PAST STORE EVENTS

Kelly Hughes Live!

Winnipeg's only live talk show, Kelly Hughes Live! brings you all the trappings you've come to expect from the television talk show: comedy, music and celebrities. The only difference is that (with the exception of a few ringers like Kids in the Hall's Kevin McDonald and Hugo-nominated writer Nick DiChario), it's all local heroes. Guests like Tina Keeper, Fred Penner, Al Simmons, Brian Glow, Margaret Sweatman and Robert Enright have been joined onstage by the likes of stellar Winnipeg musicians The Paperbacks, Todd Hunter, Ingrid Gatin and Rollin Penner and the Traveling Medicine Show. (But it's not like TV in that you will have to leave your house.) It's the TV talk show without the TV. For upcoming Kelly Hughes Live! shows, click here.

Bookstore Owner Kelly Hughes has worked as an actor (Pacific Theatre), a pre-teen TV star (Let's Go!), an arts administrator (Winnipeg Cultural Alliance), and an operations manager (WHERE Winnipeg). He founded Aqua Books a decade ago, and is somewhat infamous as the writer of This Week at Aqua Books. He does dozens of media interviews each year, and has done hundreds of speaking/hosting engagements over the last two decades, from the kindergarten class at Kumsheen Elementary, to the Burnaby Correctional Centre for Women.

Friday, April 13/12 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Comedy Fest
Host Kelly Hughes interviews comedians Lou Dinos, Don Kelly and Bruce Clark, with music by the Curtis Nowosad Quartet

Lou Dinos started in Toronto at a little club called Yuk Yuks, the only comedy club in the country, which at the time stayed open until 4 am and did not serve drinks. After conquering the Great White North, Lou decided to pack his bags and head for the big city. In Los Angeles, he was offered a movie role immediately, and within a month was a regular at the Comedy Store. His name was painted on the wall in the corner that faces Sunset Boulevard. Soon after that he hooked up with his childhood friend, Howie Mandel, and they toured together for five years. This is his first time at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and he's delighted to be coming to see old friends.

Bruce Clark is a Winnipeg writer and comic who is one of the few Canadians to have performed on the Tonight Show. He has appeared at Just For Laughs and the Winnipeg Comedy Festival and is a regular performer in Las Vegas. He has sold television pilots to VH1 and Comedy Central and writes for the Winnipeg Free Press and the Huffington Post. Bruce’s play Incongruous, inspired by the life and work of Irwin Barker, is making it’s debut at the 2011 Winnipeg Comedy Festival.

Curtis Nowosad has quickly become Winnipeg's go-to drummer. At twenty-two, he has already performed in big band and small group settings with some of New York’s finest jazz musicians, including Stefon Harris, Marcus Printup, Ted Nash, Steve Wilson, Miguel Zenón, and his teacher and mentor Steve Kirby.

Friday, March 23/12 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! VPW 11 Reunion Special
Host Kelly Hughes interviews cable access legends "Magic Mike" Likey, "Math with Marty" Green, Neil Schipper, Chris Rutkowski, JohNNy SiZZle, David Cliffe, Marty Gold, Marion from The Cosmopolitans and more

Join all your favourites from Winnipeg's seminal cable access channel, VPW 11.

"Magic Mike" Likey (with Desmond and Forgetful!), "Math with Marty" Green, Neil Schipper, Chris Rutkowski, JohNNy SiZZle, David Cliffe, Marty Gold and Marion from The Cosmopolitans are just a few of the faces from the Golden Age of Winnipeg DIY TV.

Come on down to Winnipeg's favourite DIY talk show and experience the madness that was VPW one more time.

Friday, December 2/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Christmas Carol
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Miss Lonelyhearts Maureen Scurfield, Gerry Atwell, and Ed Mann, with Christmas music by Erin Propp and Larry Roy

Maureen Scurfield is Canada’s longest-running and best-read advice columnist, Miss Lonelyhearts. When not writing, she can be found jumping out of airplanes with her 30+ group, Goddess Escapades.

Gerry Atwell is one of Winnipeg's most experienced and highly regarded keyboard players. He is also a composer, curator and raconteur.

Ed Mann taught English for many years at Vincent Massey Collegiate. He retired not long after Kelly Hughes came through his class. Coincidence?

A recent graduate of the U of M Jazz Studies Program, Erin Propp has been steadily rising in the Canadian music scene, to much critical acclaim. With high artistry and heart-breaking honesty, Erin delivers concert after concert of unforgettable music. The lead singer for local folk/roots band, Red Moon Road, Erin has also shared the stage with many of Winnipeg’s best jazz musicians, and is emerging as a favourite of audiences and musicians alike.

Over the last two decades, Larry Roy has established himself on the Canadian jazz scene as an artist, composer, producer and sought-after professor. As well as teaching jazz at the University of Manitoba, this versatile musician writes film scores and performs all over Europe and North America. Roy and long-time musical partner Steve Kirby recently released the album Wicked Grin.

Friday, September 9/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Into THIN AIR
Host Kelly Hughes interviews award-winning SciFi author Robert J. Sawyer, with music by Banshee's Wail

Robert J. Sawyer is a Canadian science fiction writer, who has won over forty awards including the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. His 1999 novel Flashforward was turned into a TV series for ABC.

Banshee's Wail has been a force on the Winnipeg music scene since 2005, a cross-generational mix of melody and rhythm that packs sweaty dance floors, raises voices and delivers good times by the pint (or pitcher). From revved-up traditional tunes to the frontier of Celtic music, from grimy basement pubs to festival mainstages, Banshee's Wail delivers soaring jigs and searing reels in the highest energy sets this side of Halifax.

Friday, August 19/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! An Unlikely Dozen
Host Kelly Hughes interviews renaissance man Jonathan Ball and UFO expert Chris Rutkowski, with music by The F-Holes

Jonathan Ball is the author of the poetry books Ex Machina (BookThug, 2009) and Clockfire (Coach House, 2010). He holds a Ph.D. in English with a focus in Creative Writing from the University of Calgary. His film Spoony B appeared on The Comedy Network, and his writing has appeared in The Believer and Harper’s. He is the former editor of dandelion and the former short films programmer for the Gimli Film Festival.

Chris Rutkowski is a science writer with degrees in astronomy and education. Since the mid-1970s, he has been one of Canada's leading UFO experts. In addition to publishing eight books on the subject, Rutkowski has appeared on numerous TV programs, including Unsolved Mysteries, Sightings, Undercurrents and The Unexplained.

Don't let their tongue-in-cheek name fool you, rather let their raucous live performance be a testament to their unique blend of country, dixieland, and Manitoba roots music. Since forming in Winnipeg in 2004, The F-Holes have shared the stage with the likes of Gord Downie, K'Naan, Martha Wainright, Fred Eaglesmith, as well as Juno nominated artists Elliot Brood, Twilight Hotel, Nathan and The Perpetrators. Their debut self-titled album in March 2009 has earned rave reviews and showcases the band's attention to musicianship, clever arrangements and honest songwriting. With their unique instrumentation, The F-Holes create a style bending and intriguing musical experience that is truly their own. The F-Holes are currently at work on their second album with a planned release on August 27th, 2011.

Friday, July 22/11 10:45pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Fringe of the Night VII
Host Kelly Hughes interviews actor Christel Bartelse, with music by JohNNy SiZZle

Thursday, July 21/11 10:45pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Fringe of the Night VI
Host Kelly Hughes interviews actor Keir Cutler, with music by jazz guitarist Tim Seier

Wednesday, July 20/11 10:45pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Fringe of the Night V
Host Kelly Hughes interviews storyteller Roberta Kennedy, with music by Marcel Desilets

Tuesday, July 19/11 10:45pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Fringe of the Night IV
Host Kelly Hughes interviews actor Chris Gibbs, with music by Bremner Duthie

Monday, July 18/11 10:45pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Fringe of the Night III
Host Kelly Hughes interviews actor TJ Dawe, with music by Margaret Howison

Saturday, July 16/11 11:30pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Fringe of the Night II
Host Kelly Hughes interviews actor Martin Dockery, with music by Colin Godbout

Friday, July 15/11 11:30pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Fringe of the Night I
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Prince of Darkness Satan, with music by David Johnson

Cast out of Heaven for essentially being the only one to take the Suggestion Box there seriously, Satan (a.k.a. Lucifer Morningstar a.k.a. The Great Deceiver a.k.a. “Thumbs” Malone) is the embodiment of evil. He can currently be seen presenting tales of terror in the 2011 Winnipeg Fringe Festival production of The Return of The Revenge of The Son of The Bride of Macabre Tales of Horror and Macabreness 2: Satan’s Boogaloo, as gigs for the personification of sin have dried up since the advent of the Kardashian sisters. Turn-ons include long drinks on the beach, Ukraine mail order bride websites, Nickelback and run-on sentences.

David Johnson is a singer-songwriter, classically trained guitarist with a unique fingerpicking style, and a world traveler who tells stories in his music. Originally from Manitoba, Dave's touring Canada and his adopted homeland of Sweden this summer promoting his debut solo album, Homemade, an eclectic mix of folk, country, rock and roll, and pop music. Check him out at www.davidjohnson.se.

Friday, July 8/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! The Fringeman Cometh
Host Kelly Hughes interviews 2011 Fringe Festival performer Heather Witherden and playwright Joseph Aragon, plus music by Curtis Nowosad, Luke Sellick and Andrew Littleford

Heather Witherden is Winnipeg's favourite wisecracking Mom. After a titillating 2010 Fringe debut (Breast Friends and Tazzy's Angels), she's returning to Tazzy's Angels 2011 at the Gas Station Theatre. Heather is also the popular comic MC of Moonlight Madness Burlesque, with a cheekiness and wit that has the audience gasping for air; she lays her soul bare with her tell-all style of comedy. Anthony Augustine of Uptown magazine called her, " ..one of the funniest local women around.." and she has had several pieces featured on CBC Radio's Definitely Not the Opera. She hopes to write her own fringe play, but for now, in her spare time, she raises boys.

Curtis Nowosad has quickly become Winnipeg's go-to drummer. At twenty-two, he has already performed in big band and small group settings with some of New York’s finest jazz musicians, including Stefon Harris, Marcus Printup, Ted Nash, Steve Wilson, Miguel Zenón, and his teacher and mentor Steve Kirby.

Friday, June 17/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! 59
Host Kelly Hughes interviews RWB first soloist Jo-Ann Sundermeier and DIY Chix Cheryl Hood, with music by haLf man haLf eLf

Born in Pompano Beach, Florida, Jo-Ann Sundermeier began her dance training with Liana Navarro in Miami when she was eight years old. She came to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division in 1997 and while there, received the Prince Edward Award, the School’s most prestigious scholarship. Sundermeier made her professional debut with the RWB in 2002, dancing in Nutcracker. Sundermeier’s first lead role with the RWB was Tinkerbell for the world premiere of Jorden Morris’ Peter Pan. Last season she was given the opportunity to play the demanding, dueling roles of Odette/Odile from the quintessential ballet Swan Lake. She is now First Soloist with the RWB.

