAP).

Tip Jar: https://kendunnmusic.com/tip-jars/4017

#kendunnmusic #trespassmusic #canadianfolkmusic #strathavon

LYRICS

Chorus:

I am home among the cedars / those arbor vitae greener / than the hills of Strathavon 
Where my love and I did wander / like rolling rivers under / that full moon rising high 

Verse:

And her kisses they grew sweeter / our love, it knew no fear /when the song of spring arrived 
But this world it could not keep her / she fell,  then fell deeper /down that mountain side 

Chorus

And I knew I could not save her / for the ice was on the river/ and the snow banks / way too high 
But when I get to dying / you know I will be smiling /for to see my true lover’s eyes 

Chorus

Well, it was a stormy October day, and the Canada Geese were heading south.  Seemed like the perfect time to add this instrumental tune to my archive series. I wrote it a few years ago, but could not come up with a name for it, until sitting around the fire, listening to the geese overhead while playing my new Boucher Bluegrass Goose (!) guitar.

Many thanks to Robin Boucher for building such a fine instrument, and to Mark Pongetti at The Acoustic Room in Hamilton, Ontario for helping get one into my hands.

Stay warm, safe, and sane everyone! And... if you're a Canada Goose flying south, do take care!

 #kendunnmusic #trespassmusic #boucherguitars #theacousticroom #canadagoose

Continuing along with my archive series, here is the title tune from my 2016 album "The Great Unknown". This song, subtitled "Ballad of the Unknown Folk Singer", was inspired by some of my lonelier times on the road -those times when I would take the stage only to find one or two souls in the audience, or a last minute cancellation after travelling for hours through a snow storm... well, you get the picture. But, as Garnet Rogers told me once, "never complain about being able to do what you love". And so, this song is really a celebration and is indeed filled with immense gratitude. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel, comment, like, unlike, etc. In addition, you can send me a tip at https://kendunnmusic.com/tip-jars/4017 to feed my soul. Love, peace, and happy listening! Words and Music © 2016 Ken Dunn (SOCAN, ASCAP) #kendunnmusic #trespassmusic #thegreatunknown #folkmusic

Continuing my archive series on YouTube, here is another tune for your enjoyment. This one was originally recorded on my 2016 album "The Great Unknown".  Ostensibly about homelessness, it is more generally about the need for us all to stay by each other's side, especially in times of darkness.

For those who might like to follow along, here are the lyrics:

STAY BY MY SIDE  Words and music by Ken Dunn © 2016 

An old man in the dawn, just a running from the wild dogs 

In the mist of Marrakesh, you thank your Djellaba for your flesh 

CHORUS: Stay by my side, won’t you stay by my side ?  (x4)

An old woman all alone, with a shopping cart - her own 

She’s the mother of the street, not someone that you wanna meet 

CHORUS 

Put a twenty in the ladies jar, slipped away into my car 

Texting on my new iPhone, hashtag honey I’m a coming home 

CHORUS 

Passing by that electric gate, where my cottage awaits 

It’s just another day, before the people have their say 

CHORUS     

It's been a while since I posted a new video, so here's hoping you enjoy this one! I finally got some semblance of a studio set up in our new home near Owen Sound, Ontario. Pretty basic, but great for doing 'live' recordings. 

I wrote "Come Back Joni" in honour of Joni Mitchell, as well as the ancestral peoples of British Columbia's Sunshine Coast. It was written in B.C. during a particularly bad fire season, not far from Joni's long time Canadian home near Half Moon Bay. Her spirit is embedded in the land and peoples of this region. 

"Come Back Joni" is available on my last album "Ashes in the Morning" and features Mark Mariash on drums and percussion, Randy Martin on bass, Anna Green on harmony and backing vocals, Ben Grossman on hurdy gurdy, and Tyler Beckett on fiddle.

Stay safe and be kind everyone!