Building community is a labour of love. That philosophy is at the heart of the Dooryard mission to foster a community experience of the arts. But it's even more fundamental for Marcel Lebrun and 12 Neighbours.

For Lebrun, 12 Neighbours is not just a housing project. It’s a community of nearly 100 tiny homes that provides more than just a roof over one’s head. It offers developmental support and employment opportunities to those experiencing homelessness.When describing the pillars the community sits on, LeBrun uses three words: Dignity, community, and opportunity.

The importance of building and sustaining community will be the focus of a special evening during the 2024 Dooryard Arts Festival. On Wednesday, July 17, James Mullinger, editor of [Edit] Magazine. will interview Marcel Lebrun and residents from 12 Neighbours about Fredericton's innovative affordable housing community.

The evening gets underway at 7 PM at Best Western. Admission is by donation with proceeds supporting 12 Neighbours.

Music’s an almost alchemical force to Canadian Mi’kmaq fiddler and singer, @morgantoneymusic . In a short time, Toney has invigorated the Atlantic music community and Mi’kmaq communities by bringing together the fiery fiddling of Cape Breton Island with the old songs of the Mi’kmaq, some dating back 500 years. He calls this fusion Mi’kmaltic (Mi’kmaq + Celtic) and it’s his way of celebrating his language and heritage

First Flight, Toney’s debut album, was nominated for 3 East Coast Music Awards and a Canadian Folk Music Award. It celebrates language and heritage through Toney’s transformation of traditional songs, such as the Ko’jua and the Mi’kmaq Honour Song, alongside highly original songwriting.

Kylie Fox @_kyliefox_ is a Canadian singer songwriter and recording artist. She fuses folk storytelling with vintage elements of jazz and alternative rock. With influences like Kate Bush, Sharon Van Etten, and Joni Mitchell, her music is ethereal, lush and real.

Currently based in Fredericton, NB, Fox exudes fun and love for her art and for storytelling, which is evident on “Confetti” (April 2023), the lead single from her second studio album. This track, and the album, Sequoia (release date TBC), are produced by Daniel Ledwell (Jenn Grant, The Good Lovelies, Fortunate Ones).

Fox’s debut album, Green (2020), led her to tour Canada extensively, sharing stages alongside names like Bahamas, The Strumbellas and Joel Plaskett, along with showcasing at the East Coast Music Awards (2021), Folk Alliance International (2021) and the Canadian Song Conference (2021). She participated in the Banff Centre for the Arts International Songwriting Residency (2020) and performed at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival (2022). She was recently named “Innovator of the Year” at the 2023 PrixNB Awards.

Wolf Castle is a two-time ECMA nominated Mi'kmaq rapper, singer, producer, and songwriter from Pabineau First Nation in New Brunswick. Wolf Castle came on the scene with a contagious energy and versatile rap flow reminiscent of old school hip-hop combined with a modern pop oriented flavor. His music carries a powerful energy covering topics about love, empowerment, good times, and going against the odds. His lyrics have been described as catchy and confessional, often connected to his Indigenous roots and experience being raised on an Indigenous reserve. A knucklehead with an internet connection, Wolf Castle likes to keep listeners on their toes and continue delivering a fresh perspective.

Wolf Castle’s smooth, wistful flow blended with his versatile band will bring back bittersweet memories of warm summer nights.

Nova Scotia musician Garrett Mason has been a staple of the Canadian blues scene for over two decades. Having received a JUNO award and a Maple Blues award, Garrett is heralded as one of our nation’s most gifted blues guitarists.

The son of Canadian bluesman Dutch Mason, Garrett’s quest to become a blues musician has been a lifelong pursuit. He is steeped in the tradition of blues guitar players like BB King, Albert Collins, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. “When I heart those guys, I knew it was something I had to do.”

Garrett launched his debut CD I’m Just a Man at the 2004 Harvest Jazz and Blues festival in Fredericton to a sold out crowd. This album claimed the JUNO award for Best Blues Album. He released his sophomore album Love and Sound in July 2008, another JUNO nominee and winner of the Music NS Blues Artist/Group Recording of the Year award.

Jessica Rhaye, is known for a sound that seamlessly incorporates folk, singer-songwriter and Americana styles, but if audiences expect a stripped-down, acoustic-focused performance, they’re in for a surprise with folk/rock backing band The Ramshackle Parade. The music from this group flows naturally but is also skilled, delicate, and pure – imagine Dylan’s days of the basement tapes – renegade folk.