Cheryl Hood's background working in the theatre as a set carpenter, lighting technician and production manager has equipped her with a unique knack for devising practical custom household solutions. In 2010, Cheryl stepped out on her own, armed with a hammer and a business concept centred on empowering women (and men) who want to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty.

Founded in 2006, haLf man haLf eLf is a collective of diverse musicians whose genre preferences range from Classical, Progressive Rock, Bluegrass, Folk, Postpunk, New Wave, Fantasy Fiction, and Philosophy, producing a unique brand of music that may be described as melodically catchy, structurally complicated, instrument-rich, lyrically philosophical, and distortion-less. Listening to their songs, one can hear influences from Gentle Giant; Emerson, Lake and Palmer; The Wild Swans; The Waterboys; Depeche Mode; Mozart; and Bach. Current members are Christine Mazur (violin/cello), Bert Nicanor (drumkit/ percussion), Dave Lababovich (acoustic guitar / banjo / mandolin), Janice Bamforth (percussion), and aLfie vera mella (vocalist/keyboards/percussion). The band is currently finishing an album, entitled Tales from a Half Forgotten Era.

Friday, June 10/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Jazz Fest Preshow
Host Kelly Hughes interviews local jazz veterans Jeff Presslaff and Owen Clark, with music by Helen White

Jazz pianist, trombonist, and composer/arranger, Jeff Presslaff has become a mainstay of the Winnipeg jazz scene since moving from New York in 1997. Born in Manhattan, educated at Princeton and Wesleyan Universities, he has had a varied career working with many distinguished musicians, including Benny Carter, Bill Barron, Ed Blackwell, Roswell Rudd, Sheila Jordan, Bob Brookmeyer, Howard Levy, Stanley Jordan, Bill Watrous, George Garzone, Steve Nelson, Edgar Meyer, Sim Cain, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Josh Groban and many others. In 2004, he was named Jazz Winnipeg's Musician of the Year.

Owen Clark is a drummer, percussionist, vocalist, bass player, composer/arranger, historian, author and radio announcer. His book Musical Ghosts: Manitoba’s Jazz and Dance Bands, 1914-1966, was released in March 2008. Owen was named the 2009 Manitoba Jazz Musician of the Year.

Singer-songwriter Helen White recently released her second album Midnight Sun, a selection of jazz classics to complement her pop work on 2009's No (More) Dinosaur Bones. In addition to her work as a producer and engineer for other local artists, she has continued to teach voice at Quest Musique, Portage Conservatory of Music, and directs the Winnipeg Downtown Vocal Jazz Choir. This summer, she will be on faculty at the International Music Camp in North Dakota. Helen is also the mother of three crazy and bouncy children under five years old, and the wife of a writer and poet.

Friday, June 3/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! 57
Host Kelly Hughes interviews dancer/choreographer Paula Blair, magician Brian Glow and Kids in the Hall's Kevin McDonald, with music by Enjoy Your Pumas

We will be charging $5 a head for this show only, due to space limitations. Tickets are available at Aqua Books. All proceeds go towards the Performing Arts Lodge of Winnipeg.

Paula Blair is an independent dance artist, choreographer and teacher living in Winnipeg. Under the Artistic Direction of Casimiro Nhussi, Paula has been dancing with NAfro Dance Productions since the company's inception. NAfro has toured within Canada and in Mozambique, Africa. She also acts and writes for television and movies.

Brian Glow is an internationally renowned illusionist who has one of the largest touring illusion shows in North America. Since 1973, his concerts have toured to over 40 different countries.

Kevin McDonald is a comedian and actor best known as a founding member of Kids in the Hall.

Enjoy Your Pumas is a female-fronted indie pop/rock quintet that blends powerful soaring vocals with atmospheric guitars and a punchy, energetic rhythm section. Their infectious, genre-defying music has fans of all styles jumping out of their seats. Their sound is akin to Emily Haines fronting Bloc Party covering Radiohead.

Friday, April 15/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Road to the Book Awards
Host Kelly Hughes interviews 2011 nominees Joe Mackintosh and Jim Blanchard, with music by Jess Reimer

Joe Mackintosh has played accordion and piano with a veritable who's who of Manitoba's music scene for over four decades. He played accordion with legendary fiddler Andy De Jarlis and his Early Settlers band from 1970 through to Andy’s death in 1975. In 2010, Joe wrote Andy De Jarlis: The Life and Music of an Old-Time Fiddler, which has been nominated for the Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-Fiction.

Jim Blanchard has been the President of the Manitoba Library Association and the Manitoba Historical Society. Jim is now putting his MA to good use - his latest chronicle of the history of Winnipeg has been shortlisted for three Manitoba Book Awards. (Something to pass on to his three kids, and soon-to-be grandchild.) A librarian since the 1970s, he prefers used books to new books.

Jess Reimer is a throwback to a time to when country music on the radio was cool, the music was honest and the words made you feel it. Jess recently released her fourth record, Sweet Darling and Sorrow. Produced by Grant Siemens (of Corb Lund), it's a collection of songs sure to impress Country, Americana/Canadiana and Folk music fans. Jess performs with guitarist/luthier Jeremy Hamm, who backs her up with tight harmonies and instrumental breaks that keep things charged. As a finalist in the International Songwriters Competition, Jess established herself as a writer. In the Doug and Jess Band, she donned the stand up bass and belted out traditional and original bluegrass tunes. Here, her stripped down version of the stark prairie/female/human experience will get you if you let it.

Friday, April 8/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! CBC Winnipeg Comedy Fest
Host Kelly Hughes interviews comics Nikki Payne and Seán Cullen, with music by the Dusty Roads Band

Nikki Payne's no-holds-barred style of comedy and her lisp are two things which make Nikki standout as an innovator in the Canadian comedy scene. She is the recipient of three Canadian Comedy Awards and two Gemini nominations. Her Comedy Inc. special on CTV was one of the network's most viewed. She has appeared on NBC’s Last Comic Standing and is a regular on Much Music’s Video on Trial.

Seán Cullen , a comedian with Canadian Comedy Awards and Geminis to his credit, has been touring and performing for the past 20 years. His credits include the award-winning Hamish X trilogy (writer), the Canadian production of The Producers (Max Bialystock), CBC-TV's The Seán Cullen Show, Comedy Central Presents... Seán Cullen, Seán Cullen’s Wood, Cheese and Children!, COMICS!, Seán Cullen’s Home for Christmas, YTV's Monster Warriors, and CBC Radio's Simply Seán. Seán’s highly anticipated new novel The Prince of Neither Here Nor There is now in stores.

The Dusty Roads Band is Dustin Harder and Jessie Rae Ayre. The passion and intensity that Dustin pulls through his guitar is immediately apparent, and backed by an unrelenting rhythm section and the exquisite voice of Jessie Rae Ayre, they are the complete "something for everyone" band.

Friday, April 1/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! April Fools
Host Kelly Hughes interviews comedians Dan Licoppe and Bruce Clark, with music by Justin Lacroix

Dan Licoppe has appeared on NBC’s Last Comic Standing (semi-finalist Season 5), Comedy Now!, Open Mike With Mike Bullard, TSN’s Off The Record, CBC Radio’s The Debaters, and at Just For Laughs. Audiences and clients have described him as clever, quick witted, hilarious and down to earth. They also mispronounce his name a lot.

Bruce Clark is a Winnipeg writer and comic who is one of the few Canadians to have performed on the Tonight Show. He has appeared at Just For Laughs and the Winnipeg Comedy Festival and is a regular performer in Las Vegas. He has sold television pilots to VH1 and Comedy Central and writes for the Winnipeg Free Press and the Huffington Post. Bruce’s play Incongruous, inspired by the life and work of Irwin Barker, is making it’s debut at the 2011 Winnipeg Comedy Festival.

Justin Lacroix has been singing his songs and picking his guitar on various Canadian stages since 2003. Though he claims influences of many genres and styles from blues to rock to country to latin, Justin describes his music as home-grown, groovy roots-rock for your body, heart and soul". Having been compared to Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Jeff Buckley, and even a young Bruce Cockburn, you begin to see which musical category Lacroix may be classified under. Regardless of the genre he steps in and out of, it's Justin Lacroix's smooth, powerful voice, funky guitar style and genuine passion for what he does that make him a unique and timeless talent on this day's music scene.

Friday, March 25/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! XOXO
Host Kelly Hughes interviews burlesque dancer Miss La Muse, Cherrystems.com's Kate Winiarz and Miss Lonelyhearts, Maureen Scurfield, with music by Alanadale

Miss La Muse's charmed life led her to Winnipeg, Manitoba where she has become the most notorious Burlesque performer of the prairies! Her style and inspiration is a seductive brew of classic European burlesque, retro nostalgia, vaudeville, film noir and whimsy with a modern twist. Miss La Muse produces vaudevillian-style burlesque shows with her troop Moonlight Madness, as well as performing solo. Her growing fan base includes celebrities, as well as elite clients such as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The Manitoba Club and CanWest. Come see why Miss La Muse is a rising star in the world of high-tease burlesque.

Kate Winiarz is the owner of the growing nudie site, Cherrystems.com, run right here in Winnipeg. The site features photos of both men and women, and makes donations to community health organizations a priority. A welcoming place for all who want to give showing off their bodies a try, Cherrystems is all about sexy photos that you can feel good about in more than a few ways. She's a Winnipegger/Quebecer, crafter, manager, friend, and confidante – formerly known as pink-haired Kate.

Maureen Scurfield is Canada’s longest-running and best-read advice columnist, Miss Lonelyhearts. When not writing, she can be found jumping out of airplanes with her 30+ group, Goddess Escapades.

Four-piece experimental folk group, Alanadale took to the stage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival's Young Performers program (under the mentorship of Greg MacPherson), and have taken the city by storm. Drawing influence from the likes of Chad VanGaalen, Arcade Fire, The Acorn, and Jose Gonzales, Alanadale's classically-trained guitarists create a natural acoustic sound that pours forth creativity and abounds with musical maturity. They are currently working on their debut EP.

Friday, March 4/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Goes Wild
Host Kelly Hughes interviews writer/outdoorsman Jake MacDonald and fishing guide Patrick Nolan, with music by Howls in the Family

Over the last twenty-five years Jake MacDonald has produced ten books of both fiction and non-fiction and hundreds of articles for many of North America’s leading newspapers and magazines. Six of his books have been optioned or developed by film producers and some were recognized with national awards. The memoir Houseboat Chronicles, for example, won three awards across Canada, including the Writers Trust of Canada prize for best non-fiction book 2002, and about twenty-five of his magazine stories have won writing awards. MacDonald divides his time between Winnipeg and Toronto and a rustic retreat in Minaki, Ontario.

