2027 Folkus Concert Series Lineup

Chelsey June was the lead vocalist and co-founder of the internationally acclaimed duo Twin Flames, helping to build one of Canada’s most celebrated contemporary folk acts. Together, they earned more than 50 awards and nominations, including multiple Canadian Folk Music Awards. Their music reached audiences around the world and led to a commissioned work for UNESCO, further cementing their place within Canada’s cultural landscape.

Known for a voice that is at once vulnerable and commanding, Chelsey invites listeners into stories that are both deeply personal and universally understood. Whether performing on a major festival stage or in an intimate listening room, she leaves audiences feeling seen, understood, and connected.

The universe did not have to reach far to pull together the orbits of Champagne James Robertson and Gavin Gardiner, the core of what would become MOONRIIVR. Each has played an integral and vibrant role in the Toronto music scene for the past two decades. Their range of styles, community and skills have come together in an easy and tape-echo filled fit.

Gardiner’s background in vintage and analogue recording paired with Champagne James Robertson’s passion for composition and instruments of the same era come together to define MOONRIIVR’s sound. Gavin Gardiner, of Juno & Polaris nominated indie-folk outfit The Wooden Sky and established audio engineer at All Day Coconut (Georgia Harmer, Fiver, Dan Mangan, Jason Collet), was a quick match for Robertson, whose musical collaborations with Dwayne Gretzky, Tom Wilson and Lindi Ortega earned him the title of “guitar master” by Rolling Stone.

Kellylee Evans is a Juno Award–winning singer-songwriter we are truly fortunate to have right here in Ottawa. Her extraordinary voice and captivating stage presence move effortlessly between soul, jazz, pop and beyond. She is renowned and celebrated performer with nine albums to her name. Kellylee has shared stages with John Legend, Tony Bennett, Willie Nelson and Erykah Badu, and has toured extensively across Canada, Europe and beyond.

Kellylee brings both power and vulnerability to everything she sings. In 2026, she received an honorary Doctor of Music from Carleton University in recognition of her artistic achievements and contributions to the community.

A songwriter, storyteller and performer, Diyet creates music rooted in the land, culture, and lived experience of the North. As an Indigenous woman walking in two worlds, she is both a keeper of traditional songs and stories and a contemporary artist with a voice distinctly her own.

Over the past decade, Diyet has performed at major folk, jazz, world music and multidisciplinary festivals and theatres across Canada and toured throughout the UK, Europe, the United States and the Circumpolar North. With her trio, The Love Soldiers, recent international appearances have included Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan, Music Meeting Festival in the Netherlands and English Folk Expo in the UK.