With the release of Sunshine Baby, Jessica Rhaye’s second album with The Ramshackle Parade, the New Brunswick-based singer/songwriter expands her reach as a lyricist and vocalist with a set of alternately personal and observational songs that manage to be incredibly intimate and cinematic in scope simultaneously. A beautiful and powerful album – one that telegraphs the joy and depth of connection Jessica Rhaye & The Ramshackle Parade have found in working together in equal measure.

Jessica Rhaye & the Ramshackle Parade have graced many prestigious stages including the National Arts Centre, Hughs Room Live while being nominated for Music NB Live Act of the Year and Fans Choice in 2020 and East Cost Music Award nomination for Group Recording of the Year in 2021 & 2024.

Sunshine Baby is the follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2019 album Just like a Woman - Songs of Bob Dylan, a rollicking folk-rock interpretation of Dylan's classics. It is a fun folk-rock album with psychedelic undertones, folkie ballads, a conversation between rockabilly and swing, that has generated millions of views on YouTube and fans’ attention world-wide.
Jessica’s past solo albums have garnered nominations for the Canadian Folk, Music New Brunswick, and East Coast Music Awards and she was a finalist in the folk category of the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Rhaye has also gained acclaim as a uniquely talented songwriter co-written with a variety of well-known Canadian tunesmiths, including Royal Wood, Matt Andersen, Ken Tobias, and Ron Sexsmith, and has performed at premier events such as the Stan Rogers and Mariposa Folk Festivals, among many others.

Come celebrate and enjoy a great evening of music with Jessica Rhaye & The Ramshackle Parade as they perform cuts from Sunshine Baby, Just Like a Woman – Songs of Bob Dylan, and from Jessica’s solo catalogue.

Halifax Circus, located in downtown Halifax, is a non-profit cooperative of professional circus artists and teachers.

Our teachers have performed with the Cirque du Soleil and Ringling Brothers, and taught and performed at festivals in Singapore, Hong Kong, Europe, India, the U.S., Alaska, Africa, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Yukon and across Canada. Check out our classes‎ and be part of the excitement at Halifax Circus.

We have a threefold mission: to practice and perform circus work at the highest level, to teach those skills to students at our school, and to work with youth at risk through our social circus initiatives.

Roxy and the Underground Soul Sound (@roxyandtuss) are an award winning, 6 piece soul-funk band from Halifax, Nova Scotia

Since 2013, the band has captivated audiences across Canada with their high-energy live shows. With Roxy’s distinct and powerful voice, tight horn lines, and a beat that brings people to their feet, the band has landed numerous festival dates including the Halifax Jazz Festival, Harvest Music Festival, Stan Rogers Festival, and Cloggeroo. Some of their most notable shows include opening for Chana Khan, The Trews and Joel Plaskett.

Roxy and the Underground Soul Sound have continued to expand their sound with every record. Their upcoming EP, Daylight, integrates 90s R&B and Neo-Soul with aspects of old school funk. Daylight represents a new chapter in for the band, but always with the same underground sound. Look for their new album in the summer of 2024.

“She means what she’s singing” - Allen Toussaint

The songs of the Wabanaki nation have echoed across the rivers and lands of the four Atlantic Provinces and the state of Maine for centuries. In more recent times, the stories, the music, the traditions and the beautiful language have been in jeopardy of surviving in today’s modern world; a society often at odds with the sacred traditions that encompass what it means to be aboriginal in Canada.

Those lessons from the past, combined with anthems to the present, and the hope for a future where truth and reconciliation is realized, maps the clear-sightedness of @thehellocrows and combines it all with cautious optimism. It says a lot about what they are hoping to accomplish as a working musical unit in Canada. They are not only a group of highly talented songwriters and storytellers in their own right, but as a collective voice representing both their nation and generation simultaneously, they are simply a force.

In a very short period of time the excitement surrounding The Hello Crows has gained them noteworthy momentum and some very deserved attention early on. With a reputation built on the strength of four very distinct and respected indigenous artists, The Hello Crows are a group whose star is on the rise.

Steeped in vintage sensibilities and powerful emotion and paired with dreamy vocals, ECMA nominee Avery Dakin fuses old and new in her sun-kissed Pop/R&B music. Cushioned within lush harmonies, bathing in soft sweetness, Avery’s music implores you to sway along to the earnest sounds of a woman in bloom.

Abigail Reinhart is a visual artist based in Quispamsis, New Brunswick. She paints canvas artwork, murals and does street art. Her aesthetic uses references to nature, symbolism, and abstract expressionism. Abigail’s work draws inspiration from environmental and social issues, divine feminine beauty, and inner healing. Her vision is to create authentic art that inspires positive change.