Patrick Nolan has been a Lake of the Woods fishing guide for the past 18 years, a big city paramedic for 17, a Free Press columnist and a father to two year-old son Harper. He's seen the evolution of Muskie fishing progress from a subculture in angling's outer reaches, to one of the fastest growing areas of the game.

Howls in the Family is a six piece band of merry music makers. Their ensembles, range from upbeat country to blues inspired grit, and from old timey goodness, to promiscuous folk. Whether they be in a wood fired hot tub listening to the wolves howl, or on stage howling in harmony, this crew demonstrates a sibling like connection that is pleasant, corky and sure to entertain.

Friday, February 18/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Mondo!Clarke
Host Kelly Hughes interviews GG winner George Elliott Clarke, with music by Lucas Sader Quintet featuring Brooke Van Ryssel

George Elliott Clarke was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, a seventh-generation Africadian. He is a poet, playwright, novelist, and critic, with a Governor General’s Award for Poetry and a Martin Luther King Achievement Award among his many honours. His works include several acclaimed collections of poetry, including Whylah Falls and Execution Poems, the libretto for the jazz opera Beatrice Chancy, the novel George and Rue, and several plays. Clarke lives in Toronto where he is the EJ Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature at University of Toronto.

At 20 years of age, Lucas Sader has already begun to assert himself in the Winnipeg music scene. He currently leads his own Quintet and Trio and is also active as an Instructor (privately), Journalist (with Dig! Magazine), Accompanist (with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet) and Clinician (with the Pembina Trails School Division). As a student in the University of Manitoba Jazz Studies Program, Lucas has had the opportunity to study and play with many amazing musicians including Quincy Davis, George Colligan, Steve Kirby, Jimmy Greene, Terreon Gully, E.J. Strickland, Rudy Royston and Jauvon Gilliam.

Friday, February 11/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Joie de Vivre
Host Kelly Hughes interviews junkyard luthier Lorne Collie and country legend Ray St. Germain, with music by Fire & Smoke

Weathered cowboy Lorne Collie does more than just wrangle horses up in Hilbre, Manitoba. He's also Canada's only junkyard luthier, crafting musical instruments out of old rakes, shovels, antlers and cookie tins. Because one man's junk is another man's music.

As an artist, Ray St. Germain is a Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer. As a host, he's been a regular radio fixture since 1957, and has logged over 600 hours on Canadian television.

Fire & Smoke was born by the flickering light and inviting warmth of a Winnipeg Folk Fest campground jam. Claire Morrison's dark, rich voice and Daniel Péloquin-Hopfner's feel-them-in-your-bones harmonies will charm you. Accompanied by an ever-evolving assortment of instruments, the pair offer up their own take on what makes a young girl cry, a grown man sigh, and what’s really going on behind the eyes of the lone old-timer at the dive bar. With their bluegrass- and folk-inspired numbers, Fire & Smoke’s haunting style and boldly intimate storytelling will leave you with an ache in your soul, a song in your heart, and a knowing twinkle in your eye.

Friday, February 4/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! 49
Host Kelly Hughes interviews former attorney general Roland Penner and world record-holder Don Starkell, with music by acappella group Those Guys

Roland Penner was Chairperson of Manitoba’s new legal aid system, former Attorney-General and Minister for Constitutional Affairs. He served as Dean at the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba 1989-1994, and for his accomplishments ­was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2000. He is also the author of an award-winning memoir, A Glowing Dream.

Don Starkell set out in 1980, with his two sons, Dana and Jeff, on an epic canoe journey from Winnipeg to Belem, Brazil. He recounted his perilous two year journey in the book Paddle to the Amazon. In 1990, Don embarked on another epic adventure, tracing the Northwest Passage by kayak. He would lose the tops of his fingers and some of his toes to frostbite. Kelly Hughes Live! will be Don's first appearance since he suffered serious burns when his Elmwood home burned down this past March.

Those Guys formed just over a year ago upon discovering a strong mutual desire to create great a cappella music together. The group's members, Sheldon Atts, Dexter Barcellano, Ben Campbell, Mike Engstrom, Derek Leenhouts, Bernie Pastorin, Mac Taruc and Jeremy Walmsley, have quickly garnered a reputation for entertaining audiences with musically astute performances of many original arrangements, with lively vocal percussion and entrancing harmonies. Upcoming appearances include "An Evening with Those Guys" at The Academy on March 13th, and then in April they will be making their way to Banff to perform at the Rocky Mountain Music Festival.

Friday, January 21/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! WSO New Music Fest
Host Kelly Hughes interviews WSO Composer-in-Residence Vincent Ho and composer Michael Matthews, with music by performance artist Diana McIntosh

Vincent Ho has emerged as a much sought-after composer. During his academic studies, his works were already being performed by many prestigious ensembles and orchestras, including The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and l’Orchestre de la Francophonie canadienne. In addition to North America, his music has been performed in China, France and Italy. He is currently the Composer-In-Residence to the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Michael Matthews is an award-winning composer whose work spans four decades. His music has been performed worldwide.

Diana McIntosh is an original, witty, and innovative composer/pianist/performance artist. She has performed throughout North America, Europe and Kenya. Bravo TV calls her "a national treasure".

Friday, January 14/11 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Strindberg Fest
Host Kelly Hughes interviews actor-directors Gordon Tanner, Talia Pura and Chris Sigurdson, with music by Woody Holler and His Orchestra

Gordon Tanner is an actor and co-founder of the Royal Liechtenstein Theatre Company. In addition to his many stage roles, Gordon also starred as Hockey Night In Canada producer Ralph Mellanby in the CBC miniseries, Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story.

Talia Pura is a veteran of dozens of stage productions and films. She's also an accomplished aerial dancer.

Woody Holler grew up hearing the songs of the cowboy. Although he was later trained in classical music, a sense of belonging and nostalgia held him close to the early Western genre. His yodel effortlessly mixes into scat, further bridging the two genres of Western music and Jazz. Woody's major influences include the crooning styles of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers as well as the rustic blue yodeling of Jimmy Rodgers and the danceable swing of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.

Friday, December 3/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Christmas
Host Kelly Hughes interviews screenwriter Chris Charney, with A Child's Christmas in Wales by Ed Mann, plus the silver tones of Neil Keep and the iPod Orchestra

Chris Charney is a Winnipeg screenwriter whose high school comedy Wild Cherry starring Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigalow) and Rumer Willis (The House Bunny) was nominated for a 2009 Canadian Comedy Award for film writing. Throughout the years he has written and produced television documentaries about boxers, Sitting Bull, exotic dancers, and serial killers for Winnipeg's Farpoint Films. He is currently working on a feature screenplay entitled Senior Year.

Neil Keep has been singing for 43 years, 27 of those at a semi-professional level. As a solo act and with various bands, he sings at weddings, receptions, banquets, customer and volunteer appreciation events, fundraisers, coffee houses, churches, big parties, small parties, private parties, milestone parties and anywhere else. As well as his solo show with the iPod Orchestra, he performs with local big band, Ricky Bogart and the New Casbah Band.

Friday, November 26/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! 45
Host Kelly Hughes interviews greyhound rescuer Michaela Lamoureux and Juno-nominated singer-songwriter Dean McTaggart, with music by Newfie rocker Elton Adams

Michaela Lamoureux runs Hi-Speed Hounds, a non-profit, all-volunteer greyhound rescue organization. Every year, thousands of greyhounds are retired from racing with nowhere to go. Michaela rescues dogs from all over the U.S. (greyhound racing is illegal in Canada) and finds them loving homes.

Dean McTaggart's professional career started as the lead singer/songwriter for the Canadian rock/pop band The Arrows in 1981. An independent release Misunderstood was followed by two albums for A&M records which produced the hit singles Meet me in the Middle, Talk Talk, and Heart of the City. When the band broke up in 1986 Dean went on to be a staff songwriter penning many hits including Darkhorse, a number one in Canada for Amanda Marshall (which Elton John called "a sure fire hit" on Rosie O'Donnell, Birmingham, a top twenty song worldwide for Amanda Marshall, as well as hits for Anne Murray, Australian super star Tina Arena, Terri Clark, Kelly Coffee, Johnny Reid, John Berry, The Guess Who, John McDermitt, Wynonna Judd, The Rankin Family, Danny Brooks, Shakura S'Aida and many others. Dean has twice been nominated for a Juno for Songwriter of the Year and has received many SOCAN and ASCAP awards. Over the years, Dean has been kept busy producing, recording, writing and playing live both solo and with a band. His new CD is Drop the Needle in the Groove.

Elton Adams has been performing for his fellow soldiers since he joined the military at the age of 17. While serving his country in Afghanistan in 2008, MCpl Adams performed his song What A Soldier Left Behind, with Canada's beloved rock band Blue Rodeo. He released his first rock album in March 2009 (most of the songs on the album were written in Afghanistan) upon returning to Canada. In addition to having his songs chart across the country, MCpl Adams has received numerous awards for his music contributions to the Canadian Forces.

Friday, November 19/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! 44
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Canadian Museum for Human Rights COO Patrick O'Reilly, artist Derek Brueckner and South African storyteller Erik de Waal, with music by Maximum 60

Patrick O'Reilly was the Chief Federal Negotiator for the creation of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and was subsequently appointed Chief Operating Officer of the Museum in September 2008. Prior to his appointment with the museum, Mr. O’Reilly held numerous executive roles in the Canadian government, including Director General of Strategic Policy, and Secretary to the Committee of Deputy Ministers on National Security, Justice and Human Rights, tackling difficult policy issues relating to national security and individual rights. Mr. O’Reilly is an active community volunteer, a recent Governor of Carleton University in Ottawa and now a proud Winnipegger.

Derek Brueckner is an artist who has had exhibitions/performances in Winnipeg, Florence, Chicago and New York City. He has done artist residencies in Chicago, Italy and Vermont; and has lectured at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Dominican University (Chicago), the School of Fine Arts at the National Academy of Design (NYC) and the 2008 College Art Association Conference in Dallas. Derek teaches at the University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. He also hosts Eat Your Arts and Vegetables on CKUW 95.9 FM. Derek has a BFA from the University of Manitoba and an MFA from Hunter College, City University of New York.

South African Erik de Waal is a critically acclaimed dramatic artist both at home and abroad. He has performed his solo story theatre productions for more than 200 000 people in South Africa, Canada, England, Ireland, Argentina, Mexico and Turkey. “Sensual and evocative" and "epic and intimate" are just some of the accolades awarded him by critics in South Africa and Canada. This multi-talented actor, storyteller, writer and singer is best known for blending the myriad cultures of South Africa to create intense, memorable theatrical experiences.

