Just as the gift giving season comes down to the wire, ROOTSandBLUES is pleased to announce four more acts that should help make the 2018 edition of your favourite festival all the more memorable.

A bit of blues and funk, music from both West Africa and Brittany, and some red-hot bluegrass combine to cover a lot of ground in terms of both soundscape and landscape.  

Home boy Saskatchewan guitar slinger Jack Semple has been wanting to play ROOTSandBLUES for a few years now, and since ROOTSandBLUES goes from August 15 thru 18, 2019, we've finally got  a weekend that fits everyone's schedule. Semple has been wowing crowds for a few decades now, initially as a member of the legendary Toronto-based R& B  band, The Lincolns. But as a solo artist, this is looking like it could be Jack's year given he's already been nominated by the Maple Blues jury for Guitarist of the Year honours, while his new recording Can't Stop This Love rakes in accolades and rave reviews. The album continues to mine his musical vibe that has been described as "Stevie Ray Vaughn meets James Brown meets Robben Ford." A true triple threat, Sample is also a fine singer and exceptional songwriter.

Originally from Brittany France, Tristan Le Govic was only six years old when he began learning the Celtic harp at the Conservatoire of Traditional Music of Soye. Since then it has been quite a journey for this artist.  During his student years, numerous prizes, nominations and honours were bestowed on the harp player. Tristan Le Govic expanded his musical diversity by performing with other musicians such as the accordionist Samuel Le Henanff and harpist Rachel Hair and by mixing Celtic music with jazz colours.After he was introduced to Nordic music,  he also developed a unique repertoire of Scandinavian music on the Celtic harp. Le Govic will be making his Canadian debut at ROOTSandBLUES this coming August.  

The band Tal National is from Niamey, the capital city of Niger, Africa. Their music is joyously hypnotic, a highly unique contribution to West African guitar music. With its lightning fast rhythms and rotating cast of vocalists, one can hear in their music the history of Niger as a cultural crossroads along ancient trade routes. The sounds of the Songhai, Fulani, Hausa, and Tuareg populations, which comprised the former French colony, are all represented by  Tal National's members. The rolling 12/8 rhythms in the Hausa's Fuji percussion, the pensive aridity of the Tuareg's "blues", and the exquisite "griot guitar" of Mali's Songhai, are delivered with virtuoso precision and unrelenting energy, and that just might be the reason this sound has also been dubbed "African Rock 'n Roll."

Completing this announcement is the young Boston quintet Mile Twelve. Formed in 2014, Mile Twelve was nominated in 2018 as the Emerging Artist of the Year and for Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association--impressive results for a debut disc.  Banjo master Tony Trischka says, "Mile Twelve's instrumental skills reflect natural ability enhanced by serious study and .. their trio vocal blend and solo singing is equally praiseworthy" while Americana legend Tim O'Brien says "Mile Twelve is a group to watch for."

We'll be watching for all these acts the third weekend of August 2019. These amazing musicians join  the  previously announced Jim Cuddy Band and Valdy  to give you a taste  of the  feast  of musical talent awaiting you  for what will be a memorable 27th edition of Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES .  

Complete ticket information can be found at rootsandblues.ca or you can call 250-833-4096.