Northern Troubadours

The tone of our Northern Troubadours playlist is set by Neil Young's take on Ian Tyson's classic "Four Strong Winds." Neil is joined by Canada's finest ambassadors of song — Gordon Lightfoot, Gordie Sampson, Hank Snow, Jesse Winchester, Marc Jordan, and Murray McLauchlan, all of whom celebrate the joys and sorrows of our country's inner heartbeat.

Breaking off from their respective groups has widened the vista for songwriters such as Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy (Blue Rodeo), A.C. Newman (New Pornographers), Paul Hyde (Payolas), and John Kay (Steppenwolf). Inversely, Blackie & the Rodeo Kings is a supergroup of acclaimed solo artists (Tom Wilson, Colin Linden, Stephen Fearing) who've achieved greater success by banding together.

The current crop of Canadian singer/songwriters is carrying on our native legacy of brilliant composition with deep emotional undercurrents, their lyrics revealing situations of an extraordinarily complex, personal nature. Discover Clay Tyson (son of Ian & Sylvia) continuing a family tradition, and the subtle melancholy of Vancouver's Bocephus King.

There's no simple explanation for Canada's unusually high output of gifted singer-songwriters. Perhaps being situated between American and British musical traditions has given us a third insight into the world, with legends like Gordon Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen, and Neil Young raising the bar for the current wave of songwriters, including Rufus Wainwright, Ron Sexsmith, Gordie Sampson, and others. Collected here is a comprehensive overview of Canada's Northern Troubadours, reflecting the emotional diversity of our vast, mysterious landscape.