Maximum 60 fuels youthful curiosity with newfound wisdom, driving you into the new frontier of well-crafted pop rock. At once familiar and new, weaving their way around the Beatles, Styx, Coldplay, and the Killers, changing lanes and taking the lead.

Friday, November 5/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Goes Green
Host Kelly Hughes interviews the Urbee Car Project's Andrew Warren, with Humboldt Legacy's Willi Kurtz, birds from Wildlife Haven and music by Jason Gordon

Urbee is a two-passenger hybrid car being designed by Winnipeg's Kor Ecologic Inc., as an incredibly fuel efficient, easy to repair, safe to drive, and inexpensive to own vehicle. It will last for decades and be good for the environment. It can efficiently store and use exactly the amount of solar and wind energy you can collect on a one-car garage in one day. If you want to go farther in a day, you can use its ethanol powered engine.

R2 is a 9-year old male Red-tailed Hawk that was originally found by Manitoba Conservation officers in the Victoria Beach area. He was starving, trying to hunt, and had jesses attached to its legs. It was later discovered that the hawk had escaped from a Falconer, and was an imprinted subadult. Imprinting occurs during an important stage of nestling development when humans have excessive interaction with the bird. Imprinted animals recognize humans as their role model, and consequently, often cannot survive in the wild. R2 was confiscated and turned over to the Wildlife Haven in 2001, and because he was non-releasable due to imprinting, he became a part of our education program.

Luna is a 5½ year old female Barn Owl who was donated to our education program on Feb. 17th, 2010 by the Assiniboine Park Zoo. She originally came from the Granby Zoo in Quebec, where she was captive-born. Luna has been in captivity her whole life, and therefore is a non-releasable bird. We’re very excited to have Luna as a Wildlife Ambassador, as Barn Owls are the most widely distributed species of owl, but only occur accidentally in Manitoba.

Jason Gordon is a singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Winnipeg. Jason began picking up show tunes off the piano when he was only 3 years old and started writing songs when he was 9. After a successful career as a sideman (three Top 100 songs under his belt), this year is proving to be his breakout year as a solo artist. His new album Born to Be is proof that he's a born entertainer.

Friday, October 29/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Halloween
Host Kelly Hughes interviews comic Big Daddy Tazz and illusionist Brian Glow, with music by Absent Sound

Big Daddy Tazz is one of the most sought-after comedians working today. Tazz is able to do what he loves both on and off stage, which is to make people laugh! His off-the-cuff style brings the audience together, making them feel like they are part of his family, sitting around the kitchen table playing crib.

Brian Glow is an internationally renowned illusionist who has one of the largest touring illusion shows in North America. Since 1973, his concerts have toured to over 40 different countries.

Absent Sound are powerfully eclectic and engaging musicians, spanning from record skip world dub to heavy electronic post rock with eerie yet festive four part harmonies. These puppet masters wield a musical arsenal creating huge dramatic worlds of sound with organic chants, colossal guitars, hypnotic off-rhythm record scratches, beats, loops, synth and organ drones. The group has toured extensively throughout North America and are best experienced live, bringing their unique style of sensory art and music to life.

Wednesday, October 20/10 8pm The Orbit Room, 2077 Pembina

Kelly Hughes Live! At the Orbit Room
Host Kelly Hughes interviews jazz giant Steve Kirby, with music by faculty of the U of M Jazz Studies program

In the summer of 2003, Steve Kirby accepted the position as the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Manitoba. Since then, Steve has overseen a full-fledged rejuvenation of the jazz scene in Winnipeg. Steve also performs locally with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and his own critically acclaimed ensemble: The Oceanic Jazz Orchestra for which he composes and arranges all of the music. Before coming to Winnipeg from New York, Professor Kirby established himself an enviable career as a double bass player, performing, recording, and touring with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Elvin Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Cyrus Chestnut, Abbey Lincoln, Steve Turre, James Carter, Stefon Harris, Joe Lovano, Kenny Barron, Kathleen battle and many others.

Friday, October 15/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! State of the Unicity II
Host Kelly Hughes interviews publisher and Weakerthans frontman John K. Samson and Rise and Sprawl's Robert Galston, with music by The Scarlet Union

John K. Samson is the singer and songwriter for The Weakerthans, whose five albums have been universally praised by fans and critics alike. John’s poetry and prose has appeared in Matrix Magazine, Geist, The Believer, and Post-Prairie—an Anthology of New Poetry. He’s also the managing editor and co-founder of a small publishing house, Arbeiter Ring Publishing.

Robert Galston began writing on Winipeg's urban issues in 2005, when he began his blog The Rise and Sprawl. Since then, he has been a regular commentator on neighborhood revitalization, heritage preservation, urban sprawl and local history. His writings on these subjects have also appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press and The Uniter, the University of Winnipeg's weekly student paper. Robert currently attends the University of Winnipeg, and lives in Winnipeg's Point Douglas neighborhood with his wife Erin and their two young children.

The Scarlet Union is fronted by Greg "Milka" Crowe, who has been a contributing member of the Winnipeg independent music scene since 1992. After playing guitar in upstart local hardcore outfit XchoplogicX, Crowe turned to the ska idiom and hasn't looked back since. From 1993-2000, Crowe fronted local ska outfit Whole Lotta Milka. During those seven years, Milka released two full length albums, Got Milka? and Al's Diner, for Montreal-based Stomp Records. After Whole Lotta Milka's departure from the Canadian ska scene in 2000, Crowe began to play solo gigs, emphasizing the more traditional side of the ska genre. Greg Milka Crowe released his debut full length solo album, Bhakta Basics, on Bacteria Buffet Records in 2004 while continuing to perform and tour with The Greg Milka Crowe Band. Crowe has since reformed the band under the name of The Scarlet Union to include not only ska and reggae, but also soul and rockabilly to present a truly diverse performance.

Friday, October 8/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! State of the Unicity I
Host Kelly Hughes interviews arts activist Milena Placentile, Progressive Winnipeg's Graham Hnatiuk, and architect Peter Sampson, with music by Stand Alone Complex

Milena Placentile is interested in socially and politically engaged artistic practices, audience experience, and progressive cultural policy. She is a member of the International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art (IKT) and has received generous support from organizations including the local arts councils, the Consulate General of France in Toronto, the Henry Moore Foundation, and the International Association of Art Critics (Armenia). Her latest experiment, Showing Up, Speaking Out, explores ways citizens can engage with municipal issues. She is a Co-Director of ATOMIC CENTRE and will spend next year between Winnipeg and Stockholm as part of a research residency at Konstfack University.

Graham Hnatiuk is an autodidactic university dropout who loves bureaucrats and career politicians. He is frequently spotted standing in empty parking lots screaming "there's noooooo parking!" at heritage buildings slated for demolition. His blog, Progressive Winnipeg, is an emotional venting outlet for the environmentally-minded urbanist, penning his thoughts on the many wonderful policies and civic decisions that have helped shape Winnipeg into the tasteless donut it is today.

Peter Sampson began practicing architecture in Winnipeg in 2005 after moving with his family from Toronto. Peter grew up in Montreal, has a degree in Literature from McGill University and pursued his architecture studies at the University of Toronto. He opened his own practice, Peter Sampson Architecture Studio in 2008 and is a founding partner of the DPA+PSA+DIN Collective, the architects of the newly constructed Buhler Centre, a hybrid contemporary art gallery and faculty building built jointly for PlugIN ICA and the University of Winnipeg on the old Army Surplus site in downtown Winnipeg. Peter writes about Winnipeg for Canadian Architect and until last Spring taught in the U of M's Faculty of Architecture. Peter has worked with Governor General Award-winning Levitt Goodman Architects of Toronto and was Associate Architect at Prairie Architects of Winnipeg, where he was the Project Architect for the U of W's Downtown Campus Development Plan, and the Bill Wedlake Fitness Centre Addition to the Duckworth Centre. Peter's office is currently designing the new facilities for Winnipeg Harvest, the Swan Valley Recreation and Wellness Centre, the Gillam Town Centre, the UW's BikeLab, and a number of select small scale residential projects.

Stand Alone Complex paints a masterful soundtrack of delicately crushing piano explorations on a background of moody - yet sexy - beats and vibrating strings and sound.

Friday, October 1/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Fall Arts Preview II
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Larry Desrochers (Manitoba Opera), Columpa Bobb (MTYP), Casimiro Nhussi (NAfro Dance) and Steven Schipper (MTC), with music by James Struthers

Larry Desrochers has been General Director and CEO of Manitoba Opera for a decade. He has also worked in theatre, festivals, film and events, and is the Founding Executive Producer of the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. Other positions include Associate Artistic Director of the Manitoba Theatre Centre, Director/Producer of the 1999 Pan Am Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and Executive Director of the Winnipeg Film Group. His stage directing credits include the premieres of plays Transit of Venus and Shakespeare’s Dog for MTC, and the operas The Magic Flute, Otello and Transit of Venus for Manitoba Opera. In 2003, the U of W made Desrochers a Distinguished Alumni in recognition of his contribution to the arts community in Manitoba.

Columpa Bobb is best known for her role as Mary Cook on the CBC series North of 60. She is the daughter of poet and writer Lee Maracle and the great-granddaughter of actor Chief Dan George. She is the program director for the Aboriginal Arts Training and Mentorship program at the Manitoba Theatre for Young People.

Casimiro Nhussi is a professional African dancer, choreographer, dance instructor and musician from Mozambique. Starting his career as a dancer, Casimiro then became the principal dancer, and then the Artistic Director of the Mozambique National Song and Dance Company. Currently Casimiro is the Artistic Director and Founder of Winnipeg only African contemporary dance company, NAfro Dance Productions.

Since his appointment as Artistic Director of the Manitoba Theatre Centre in 1989, Steven Schipper has received credit for enhancing the company’s artistry and for developing a new base of audience members and donors. Born in Montreal and trained at McGill University, Bishop’s University and the National Theatre School of Canada, Steven has directed many productions for MTC, including The Drowsy Chaperone, the Canadian premiere of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile, the world premiere of Mark Stein’s Mating Dance of the Werewolf and its American premiere at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura, California. Steven also conceived and directed The History of Manitoba from the Beginning of Time to the Present in 45 Minutes, an award-winning play that tours Manitoba high schools. Additional credits include Tropical Madness at the Shaw Festival and Associate Director for Romeo and Juliet at the Stratford Festival. In June of 2007, Steven received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the U of W. Steven lives in Winnipeg with his wife, actress Terri Cherniack and their two children.

