KEN DUNN 

Happy New Year everyone! As we enter a new decade, push the proverbial reset button, and formulate our resolutions, I remain hopeful that a better world is unfolding! 

Undoubtedly, 2019 was a year filled with angst and crises too numerous to fully comprehend. And, despite our fervent desire for a quick fix, we know the clock striking twelve midnight is not going to make it all go away. 

Whatever Bogeyman haunts your particular version of reality, whether that be the climate crisis, the prospect of nuclear war, or your own personal struggles with mortality, let us all take comfort in the fact that we are stronger together as a community. Indeed, resolving our differences as a species, and learning to treat all life on this planet with respect is our only hope, if are to survive. 

Musically, it has been a wild roller coaster of a year with the release of my 8th album, "Live in L.A." and tours both far and wide. Taking a very personal, musical message of love, peace, social justice, and environmental responsibility across the continent can be a risky business on many fronts. Vulnerability and isolation alternate with exhilaration and the formation of powerful connections. Acceptance and rejection become yin and yang, a catalyst for letting go and cultivating gratitude. 

And so with a new year, and hopefully a new age dawning, this old folksinger will continue down the road, sometimes crawling, sometimes dancing, either solo or happily accompanied by my love and musical partner Anna, and our furry little friend, Louie. 

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me on this quest, including family, friends, fans, DJ's, and venues. It really does take a village! Special thanks to 'my team' - Michelle Fortier, Larry Ahearn and Trespass Music. I look forward to our continuing journey together. Love, peace, and music always!

Not your usual Christmas story, but my heart goes out to all who are suffering this season...

I am back in Hamilton, Ontario for Christmas, and reminded of the role that this city played in the eradication of "The Great White Plague" of Tuberculosis. The Cross of Lorraine, although saddled with a long, and at times controversial history has been the symbol of the Canadian and American Lung Associations and their Christmas Seal Campaigns to fund research into prevention and treatment of TB for over a century. 

Although largely under control in this country, TB still kills a million people around the globe. The Canadian (and American) Lung Associations continue to fund research into lung disease, and the Christmas Seal Campaign continues today. 

I wrote "Cross of Lorraine" to honour the patients and staff of Chedoke Continuing Care Centre, where I worked as a psychologist for over a decade. During my tenure, the hospital was a long term rehabilitation centre for adults with a wide range of neurological disorders. 

Although now gone, "The Brow", as it was known, had been the largest TB Sanitarium in what was then the British Empire when built at the turn of the 20th century.

CROSS OF LORRAINE (Words and Music © Ken Dunn, 2000)

High above Dundas Valley she stands 

Our lady of the mountain, watching over this land 

See her red light shining on the valley below 

Hear the wings of an angel that nobody knows 

A friend to the soldiers in the medical wars 

The children, the Innu, the people next door 

See her red light shining from the valley below 

Hear the wings of an angel that nobody knows 

It’s a crying shame ya ya ya  

It’s a crying shame, this white plague 

But she’s a Cross of Lorraine, a Cross of Lorraine 

And you know that she never forgets a tear 

That face in the lamplight through the years 

See her red light shining on the valley below 

Hear the wings of an angel that nobody knows

It’s a crying shame ya ya ya   

It’s a crying shame, this white plague  

But she’s a Cross of Lorraine, a Cross of Lorraine 

Many thanks to the folks at NERFA (North East Regional Folk Alliance) for an amazing 25th Anniversary Conference in Stamford, Connecticut. Thank you also to the Skyland Songwriters Guild, Trespass Music, The Legendary Godfrey Daniels, Access Film Music, and Acoustic Music Scene's O Canada for the showcase opportunities. Not only was it wonderful performing, but I came away so inspired by the amazing music, workshops, and community building opportunities. See you all next year!

<Performing in the Godfrey Daniels Showcase 
                                  Noel Paul Stookey (from Peter, Paul, and Mary)

Acoustic Music Scene's O Canada Showcase

Meeting up with friends (Piper and Carson, Madeleine Roger, and Alice Hasen)

In the Godfrey Daniels Room with Benjamin Dakota Rogers >

                                                 With Benjamin Dakota Rogers

In a few short weeks I'll be heading down the highway once again, this time bound for Stamford, Connecticut and the annual conference of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA)! Last year was my first NERFA, and it was an absolutely fabulous experience! 

I made so many new friends, and caught up with some I had not seen in years! The opportunity to perform showcases for those in the music industry was an added bonus, not to mention the work obtained as a result.

