Jan Hall in the studio
“To say I feel honoured, is an absolute understatement,” says Hall, who got her start in radio at WEFT 90.1 FM in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois in 1993, while doing graduate work at the University of Illinois. “Folk Roots Radio with Jan Hall is a labour of love and a full time hobby, and, to be honest, it has helped me through some dark days in my life, after I had to leave my veterinary career. The amazing thing is that I discovered another ‘career’ I love just as much and perhaps more. I love making radio, and now video, and I absolutely love chatting [with] artists about their music. To receive an award like this for what I love to do, makes me feel absolutely blessed.”
Folk Roots Radio currently airs on ten stations: CFRU 93.3 (Guelph, Ontario), CHES 91.7 (Erin Radio, Erin, Ontario), CFBU 103.7 (St. Catherines ON), CILU 102.7 (Thunder Bay ON), Cove FM 88.7 (St. Margaret’s Bay/Hubbards/Chester Nova Scotia), CFBX 92.5 (Kamloops, British Columbia), VOBB 95.9 and 98.1 (Bonne Bay, Newfoundland), CJMP 90.1fm (Powell River, British Columbia), CIDI 99.1fm (Brome Missisquoi, Quebec), and WRAQ 92.7fm (western New York State). Hall focuses on bringing new folk and roots music and in-depth interviews of independent artists to the airwaves. An extensive archive of radio shows and artist interviews can be found online at www.folkrootsradio.com, where you also can listen to the show via your choice of streaming platforms.
Hall told AcousticMusicScene.com that Folk Roots Radio stemmed from Royal City Rag, a locally focused magazine radio show on CFRU 93.3fm that she launched in August 2005, after moving to Canada. “That show gradually morphed into Folk Roots Radio when I split off the community issue coverage and local politics into another radio show, Beyond the Ballot Box,” she said.
“We’re all about the music and the people who make it,” says Hall of her radio show that features folk, roots, Americana, Singer-songwriter, and blues music plus artist interviews. In addition to Folk Roots Radio, Hall hosts a televised music video series, Sun Parlour Coffee House Sessions, and co-hosts Dale’s Friday Coffee House, a popular monthly music event in Leamington Ontario. She is also a sought-after stage host and festival emcee.
The Estelle Klein Award is named after a long-time advocate of Canadian folk music and one of the early founders of the folk festival scene in Canada. As this year’s winner, Hall will receive registration for herself and a partner to the 33rd annual FMO Conference, Sept. 27-29, 2019 in Mississauga, ON, as well as a lifetime FMO membership. She will also be featured in the Conference Program edition of Folk Prints magazine, at an interview during the FMO Awards brunch at the conference, and in a career retrospective video. Previous award recipients have included Klein, Jackie Washington, Ian Tamblyn, The Friends of Fiddler’s Green, Sylvia Tyson, Ken Whiteley, Richard Flohil, Stan Rogers, Bernie Finkelstein, Sharon, Lois & Bram, Grit Laskin, Paul Mills, Arthur McGregor, Mike Stevens, Harvey Glatt, Sadie Buck, Anne Lederman, Magoo, and Bill Garrett.
Folk Music Ontario, launched in 1986 as the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals, is a nonprofit arts service organization and the largest folk and roots music organization in Canada. FMO aims to support the growth and development of he folk music community and industry. Is annual conference brings together hundreds of people who are actively engaged in Ontario’s (and Canada’s) folk, roots, and traditional music community for three days and two nights of music showcases, roundtable discussions, educational seminars and workshops, mentoring sessions, lots of informal networking, and fun each fall. For more information on FMO and its conference, visit www.folkmusicontario.ca.
Like/Follow Us!