James Struthers is turning heads of listeners and industry pundits alike with his seemingly over-night rise to local stardom. A technically skilled guitarist and incredibly gifted vocalist, Struthers is already drawing comparisons to modern day greats like John Mayer and Jason Mraz, even being referred to as a male Feist on more than one occasion. Struthers’ six-song April 2010 release, Nadia, evokes an intensely personal artistic expression of first love.

Friday, September 24/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Pop Star
Host Kelly Hughes interviews music writer John Kendle and super-producer Chris Burke-Gaffney, with music by Arun Chaturvedi

John Kendle is the editor of Uptown Magazine and managing editor of the Canstar Community News weekly papers. He is president of Manitoba Music, the provincial music industry association, and sits on the board of directors of the West End Cultural Centre. He’s been writing about music in Winnipeg since 1985 and claims he still loves it.

Chris Burke-Gaffney started his career as singer/bassist for The Pumps (Polygram). He signed his first record deal as a teenager and toured the country with the likes of Triumph, Guns and Roses and AC/DC. Fifteen years ago, he turned his attention to producing and managing other artists, his most famous protégé being Chantal Kreviazuk.

Some may remember Arun Chaturvedi as the front man for Canadian modern rock group Driver, who performed the 2006 radio hit She Laughed at Me. Since that time, you’d likely find the classically trained pianist behind the mixing console as the go to record producer/songwriter for a host of up and coming artists including Darrelyne Bickel (YTV's Next Star), Don Amero (Male Artist of the Year and Best Songwriter at Canadian Folk Music Awards), Juno nominated Little Hawk and many more. Now, Arun is set to release his first solo recording, a beautiful collection of sparse, piano based songs about real people with real lives who share their most inner secrets and souls.

Friday, September 17/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Into THIN AIR II
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Writers Festival performers Ismaila Alfa, Ignatius Mabasa and Dominique Rey, with music by Naomi Guilbert and Hiroshi Koshiyama of Fubuki Daiko

Ismaila Alfa was born in Nigeria to a Nigerian father and Canadian mother. He completed his early school years in Edmonton, then moved to Winnipeg. After starting a civil engineering degree at the University of Manitoba, he followed his musical dreams and spent eight years touring North America as a hip hop musician. Magnum KI, a band he formed in 2005 with DJ Michael Arnone, opened for the legendary band The Roots at this year’s TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival. When he’s not on a stage tangling with words, he is an audio technician, jingle writer, and traffic reporter for CBC Radio.

Ignatius Mabasa is an acclaimed writer and storyteller from Zimbabwe. He has published stories and poems for children and adults in both English and his native language, Shona. His most recent book, The Man, Shaggy Leopard and Jackal and other stories (Lion Press), was nominated for Zimbabwe’s National Arts Merit Award as the best book in the children’s literature category. Mabasa has performed his stories and poems in many countries, and will spend the fall term in Winnipeg as storyteller-in-residence at the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture.

Dominique Rey is a painter, photographer, video artist and performance artist. She has shown her work across North America with solo exhibitions at Plug In ICA, Clark Gallery, Michael Gibson Gallery, Alternator Gallery, Gallery TPW, Truck Gallery, Gallery One One One and La Maison des artistes. As part of the Winnipeg Cultural Capital of Canada 2010 program, Dominique was selected as the Arts Ambassador for Visual Arts.

As founding members of Fubuki Daiko, Naomi Guilbert and Hiroshi Koshiyama have shared a stage with luminaries such as Blue Rodeo, the Nylons, the McGarrigle Sisters, Cake and a ventriloquist. They received their formal training from the founder of North American Taiko, Grandmaster Seiichi Tanaka. After leaving the San Francisco Taiko Dojo and moving to Winnipeg, they’ve been in constant contact, rehearsing, performing, touring, and writing/editing bios for close to fifteen years. Not once have they ever wanted to kill each other (well, maybe once).

Friday, September 10/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Fall Arts Preview I
Host Kelly Hughes interviews WSO resident conductor Richard Lee, Juno winner Steve Bell and U of M Jazz Studies director Steve Kirby, with music by jazz pianist George Colligan

Richard Lee is currently Resident Conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Director of the University of Manitoba symphony orchestra and Music Director of the Korean Canadian Symphony Orchestra, based in Toronto. He has also appeared with, among others, the symphony orchestras of Quebec City, Vancouver, Ottawa (National Arts Centre) and Thunder Bay. Prior to conducting, Richard played the viola and taught full-time at a public school. When not studying or making music, Richard somewhat guiltily enjoys fine dining, good whisky, Cuban cigars, real ale and lagers, the Sunday New York Times with a cappuccino and a friendly game of poker.

Steve Bell is the best-known Christian musician in Canada. Before embarking on his solo career he was a long-time member of the group Elias, Schritt, and Bell. He has sixteen albums and two Junos under his belt.

In the summer of 2003, Steve Kirby accepted the position as the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Manitoba. Since then, Steve has overseen a full-fledged rejuvenation of the jazz scene in Winnipeg. Steve also performs locally with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and his own critically acclaimed ensemble: The Oceanic Jazz Orchestra for which he composes and arranges all of the music. Before coming to Winnipeg from New York, Professor Kirby established himself an enviable career as a double bass player, performing, recording, and touring with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Elvin Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Cyrus Chestnut, Abbey Lincoln, Steve Turre, James Carter, Stefon Harris, Joe Lovano, Kenny Barron, Kathleen battle and many others.

George Colligan is a New York-based jazz pianist, organist, drummer, trumpet player, educator, composer and bandleader. He was on the faculty of teh Julliard School for two years, and is now Assistant Professor for the U of M's Jazz Studies program.

Friday, September 3/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Into THIN AIR I
Host Kelly Hughes interviews writers Charlene Diehl, Ariel Gordon and Jordan Wheeler, with music by classical guitarist Skender Sefa

Charlene Diehl is possibly best known in these parts as the brightly plumaged dynamo at the hub of the THIN AIR writers festival. But she is also a hard-working poet, and the author of the new book, Out of Grief, Singing.

Ariel Gordon is a Winnipeg-based writer and editor. She has two chapbooks to her credit, The navel gaze (Palimpsest Press, 2008) and Guidelines: Malaysia and Indonesia, 1999 (Rubicon Press, 2009). This spring, Palimpsest published her first full-length poetry collection, Hump. She is the 2010 recipient of the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Writer. When not being bookish, Ariel likes tromping through the woods and taking macro photographs of mushrooms.

From the Charles Gordon First Nation (Southern Plains Cree), Jordan Wheeler has been writing professionally since 1982 and working in film and television since 1984. An author (Brothers In Arms, Just A Walk) and columnist (Winnipeg Free Press, Weetamah), Wheeler’s focus since 1992 has been scriptwriting, story editing and show running for television drama including the award winning series North of 60, The Rez and renegadepress.com. He’s been nominated for numerous awards including three Geminis. He won one, but still smarts at losing to Paul Haggis in ’94.

Skender Sefa is a professional classical guitarist with four full length classical guitar CDs on the GFI Masterworks, Uncontrollable Records and Marquis Record Labels. He teaches classical guitar performance and music theory at the Manitoba Conservatory of Music and Arts and is a Director of the Winnipeg Music Festival and the President of the Winnipeg Classical Guitar Society. In recognition of his career in classical guitar performance, Skender has received awards from both the Canada Council for the Arts and the Manitoba Arts Council. In addition to performing, teaching and recording, Skender is an active music adjudicator/clinician.

Thursday, August 26/10 3pm @ The Forks

Kelly Hughes Live! On the Barge II
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Arts Ambassador Michael Van Rooy and River Barge Festival director Dominic Lloyd, with music by Ben Wytinck

A very special Kelly Hughes Live! at the Forks during the River Barge Music Festival!

Michael Van Rooy is an author, administrator, and teacher. He has written three books in the critically acclaimed Monty Haaviko thriller series set in Winnipeg. Michael is the Program Coordinator for the Writers’ Collective for Professional and Developing Writers, a mentor for the Arts and Cultural Industries Fiction program, the publicist for the THIN AIR Winnipeg International Writers Festival and the Administrator for the Canadian Mennonite University School of Writing. He is also the Vice-President of the Board of Directors of Prairie Fire Press.

Silky-voiced Ben Wytinck got his start at age nine, playing drums in his father's band at a rural Manitoba bar. He moved to Winnipeg in 2001, to play what he calls Bluegrazz (Bluegrass and Jazz). His eponymous debut CD contains ten of his finest self-penned songs.

Wednesday, August 25/10 3pm @ The Forks

Kelly Hughes Live! On the Barge I
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Vancouver comic Sam Easton, with music by Jaxon Haldane of the D.Rangers

A very special Kelly Hughes Live! at the Forks during the River Barge Music Festival!

Sam Easton's standup career started with a bang. After dropping out of York University, the Vancouver born and raised funnyman took the comedy course at Toronto's Humber College, winning the Phil Hartman Comedy Award for best student in 2000. The judge for the competition was Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels and the presenter of the prize was SNL alum Dan Aykroyd. More recently, Easton landed has been doing movies and TV, including five episodes of The L Word.

Jaxon Haldane has become a mainstay of the Winnipeg Roots music scene. As a member of the D.Rangers he has performed and collaborated with many great musicians across North America and Europe and as a recording engineer/producer has assisted in the making of several future classic albums for the likes of Romi Mayes, David Essig, Lindsay Jane, and the late Willie P. Bennett, to name a few.

Friday, August 20/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Director's Cut
Host Kelly Hughes interviews directors Sean Garrity, Danishka Esterhazy and John Paskievich, with music by The Sweet Alibi

Sean Garrity is the award-winning director of the acclaimed features INerTia, Lucid and Zooey and Adam.

Danishka Esterhazy is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg and the Canadian Film Centre. She has written and directed several short films including the National Screen Institute Drama Prize winner The Snow Queen. In 2008, she was awarded the prestigious Kodak New Vision award and she was recently shortlisted for the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer. Black Field, her first feature film, premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival and won the Best Canadian Feature award at Toronto’s Female Eye Film Festival, and is in wide release in Summer 2010.

John Paskievich is a documentary filmmaker and photographer best known for 1982's Genie-winning short film, Ted Baryluk's Grocery, and 2007's Manitoba Book Award-winning, The North End: Photographs by John Paskievich.

Since their debut in the spring of 2009, The Sweet Alibi has been captivating audiences with their alluring blend of soulful melody and folk/roots tradition. A playful sense of lyricism and powerful vocal harmony set the stage for a performance which is up front and personal and instinctively compelling. The Sweet Alibi is Jessica Rae Ayre, Amber Neilson, and Michelle Anderson.

Friday, August 6/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Squared Circle
Host Kelly Hughes interviews SPW wrestler Iron Ike Idol, with music by JohNNy SiZZle

Iron Ike Idol was born in Inverness, Scotland and weighs in at 250 lbs. He has held the SPW Provincial Title and the TRCW Heavyweight Title, in the Steeltown Pro Wrestling league. His signature move is the Northern Lights Bomb.