This year I'll be performing four showcases, many of which run into the wee hours of the morning. So... I'm warming up my fingers, vocal chords, and resolve... doing my yoga, working on stress management and catching up on sleep in anticipation... wish me luck!

As surely as we spring into Spring, we must fall into Fall. Time once again to leave the sweet summer festivals behind, don the woolies, prepare for conference showcasing, write, record, and plan for upcoming tours! Ah, the good fortune and soulful chaos that is the folksinger's lot in this age of uncertainty and anxiety. Thank you for keeping me company on this convoluted healing journey. Peace, Love, and Music Always!

Performing in Graham Lindsey's Trad Head Showcase @ Folk Music Ontario, September 2019

With the Recreation Therapy Staff @ Brampton Civic Hospital

after Folk Music Ontario's Artbeat Concert

With Anna and Mark Lowe at the Whitevale Porchfest

The only downside of summer is (like all good things) it must end ! However, the memories will remain for a long time to come. It was a summer full of love, life, and music here on B.C.'s beautiful Sunshine Coast, which is blessed with a wealth of not only natural beauty, but a vibrant and progressive arts community.  

From Music in the Landing to the Rogue Arts Festival, to Persephone and the Gumboot, it was my honour and pleasure to perform both solo, and with my amazingly talented partner Anna Green!

As we head into fall, and the road beckons once again, I look forward to a number of concerts and festivals in Ontario, as well as showcasing at Folk Music Ontario's annual conference at the end of September. Many blessings to you all, and thanks for your amazing support. I hope our paths cross and that your hearts and souls are filled with the healing power of love and music!

Special thanks to Anna Green, Verna Chan, Arwen MacDoogooder, Karen Jeevious, Roo Miller-Petit, and Chiara LaQuinta.

@ ROGUE ARTS FESTIVAL, Wilson Creek, BC

@ Persephone Brew House, Gibsons, BC

@ MUSIC IN THE LANDING, Gibsons Landing, BC

Hi Folks!  It's great to be back home on B.C.'s beautiful Sunshine Coast after a wonderful 'Spring Into Summer' Tour in Ontario!  Time to charge the creative batteries, write, record, and rest!  

Many thanks to everyone who helped make this tour such an inspiring success, including my intrepid partner Anna Green, my publicist, Michelle Fortier, Jan Hall from Folk Roots Radio, Dale Butler in Leamington, Jim Marino at CFMU Hamilton, Martha Renaud at Windsor Folk, David Moss-Cornett of Mossy Gatherings, Owen Sound, MaryJane McCrae in Thornbury, and Gillian Nicola at the Painted Lady in Toronto. Many thanks to the  wonderful performers I had the chance to share the stage with including Anna Green, Francine Honey, Cyril Robson, Keats Conlon, Moonfruits, Piper and Carson, Gathering Sparks, Jo Wallfisch, Mike Kerr, Same Latitude As Rome, David McEathron, John Prince, and so many others! Sorry if I missed anyone! 

Finally, I would thank all the volunteers, the venue owners and staff, and of course, the audience members who continue to support live music.  Love, peace, and music forever !! 

I love it when all that hard work pays off and the music actually gets out to the people to do its healing work! Thank you Folk DJs everywhere who keep music alive. Makes up for all those long, dark, lonely times singing to your dog. Although he seems to appreciate it.

Well, the Vancouver Island Tour is just a cherished memory now. Anna, Louie, and I had a wonderful time touring the island in our new camper van and playing shows in Courtenay, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Tofino, Duncan, and Victoria ! 

Upon our return to the Sunshine Coast, I had a chance to play a couple of shows, including a tribute to Pete Seeger, in honour of the 100th anniversary of his birth! I was thrilled to perform one of my very favourite tunes of his- "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" with a chorus of about 50 voices from the Beachcombers Ukulele Group Singers!

After a few days rest, and some serious paddling lakes in the Pender Harbour area, we are packing our things for an upcoming Ontario tour which kicks off in Windsor on May 17. Looking forward to returning to the city where I was born and raised…and seeing family and friends! Maybe even see some of you there!

I am looking forward to my upcoming Vancouver Island Tour from April 17 to 27. As a prelude to the tour, I'll be playing in Roberts Creek, on the Sunshine Coast  of B.C. with Madeleine Roger and Logan McKillop from Winnipeg, along with my partner Anna Green. Anna will also join me for a few of the Vancouver Island shows, which includes dates in Courtney, Nanaimo, Tofino, Port Alberni, Duncan, and Victoria. And, for the first time, we will be touring in the new camper van with our pooch Louie !! Looking forward to the adventure !!