The Big South is equal parts traditional fiddle project and contemporary fusion ensemble. The four piece group combines East Coast fiddling with an eclectic mix of funk, jazz, rock, and metal to create a chaotic melding of genres that might best be described as battle jazz, adventure funk, or turbo folk.

At first glance Earthbound resembles a traditional acoustic rock quartet, but these four talented musicians blend elements of folk, funk, reggae, and rock with clever effects and engineering to create a wave of sound never expected from the acoustic instruments on stage. Building layer by layer, listeners find themselves engulfed in a sound scape of groove filled melodies and soulful, intriguing lyrics.

A fusion of bluegrass and jazz? Juno Award winning saxophone player Joel Miller, fleet-fingered bluegrass master Alan Jeffries, and Fredericton's most in-demand bass player, Jason Flores, combine efforts to completely rewrite the rule book and redefine the boundaries of their respective genres. They deliver tight three-part vocal harmonies on old time classics and mind-bending improvisations with original soulful hooks.

Jaclyn Reinhart is a no-holds-barred roots-rock artist whose main influences include Americana icons such as Sheryl Crow and Tom Petty.

Her charismatic stage banter charms any live audience and sets the stage for her beautiful and honest songwriting.

The Jaclyn Reinhart Band has an on-stage chemistry that is truly infectious putting on an electrifying live show that is not to be missed. The band has featured at major Maritime events such as Area 506, Rising Tide Festival and Canada Day Fredericton, sharing the stage with the likes of The Arkells, Mother Mother, The Trews, and Suzie Vinnick.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Jason Haywood celebrates the dawning of a new musical era with his new backing band, The Goldrush. The full-time return to the solo arena following his departure from outlaw country group The Divorcees in 2022 marks a creative rebirth for the renowned writer, whose work is influenced by timeless legends including Gram Parsons, Neil Young, Townes Van Zandt and Gene Clark, among others. Yet at the heart of his work, Haywood’s voice is entirely his own.

His last studio effort, Folklore, won the singer-songwriter praise both at home and on the international stage, including high-profile coverage from Americana UK and Kurrent Music in the Netherlands. Additionally, Haywood was named Traditional/Roots Artist of the Year by Music New Brunswick in 2018. Folklore marked the culmination of more than three decades of countless miles traveled and hundreds of stages shared with the likes of Blackberry Smoke, Fred Eaglesmith, Hayes Carll and Corb Lund.

Haywood just finished the follow-up to Folklore, eponymously titled “Jason Haywood & The Goldrush” with an anticipated Fall 2024 release with the first single to be released in late Spring.

Jesse Campbell is a local Fredericon magician inspired by the late, great Perley the Magician. Jesse has had roughly 600 magic shows in his young year career, including a finalist spot on New Brunswick's Talent! You may notice him from his viral videos on Instagram called "Drive Thru Magic". Come have some fun and experience the magic right in your hands!

Kelly McMichael is an artist based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, originally from Peterborough, Ontario. A versatile multi-instrumentalist who can sling a guitar, serenade on piano, and program beats in equal measure, McMichael has toured North America and Europe and offered backing to The Burning Hell, Gentleman Reg, Tim Baker and Sarah Harmer.

Her work covers a broad range of pop /rock production styles combining retro and futuristic sounds in service of commanding vocals and well-crafted songwriting. Her debut LP Waves was a breakthrough release of 2021, garnering a spot on the Polaris Prize shortlist, three Music NL Awards, and the ECMA for Best Rock Recording.

Kelly’s sophomore album is a genreless expansion on the classic sound of her debut. Music that sits in the comfort of its core ideas while being utterly unafraid to try new things. It plays exactly how its maker intended. “I write and record in a way that you’re just giving the song what it needs,” says McMichael. “Why limit the creativity? I don’t want limitations.” After The Sting Of It arrives September 2024.

The Martin Boys grew up in the Woodstock area. They are brothers as well as best friends, and it is rare to see one without the other. Their blood harmony is irreplaceable.

In 2019, they were the winners of a local county-wide contest “Carleton County Idol” and in 2023, were runner’s up in a Maritime-wide and multi-genre Battle Of The Bands.

The two brothers were given a chance record in some of the same studios that their musical heroes worked in decades before, and they seized the opportunity. The Martin Boys recorded four original songs in Nashville under the guidance of producer Dean Miller. With these songs, they have created their first ever all-original EP, released this past spring. It includes three singles, Live Like This, Where I'm From, and When You're Gone, plus a re-recorded and Nashvilleified version of their first single, Miracle Cure. 