JohNNy SiZZle is an underground folk-punk pioneer who has also been a busboy, a drag queen and a cable access host. His indie hit I'm a Nerd was used as the theme for the shortlived Tech TV series Nerd Nation.

Friday, July 30/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! 29
Host Kelly Hughes interviews filmmaker/artist Noam Gonick and cable legend Natalie Pollock, with music by The Gin Goblins

Noam Gonick's film and installation work has investigated street gangs of Winnipeg, queer hippie cults, TV psychics, apocalyptic stockbrokers and prison semaphore. He has presented work at the Venice, Berlin, Toronto and Sundance Film Festivals, the Museum of Modern Art and the Serpentine Gallery in London.

Natalie Pollock went from 60s recording star (with brother Rockin’ Ron Pollock), to talk show staple (Donahue, Jenny Jones, Joan Rivers), to the star of her own legendary cable series Pollock and Pollock (rescued from the vaults in filmmaker Daniel Barrow's Winnipeg Babysitter). Natalie is currently working on a new film entitled Spanking Joni Mitchell.

Friday, July 9/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Fringe Fest
Host Kelly Hughes interviews 2010 performers Erik de Waal (South Africa), Alex Eddington (Toronto), Andraea Sartison (Winnipeg) and Jason Hooper (Winnipeg), with music by Lindsey White

South African Erik de Waal is a critically acclaimed dramatic artist both at home and abroad. He has performed his solo story theatre productions for more than 200 000 people in South Africa, Canada, England, Ireland, Argentina, Mexico and Turkey. “Sensual and evocative" and "epic and intimate" are just some of the accolades awarded him by critics in South Africa and Canada. This multi-talented actor, storyteller, writer and singer is best known for blending the myriad cultures of South Africa to create intense, memorable theatrical experiences.

Alex Eddington is secretly a professional composer. His music has been performed internationally by musicians and ensembles including the Mississauga Symphony, the Scarborough Philharmonic, the Toronto Chamber Choir and soprano Kristin Mueller-Heaslip. He has won several competitions as a composer, including a SOCAN Award. He has written and performed three original shows on the Fringe festival circuit (including Winnipeg Fringe): WOOL, The Fugue Code, and Old Growth. He was the recipient of the 2008/09 Urjo Kareda Residency Grant at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. He is currently developing Yarn, a musical storytelling show that will hit Fringes in the summer 2011.

Andraea Sartison is a multi-disciplinary performance artist with a special interest in collective creation. In 2009, she assisted with design and direction for Hello, Hello (Kill Your Television) in Edmonton. Last summer, she wrote, produced, directed and performed in Winnipeg Fringe hit Just One Spark, followed by her artistic residency at the Canada Summer Games in PEI. Across the country, she has performed as Ruthie Ann in PIG (Cowgirl Opera). She currently teaches at MTYP and is rehearsing her own show Puberty: A Memoir for the upcoming Winnipeg Fringe Festival.

Jason Hooper graduated in June 2010 from the U of W theatre program after studying honours playwriting. His first stage appearance outside of school was in November 2006 at the University of Legon in Accra Ghana playing white colonialist number 3. Since then he has performed in two Winnipeg Fringe Festivals appearing in The Watch and Spectacle Puppet Company’s productions of The Clock in the Lobby and The Æthernomicon. On film he has played Drowned Man Number 6 in Guy Madden’s video Fancy Fancy Being Rich. He may most enjoy the Fringe as an excuse to grow a creepy moustache.

Lindsey White's first album, This is Now, created a huge stir in 2007. She was a hot commodity for the next two years...until personal tragedy struck, and she put her guitar away. Now she's back with a vengeance. Lindsey has started writing again, and hooked up with Alasdair Dunlop (bass), Joe Curtis (guitar) and producer/drummer, Mitch Dorge. The new sound is an eclectic mix of blues and funk with a solid folk-rock foundation.

Friday, July 2/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Folk Fest
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Duhks founder Leonard Podolak, plus roots radio host Gail Comfort and music by Del Barber

Leonard Podolak was born on the 30th of July 1975, just three weeks after the 2nd Winnipeg Folk Festival, where he was in attendance as a nearly-born. For those who know him, that would explain everything...In the last fifteen years, he has founded Scruj MacDuhk, The Duhks, and The Turtle-Duhks, and has been nominated for five Junos (one win), and two Grammys (one win). He has played the Main stage at every major folk Festival in Canada, and many in America, Europe, and Australia, and has sold over 100,000 CDs. Not bad for a banjo player from The Peg. And some say he's a pretty nice fella too...

Gail Comfort moved to the UK on a whim in 1997 and ended up staying for almost 12 years. In London, she worked at Spydaradio, an underground collective where her show The Comfort Zone was born. The Zone featured Canadiana/Americana, contemporary folk, bluegrass/old time and traditional country music for six years, until the station died. Since moving back to Winnipeg, Gail has been recording The Comfort Zone for UK-based CMR Nashville.

Del Barber has been winning audiences across Canada and the United States with raw talent and ample doses of charm. In the spirit of legends like Townes Van Zandt, Greg Brown, Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle, Barber dreams new life into old forms with a cutting sense of humour, a hint of cynicism, and songs that span the gulf between the sacred and the profane.

Friday, June 18/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! WSO Indigenous Music Fest
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Eagle and Hawk's Vince Fontaine, composer Andrew Balfour and WSO Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate, with music by 2009 Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year Don Amero

Vince Fontaine founded Eagle and Hawk in 1994. To date, the band has received nearly five dozen nominations and wins at awards ceremonies across North America, including a Juno Award, seven Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, two Native American Music Awards, six Indian Summer Music Awards, and nine Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards including 2008 Aboriginal Entertainer of the Year and 2009 Best Group and Best Rock Album.

Andrew Balfour is the founder, conceptual creator, arranger and Artistic Director of Camerata Nova. He was also the curator of the WSO's very first Indigenous Festival, held in April 2009.

Recognized as one of the most exciting young conductors of his generation, Alexander Mickelthwate is in his third season as Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Praised for his “splendid, richly idiomatic readings” (LA Weekly), “fearless” approach and “first-rate technique” (Los Angeles Times), the German-born conductor has attracted attention for his charismatic presence on the podium and command of a wide range of musical styles.

Don Amero's debut album Change Your Life released in the fall of 2006 garnered a #1 spot on NCI's national aboriginal countdown and was nominated for seven Aboriginal People's Choice Music Awards. In February of 2009, Don released his second album Deepening, which produced two #1 singles on the national aboriginal countdown. In 2009, Don was Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards and Male Artist of the Year at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards in 2009.

Friday, June 11/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Jazz
Host Kelly Hughes interviews musicians Doug Edmond and Michelle Grégoire, with Jazz Fest EP Paul Nolin and music by Steve Kirby and Anna-Lisa Kirby

Doug Edmond started out as a classically trained on flute but taught himself to play piano in his teens. Over the years, he focused his attention on songwriting which led to the formation of the Doug Edmond band, the release of the CD Between the Shadows and the Light, and a showcase performance in Nashville in 2009. Doug and his band (which includes Crash Test Dummy Mitch Dorge) are currently working on his sophomore album.

Pianist and composer Michelle Grégoire's music has been described as “ingenious”, “elegant”, “balanced”, and “original with great depth and imagination”. She has toured across Canada with her quintet and will appear at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal and the Ottawa Jazz Festival this summer in support of her new CD Diversity. Grégoire's music is heard regularly on XM Radio and Galaxie satellite jazz programs. Her performances have been recorded and aired nationally on various CBC programs. Last year Grégoire's quintet opened for the Branford Marsalis Quartet at the Jazz Winnipeg Festival.

This year’s TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival marks Paul Nolin’s seventh year with the organization and his sixth as Executive Producer. In that role he is responsible for overseeing all artistic and administrative aspects of the organization. Prior to his work with the festival, he has worked with numerous arts organizations in the city, including Turnstone Press, the Winnipeg Film Group, the West End Cultural Centre, Prairie Music Week and more. Along with his wife, Kristen Pauch-Nolin, Paul is also the proud parent of three great kids.

Before moving to Winnipeg in 2003, Anna-Lisa Kirby established her professional career as a jazz vocalist in New York City. She has worked with many world class jazz artists, including Steve Kirby, Wynton Marsalis, Cyrus Chestnut, Ted Nash, Stefon Harris, Terreon Gully and Xavier Davis. Her first solo CD is entitled Shades of Blue and it features Steve Kirby, Alvester Garnett and Xavier Davis. Mrs. Kirby is the vocalist for Steve Kirby’s acclaimed Oceanic Jazz Orchestra. Mrs. Kirby made her debut with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in Jan 2010 and continues to be a favorite feature performer with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra. Currently, Mrs. Kirby is the Jazz Program Coordinator and jazz vocal instructor at the University of Manitoba Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music.

In the summer of 2003,Steve Kirby accepted the position as the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Manitoba. Since then, Steve has overseen a full-fledged rejuvenation of the jazz scene in Winnipeg. Steve also performs locally with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and his own critically acclaimed ensemble: The Oceanic Jazz Orchestra for which he composes and arranges all of the music. Before coming to Winnipeg from New York, Professor Kirby established himself an enviable career as a double bass player, performing, recording, and touring with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Elvin Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Cyrus Chestnut, Abbey Lincoln, Steve Turre, James Carter, Stefon Harris, Joe Lovano, Kenny Barron, Kathleen battle and many others.

Friday, June 4/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Hell's Kitchen
Host Kelly Hughes interviews chefs Jeff Gill and Ami Hassan, with wine expert Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson and music by Jackpine

Chef Jeff Gill was born in Liverpool. He started his training at the local catering college, before apprenticing at the Savoy Hotel in London. After working at the The Waldorf Hotel in NYC, he somehow ended up in Winnipeg. He works as a full-time Culinary Arts Instructor by day and busy caterer and food service consultant by night. He is married with two grown children.

Israeli-born Ami Hassan is Winnipeg's own Falafel Nazi. When he's not at work in his restaurant, the Falafel Place, he's spreading the word about something he's deeply passionate about - organ donation.

Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson paid (and drank) his way through his BA and MA in English by working at wine stores. He now writes Uncorked, the weekly wine column for the Winnipeg Free Press, as well as The Grape Nut, its online counterpart. He is a national tasting panelist for Wine Access magazine, judges at national and international wine awards, and so forth.

With the input and experience of three veteran songwriters, the Jackpine band offers up an eclectic, yet very focused take on traditional roots music. The term Americana can be quite misleading as many canadians have greatly impacted the history of popular music in North America over the past century. Drawing from their experience as Canadians and pulling inspiration from the likes of Neil Young, Hank Snow, The Band, Fred Eaglesmith as well as a plethora of American influences, Jackpine is creating a refreshingly honest approach to roots music. Distinctly Canadian, Definitely Canadiana.

