So - my attempts at a quarterly newsletter have failed. Some laugh and say the Yukon has only two seasons, spring and fall-so perhaps I am right on schedule!

Summer was a whirlwind of music festivals, touring with Kim Barlow, planning the release of her new album Gingerbread, final graphics and pressing of the Cuban Recording project Son de Cuba, a few hot hot days and swims at long lake and as of mid-August the tide had turned. Green leaves faded, fireweed ablaze in red, & the winds of fall blasting through our skies. Today there is serious snow on the hills visible from the foot of Main Street and a chill is definitely on! Time to get more wood in and wind down with the light. A time to turn inwards while hurling our artists outside.

Alsek Music Festival June 2001

Set at the foot of the exquisite St. Elias Mountain Range, Haines Junction kicked us into summer with three dynamic days of music and entertainment on three stages in a field by the banks of the Dezadeash River.

Melting frost under the dirt dance floor due to pounding dancers made for a mushy final set Saturday night. The hippies went barefoot and everyone got muddy! The quintessential moment was the realization at 1:30 in the morning that I could look out the tent and still see jagged mountain peaks holding up the sky! Such is the magic of Alsek under the midnight sun.

Caribou artists that performed included the Undertakin Daddies. Even on a sunny afternoon, Bob Hamilton was the consummate man in black. The Undertakin' Daddies raised the tent off its pegs a few notches with their Old-tyme bluegrass and country songs. Booked for a show in Carcross that same night, they loaded up the bus and roared out of town.

Kim Barlow had a quieter set with Andrea McColeman (organ, piano, voice) and Steve Kozmeniuk (guitar and voice) sitting in with her. It was a great place to try out new songs from her upcoming release, "Gingerbread".

Anne Louise Genest performed with Kim Barlow on cello and backup vocals, Lonnie Powell on drums, and Kendall Sullivan adding her sweet harmonies to the mix. Newcomer Aylie Sparkes sat in on her songs with his tasty slide guitar.

Kim Barlow and I joined Vancouver road warrior Veda Hille for a week of touring across BC and into Alberta winding up at the South Country Fair in Fort McLeod. Chasing the sun every other day we fought hard against the driving prairie storms.

Barlow and I carried on with San Francisco songwriter/ukelele man Carmaig de Forest to Calgary, Saskatoon, and Edmonton, as well as the Sasquatch Music Festival south of Drayton Valley.

Kim's appearance at the Karma Arts House in Calgary was a great night. We shared the stage with Carmaig, and Calgarian songwriter Kris Demeanor. Barry Mirochnick, of Veda Hille's band sat in on drums for a few tunes.

Joe Bishop and Kendall Sullivan met up on the road this summer and played a number of festivals in BC, then headed east to Ontario where they wound up the season with some of their most memorable shows ever. If you were lucky, you caught them live!

Kim Barlow: Gingerbread
September 2001

Valle Son: Son de Cuba
October 2001

Caribou Records is very excited about the upcoming release of their first international recording by Cuban group Valle Son. This seven piece group was on tour for a month in the summer of 2000 and we recorded them in three days at the Old Crow Recording studio with Producer Jay Burr and engineer Roly Mitton. A very exciting live band, Valle Son is planning a Canadian Tour next summer!

Following a week of northern record release dates which included the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse, the historic Globe Theatre in Atlin, BC and the Palace Grande Theatre in Dawson City, Kim Barlow will head south for a month long tour with Andrea McColeman on keyboards, Martin Walton on bass, and Jeff Hicks will fill in the first few shows behind the kit then trade off to Barry Mirochnick. Her Nova Scotia dates will be played as a solo artist. Check out the listings below Kim may be coming to a town near you!

Also heading out on a fall tour, the Undertakin' Daddies are set to travel through BC and Alberta for a few weeks. If you haven¹t ever caught their live show, you are missing out on fabulous players, excellent songwriting, and a great collection of olde tymey/bluegrass tunes that have a timeless excitement to them. See schedule below for the Daddies in a town near you!

Thanks for reading-please feel free to email feedback on our artists, their recordings, or this site!

Yours in the spirit of music,

Kristina