From humble beginnings. Against all odds. None can deny.

Monteith.

Delicacy, to raw power. We're not geologists, but we know Rock, and soon - You will too.

A necessary fusion of hard-rock, funk and riffs.

When Mark Cameron isn’t being a responsible adult in his new surroundings of New Brunswick, he’s up to his usual wild and crazy stage antics before clusters of young people and their families as Mr. Mark ! Actually, this boy trapped in a man’s body has been bringing song and laughter to festivals, schools, libraries and daycares across Canada since 2002. Armed with a truckload of instruments, and a truckload of enthusiasm, his shows are a delightful romp through family life. Whether you’re singing the praises of Macaroni and Cheese or bouncing to the beat of the Bucketheads, you’ll wind up wigglin’ and gigglin’ and wanting more..... Mr Mark!!

Cive Lucas has lived in small and large towns all over the country, and now resides in the dodgy part of Saint John. He founded NB7 Comedy Productions and has been tearing up the comedy scene all while sporting a shirt with rubber duckies.

Come From Away All the Way Home, presented by NB7 Comedy Productions, is a celebration of small-town New Brunswick and what that means to insiders and outsiders alike. Each of the comics on the bill have either lived in a small New Brunswick town, are from a small New Brunswick town or have at least visited.

Your evening's host, who is no stranger to Woodstock or to the Dooryard Arts Festival, is Katelin Dean. She will do her best to keep up with the others and keep you entertained.

Come From Away All the Way Home, presented by NB7 Comedy Productions, is a celebration of small-town New Brunswick and what that means to insiders and outsiders alike. Each of the comics on the bill have either lived in a small New Brunswick town, are from a small New Brunswick town or have at least visited.

Liam Patrick McNamara currently resides in Albert County (some people call it Riverview - which is much more like a small town than one would expect.) He has strong Cape Breton roots, which feeds into his super witty, smartly written comedy delivered with flair.

Come From Away All the Way Home, presented by NB7 Comedy Productions, is a celebration of small-town New Brunswick and what that means to insiders and outsiders alike. Each of the comics on the bill have either lived in a small New Brunswick town, are from a small New Brunswick town or have at least visited.

Michael Miskimen lives just upriver in Florenceville-Bristol and is a new dad and still entertaining crowds up and down the river valley.

Come From Away All the Way Home, presented by NB7 Comedy Productions, is a celebration of small-town New Brunswick and what that means to insiders and outsiders alike. Each of the comics on the bill have either lived in a small New Brunswick town, are from a small New Brunswick town or have at least visited.

Michelle Lynne Petite, NB7 Headliner, hails from Woodstock and has been wowing crowds, including headlining her own Punchlines show earlier this year, with her sometimes crass but always hilarious humour touching on aging, dating as a middle-aged woman and, of course, growing up in a small town.

Come From Away All the Way Home, presented by NB7 Comedy Productions, is a celebration of small-town New Brunswick and what that means to insiders and outsiders alike. Each of the comics on the bill have either lived in a small New Brunswick town, are from a small New Brunswick town or have at least visited.

Nathan Dimitroff, originally from Bathurst, has dozens of accolades including performing at the HubCap Comedy Festival in Moncton and headlining shows all over. Most recently, he opened up for Jon Dore in Hartland (and other less Carleton County places).

Come From Away All the Way Home, presented by NB7 Comedy Productions, is a celebration of small-town New Brunswick and what that means to insiders and outsiders alike. Each of the comics on the bill have either lived in a small New Brunswick town, are from a small New Brunswick town or have at least visited.

Montreal's own Smoke Spell is fast paced, in-your-face music combining elements of folk punk, country and blues. Raspy vocals and hard lyrics bring you through heartache, travelling, happiness and horror. With 3 rockin albums and an East Coast tour under their belt, they are unstoppable and will leave ya feelin happy and free. Check out Smoke Spell's newest album To The Show on all major streaming sites

Stinking Rich is a 4 piece funk-rock soul band that formed out of the ashes of Morohubu. Starting just before the world shutdown in 2020, the band wrote and recorded a bunch of singles and honed their sound. Featuring Andrew Bull (vocals and bass), John Morris (keys), Randy Ross (drums), and Scott McBride (guitar), the band’s deep pocket groove, tight syncopation, and earworm melodies combine to create a memorable and dance-inducing live show. Taking inspiration from classic artists such as Stevie Wonder and Prince and modern artists like Corey Wong and Ariel Posen, Stinking Rich is sure to make your feet move.