Friday, April 23/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Road to the Book Awards
Host Kelly Hughes interviews 2010 nominees Allan Levine, Michael Nathanson and Robert Young, with Handyman Rod's Household Hints and music by Nadia Gaudet

Allan Levine is a diverse author who moves easily between popular non-fiction and fiction. He has written eleven books including Coming of Age: A History of the Jewish People of Manitoba (2009), The Devil in Babylon: Fear of Progress and the Birth of Modern Life(2005) and Scattered Among the Peoples: The Jewish Diaspora in Ten Portraits (2002). He has also written a series of mysteries featuring turn-of-the-century Winnipeg detective Sam Klein.

Michael Nathanson’s Governor General Award-nominated play, Talk, opened the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre’s 2007-2008 season and was a critically acclaimed production in Toronto in March 2010. Michael’s plays have been seen in New York, Dallas and at festivals across Canada. Michael is the Artistic Producer of Winnipeg Jewish Theatre and a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada. Michael lives in Winnipeg and is married to Rebecca Brask, and has two glorious children, Zevi and Naomi.

Author of 8 works of non-fiction, Robert J. Young is Professor Emeritus at the University of Winnipeg. Recipient of its awards for excellence in Teaching and Research, Young has also won the Canadian Professor of the Year Award (1996), and the Canadian Historical Association’s Ferguson Prize for his first biography, Power and Pleasure, a life of the French statesman Louis Barthou. His second, An American By Degrees, has just been nominated for the Alexander Isbister Prize. This work is addressed to the 20th century French ambassador to Washington, Jules Jusserand. Currently, Young is President of the University of Winnipeg Retirees Association, and Vice-President of the University’s Faculty and Staff Club.

Handyman Rod Kozak spent years working in the local schmatta industry before turning to a career as a handyman to fulfill his creative impulses. Rod has been Handyman-in-Residence at Aqua Books since March 2008.

Singer-songwriter Nadia Gaudet experiments with eerie melodies and ethereal harmonies. She writes and sings in both French and English, two worlds she likes to meld together. Her captivating stage presence and her beautiful songs have lead to many awards on the francophone music scene. Receiving grants from both the Canada Arts Council and Manitoba Film and Sound, Nadia recorded her new self-titled EP which highlights her penchant for ambient pop melodies, dreamy mood music with somewhat of an electronic feel. She never stumbles too far away from her more organic piano sound, and her soft melancholy voice draws us into her world.

Friday, April 16/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Road to the Book Awards
Host Kelly Hughes interviews 2010 nominees Wayne Tefs, Ronald Poulton and Lise Gaboury-Diallo, Freep arts reporter Morley Walker and a five-foot long snake, with music by Matt Ward

Wayne Tefs was born in Winnipeg and grew up in northwestern Ontario. He has edited a number of anthologies and published eight novels and a work of non-fiction. His novel Moon Lake received the Margaret Laurence Award for 2000, and in 2007, he won the 2007 McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award for Be Wolf. His latest book, Meteor Storm (Turnstone Press, 2009), is his first collection of short stories. He lives in Winnipeg with his wife and son.

Ron Poulton has worked as a refugee lawyer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Hong Kong, and as a UN human rights investigator in Cambodia, as well as a legal advisor to UN peacekeeping in Tajikistan. He has testified before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights investigating Canada’s treatment of non-citizens, and before a Parliamentary committee on immigration. He has acted as counsel in a number of immigration and constitutional cases and has appeared in the Supreme Court of Canada. Currently, he lives in Toronto where he practices immigration law with Barbara Jackman.

Née à Saint-Boniface (Manitoba), Lise Gaboury-Diallo est professeure de langue française et des littératures francophones au Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface (MB). Elle est l'auteure de 6 recueils de poésie, et édité Sillons: hommage à Gabrielle Roy (Éditions du Blé, 2009).

Morley Walker is the arts and entertainment columnist and book review editor of the Winnipeg Free Press. He has been observing Winnipeg’s cultural scene for 30 years.

The Milk Snake has smooth and shiny scales and its typical color pattern is alternating bands of red-black-yellow or white-black-red. Snakes have no eyelids and instead have a transparent covering that rests over their eyes called brilles to protect their eyes from dust and dirt. They also have no hands, which prevents them from writing for the Free Press. This particular snake comes from the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

Matt Ward's first album, Thrift Shopping, brims with crisp sound and personality. From his start in Oakbank, Matt has branched out personally and musically over the past 2 years, and Thrift Shopping tells a tale of transition with each track. Local legends Hugh McMillan and Cara Luft join Matt on this album, helping to expand his sound, and add rich layers to his bare singer-songwriter honesty. For Martin Sexton followers to James Keelaghan groupies, here is a young musician with the soul of a true storyteller.

Friday, April 9/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! CBC Winnipeg Comedy Fest
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Elvira Kurt and Ron Vaudry, with music by The Paperbacks

Elvira Kurt is a Second City alumnus who has had many years of comedic success in Canada and the U.S. She has starred in The Comedy Network’s series’ Popcultured with Elvira Kurt and Elvira Kurt: Adventures in Comedy, and has had her comedy specials air on Comedy Central, HBO, Showtime, CTV, CBC and The Comedy Network. Kurt was voted Funniest Female Comic at the Canadian Comedy Awards and received a Gemini nomination for her one-hour special Elvira Kurt: I’m A Big Girl Now. No slouch in the writing department, Kurt contributed to the CBS pilot and HBO special for Ellen DeGeneres.

Ron Vaudry, a twenty-five year veteran of stand up comedy and is one of Canada’s top comedians. He has appeared on Open Mike with Mike Bullard, Yuk Yuk’s: The TV Show, The Arsenio Hall Show, Comedy at Club 54 and has had his own CBC Comics special. Ron has appeared at The Seattle Comedy Competition, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Just for Laughs, Funnyfest and The Great Plains Comedy Festival. He has also been a top Canadian comedy club headliner for many years.

The Paperbacks are Doug McLean, Jaret McNabb, Kevin Andrechuk, Corey Biluk and Kevin McLean. Lit From Within was released in January 2010.

Thursday, April 1/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! April Fools
Host Kelly Hughes interviews comedians Al Rae, Dean Jenkinson and Ryan McMahon, with music by The Eardrums

Al Rae is a Winnipeg stand-up comic and comedy writer. He is the winner of the Just for Laughs National Homegrown Comic Competition 2000. Prior to Little Mosque on the Prairie, Al was a writer on the sitcoms Blackfly and Big Sound. He has hosted two comedy information shows for CBC Radio, That’s Capital, about finance, and Spin Off, a highly popular election satire show. His eight part comedy-drama series Monsoon House with Russell Peters aired on CBC Radio in the fall of 2006.

Dean Jenkinson has appeared on The Comedy Network’s Comedy at Club 54, CBC’s COMICS! and Global’s Comedy on Stage. CBC News viewers recognize Dean from his award winning satirical commentaries on shows like Canada Now and Saturday Report. His 1998 play How Do You Know When You’re Done co-starring Al Rae was named among the Top Ten at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. He currently writes for This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

Ryan McMahon mixes a traditional stand-up comedy sensibility with a loose improvised slacker style and he blends it all together with characters, multimedia, music and hilarity. Based out of Winnipeg, McMahon is a comedian/actor/writer that is making a name for himself as one of the most dynamic Native Comedians working in North America today. McMahon steers clear of tired, cultural stereotypes onstage, and instead, his live show combines standup, improv, and sketch comedy weaving stories and characters in an original style of comedy that he calls – Indian Vaudeville.

Whatever anyone else is doing... that's the only thing The Eardrums won't do. The band consists of three singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists -- fraternal twin brothers Tim and Grant Partridge, plus childhood friend James MacLean. Proud proponents of the DIY tradition, The Eardrums' homemade recordings demonstrate a genuine love of music and a keen attention to detail, while their raucous live shows reaffirm the value of originality and simplicity in rock and roll. They continue to reinvent themselves, even mid-show, but their signature sound, rooted in blues and classic punk, always shines through the beautiful noise.

Friday, March 19/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! 40rty
Host Kelly Hughes turns 40, featuring Dr. Bhatnagar, Brian Loewen, B. Tod Hughes, actor Kris Bratton, music by Ben Wytinck, and what have you

Kris Bratton is an actor who was born and raised in Fort Garry. His television credits include As The World Turns, Law and Order:Criminal Intent, All My Children, The Guiding Light and Ghost Stories. He has done numerous voice-overs for television and radio. In New York, he has worked with many esteemed theatre companies including The New Group, Ensemble Studio Theatre and Naked Angels and was part of the award-winning cast of Danny Boy which premiered as part of the NY Fringe Festival. He is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Silky-voiced Ben Wytinck got his start at age nine, playing drums in his father's band at a rural Manitoba bar. He moved to Winnipeg in 2001, to play what he calls Bluegrazz (Bluegrass and Jazz). His eponymous debut CD contains ten of his finest self-penned songs.

Friday, March 12/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Illusions
Host Kelly Hughes interviews illusionist Brian Glow and the ghostbusters of Shadows of Manitoba, plus musician Jenny Berkel

Brian Glow is an internationally renowned illusionist who has one of the largest touring illusion shows in North America. Since 1973, his concerts have toured to over 40 different countries.

Sharon and Fonz Granger have been ghosthunting as Shadows of Manitoba since 2005. They document paranormal occurrences and promote history while helping to preserve historical buildings in and around Manitoba.

Jenny Berkel was born in the heart of Southwestern Ontario, surrounded by disappearing forests and spreading cities. From busking on the streets of Belfast to traveling across Canada with Lady o'Lakes, she brings music to each place she visits and it finds her no matter where she travels. Jenny is currently preparing to woo the heart of Winnipeg and beyond with the release of her first solo EP this summer.

Friday, March 5/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! High Life
Host Kelly Hughes interviews High Life star Stephen Eric McIntyre, stunt coordinator Rick Skene and storyboarder Nicholas Burns, with music by DJ Damien Ferland

Set in 1983, just after the birth of Automated Teller Machines, Winnipegger Gary Yates' High Life is a story of kinship, loyalty, and honour among thieves. In a busy downtown hospital, a visit from his former socio-pathic cellmate Bug (Stephen Eric McIntyre) has just gotten Dick fired from his job as a hospital janitor. Unemployed and in need of fast cash Dick gets the idea to rob one of the day’s brand new ATM machines, to “buy a little self-respect”, announces Dick to Bug and the team. Enter the charismatic, criminally-minded Donnie, (Joe Anderson) and the front-man, the sexy, sleepy-eyed charmer Billy, (Rossif Sutherland) and all of the pieces are in place. “It’s a precision job,” says Dick the night before the heist: “No violence.” You think?

Naturally things don’t go according to plan and the unfolding catalogue of disasters that confronts Dick is enough to test any friend’s loyalties as the lovable losers bungle their way toward a pipe-dream of quick riches. Alternately tragic and hysterical, High Life’s perfect plan ends up anything but when one of the bank’s employees double-crosses them all. Set against the nostalgic back-beat of Three Dog Night, Creedence Clearwater Revival and a raft of April Wine, High Life’s highwire tension unfolds with calamitous results.

Stephen Eric McIntyre is an actor/writer/improviser born in Regina, raised in Winnipeg and happily spending altogether too much time in Toronto. In addition to his theatre and comedy work, his credits include the films The Innate and Small Town Murder Scenes. Stephen walked away with Gary Yates' High Life as psycho ex-con Bug.

Rick Skene is the leading film stunt coordinator and stage fight choreographer in Manitoba. He has worked on over 130 film and television productions over the past 20 years and choreographed and directed fight sequences for all of Manitoba’s major theatres. He is also an accomplished playwright and director, having written three full-length plays. Rick teaches Stage Combat and Filmmaking at the U of Winnipeg department of Drama. Rick and his wife, Jan, founded Skene Stunts, where sons Daniel and Sean now work as stunt performers and coordinators. Rick has worked with everyone from Robin Williams to Jennifer Lopez. (He was her butt double.)

Nicholas Burns is a Winnipeg writer and artist. He has storyboarded many locally shot music videos, independent shorts, TV movies, and feature films including: The Stone Angel, The Haunting in Connecticut, The Lookout, and High Life. In addition to film work, he has written and done colouring for comics publishers such as DC, Kitchen Sink, and Marvel Comics. He has also created educational comics such as: Super Shamou, Arctic Comics, New North, and You Can Do It Too! Currently, Nicholas is creating an online educational graphic novel and several graphic novels for print.

Thursday, February 18/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Gets Kroetsched
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Jake MacDonald, Neil Besner and Robert Enright, with music by DJ Mama Cutsworth

Over the last twenty-five years Jake MacDonald has produced ten books of both fiction and non-fiction and hundreds of articles for many of North America’s leading newspapers and magazines. Six of his books have been optioned by film producers and some were recognized with national awards. Houseboat Chronicles won three awards, including the Writers Trust of Canada prize for best non-fiction book of 2002. MacDonald divides his time between Winnipeg and Toronto and a rustic retreat in Minaki, Ontario.

Neil Besner has taught Canadian literature at the University of Winnipeg since 1987, where he was Chair of the English Department (1993-2000), Dean of Humanities (2002-05), Dean of Arts (2005-06), and is currently Deputy Provost and Associate Vice-President, International. He writes mainly on Canadian literature and is the general editor of a new series of volumes of contemporary Canadian poetry, the Laurier Poetry Series, with Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Robert Enright is one of Canada's best-known cultural journalists. In addition to spending 25 years as an art critic for CBC, Enright is editor-at-large of Border Crossings. He is currently teaching art criticism at University of Guelph.

One of the leading DJs on the Canadian prairies, Mama Cutsworth is no stranger to making folks flip on the old school funk, soul, hip hop, reggae, latin and disco.

Friday, February 12/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! DIY
Host Kelly Hughes interviews kids' performer Al Simmons, greyhound rescuer Michaela Lamoureux, plus Household Hints with Handyman Rod and music by Cluster All-Stars

Al Simmons is a creative genius whose highly original performances of profound wackiness and off-the-wall inventions take the arts of Music and Comedy to unparalleled heights of hilarity. Something’s Fishy at Camp Wiganishie Al’s first album became an instant hit. Al’s 1995 release, Celery Stalks at Midnight won a Juno Award and his 1997 CD, The Truck I Bought From Moe earned a Parent’s Choice Award. In 2005 Al created a one-hour DVD movie called I Collect Rocks, which the Los Angeles Times describes as combining “…education with off-the-wall humor and a New Vaudevillian sense of the absurd.”

Michaela Lamoureux runs Hi-Speed Hounds, a non-profit, all-volunteer greyhound rescue organization. Every year, thousands of greyhounds are retired from racing with nowhere to go. Michaela rescues dogs from all over the U.S. (greyhound racing is illegal in Canada) and finds them loving homes.

Handyman Rod Kozak spent years working in the local schmatta industry before turning to a career as a handyman to fulfill his creative impulses. Rod has been Handyman-in-Residence at Aqua Books since March 2008.

Local composers/improvisers Luke Nickel and Heidi Ugrin are the co-creators of Cluster – a new festival committed to high integrity and risk-taking programming and determined to breathe new life and fresh ideas into the Winnipeg arts scene. Cluster is a platform for artists to create, to collaborate and to experiment. Watch for Cluster's debut March 18-20, 2010. In their spare time, Heidi and Luke compose operas, recycle music, deconstruct text, travel from Tofino to Slovenia, and enjoy fine wine.

Gordon Fitzell is a Winnipeg-based composer, performer and producer. His music has been performed internationally by a host of leading artists including Norwegian group BIT20, Ensemble contemporain de Montréal, and American sextet eighth blackbird, whose Grammy-winning album strange imaginary animals features two of his works (Fitzell also appears as co-producer and live electronics artist). An Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the University of Manitoba, Fitzell also leads the eXperimental Improv Ensemble (XIE) and serves as an Artistic Director of GroundSwell, Winnipeg’s premiere new music series.

Max Fleischman appears frequently on Winnipeg stages performing music for organ, harpsichord, clavichord, Briscoe Harmony Chord, and 'modern' and historical pianos. He studied early keyboard instruments with Malcolm Bilson, David Breitman and Peter Sykes, and holds degrees in music history and performance from the Eastman School of Music, Oberlin College and Harvard University.

Ingrid Gatin is inspired by gyspy violin, '60s soul, and trash can percussion. Playing on the piano and the accordion, as well as some of her other favourite instruments (the ukulele, the mandolin, the tambourine, violin, handclaps, foot stomps, snaps, and a stand-up bass), Ingrid will stir your emotions, and move your body.

Friday, February 5/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! Gets His Geek On
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Kids in the Hall legend Kevin McDonald, SciFi writer Nick DiChario, X-Men colourist Lovern Kindzierski and UFO expert Chris Rutkowski, plus the otherworldly music of Al Conroy (aka not half)

Kevin McDonald is a comedian and actor best known as a founding member of Kids in the Hall.

Nick DiChario's short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies including The Year’s Best Science Fiction, The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, and The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century. He has been nominated for two Hugo Awards and a World Fantasy Award. His first two novels were published by Robert J. Sawyer Books: A Small and Remarkable Life (2006) and Valley of Day-Glo (2008), and both books were nominated for the prestigious John W. Campbell Memorial Award.

Lovern Kindzierski's colours have appeared in many comic books, magazines and animation, including The X-men, Star Trek, Dr. Who, The New Yorker, Wired, and Sesame Street. He has been nominated as best colourist for the Eisner Awards, Harvey Awards, and Schuster Awards. He has won best colourist in the Wizard Fan Awards (twice), as well as the Comic Buyers’ Guide Fan Awards. As a writer he has worked on many titles, such as Spiderman, Wolverine, and The Victorian. His writing on Tarzan garnered him a nomination for best writer in the Harvey Awards.

Chris Rutkowski is a science writer with degrees in astronomy and education. Since the mid-1970s, he has been one of Canada's leading UFO experts. In addition to publishing eight books on the subject, Rutkowski has appeared on numerous TV programs, including Unsolved Mysteries, Sightings, Undercurrents and The Unexplained.

Al Conroy has been making a racket under the guise of not half since 1983, using nearly everything he can get his hands on to make a sound. He is also the lead synth-blaster in local Space-Rawk legends Breath Grenades. Al has appeared on a few records, a few CDs (real, burned and even imaginary), many cassettes and has done quite a few remixes for quite a few people from quite a few countries. He composes soundtracks for local filmmaker Nik Nova and is responsible for the weekly radio show Wrongly Wired on CKUW 95.9 FM (Wednesdays, 8-10pm). Otherwise, he lives quietly in a house with his wife and three cats.

Friday, January 29/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! All-Stars
Host Kelly Hughes interviews legendary children's entertainer Fred Penner and former MP Tina Keeper, plus CRUMBS Improv and music by Rollin Penner and the Traveling Medicine Show

Tina Keeper, OM is an Aboriginal activist, actress and former member of the Canadian House of Commons. Tina is best known for her role as RCMP officer Michelle Kenidi in the CBC Television series North of 60, about the fictional aboriginal community of Lynx River. She is a member of the Norway House Cree Nation, and has been involved in a variety of social issues, such as suicide prevention and violence against women. Tina went through the U of W Theatre program with Bookstore Owner Kelly Hughes, and was clearly the one who got her money's worth.

Fred Penner, CM is a children's entertainer whose show, Fred Penner's Place, ran for twelve seasons on CBC. His nine albums have been nominated for eight Junos.

CRUMBS is a freestyle comedy duo that have been touring the world and blowing minds since 1997.

Exceptional vocals, tight three part harmonies and sparkling instrumentals are the hallmarks of Rollin Penner and the Traveling Medicine Show. Featuring Rollin Penner on guitar and harmonica, Brett Penner on guitar and banjo, John Gosselin on bass, and all three on vocals, this group will surprise you with it’s tremendously varied repertoire, wonderful sense of humour, and “prodigious skill” (Carillon News, Oct.2009). As their theme song says, it’s good for whatever ails you!

Friday, January 15/10 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live! The Women of Churchill Fest
Host Kelly Hughes interviews MTC's Churchill Fest's Mel Marginet, Chuck McEwen, Maggie Nagle, Lorraine James, Daria Puttaert and Sharon Bajer, plus the comedic stylings of Chickie Hughes and the music of Virgil Pauls

Chuck McEwen is the Executive Producer of the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival and the Master Playwright Festival, which are both presented by The Manitoba Theatre Centre. Chuck is a graduate of the University of Manitoba, where he majored in Drama and was heavily involved with the Black Hole Theatre Company. Chuck’s artistic and administration career began at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival more than 19 years ago, and after 10 years leading the Toronto Fringe, he is very happy to once again be back in Winnipeg supporting the local theatre community.

Mel Marginet, a graduate of the Honours program at the U of W, is co-founder/artistic head of Theatre by the River. She has performed in many theatre productions around the city. Favourites include: Saint Joan, The Bush Ladies, Oedipus Rex, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Ugly Ducks, Pretty Swans, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Eternal O, and The History of Theatre (Theatre by the River). See her on the big screen in Absurd Machine's Aegri Somnia, as well as Randy Guest's The Lady in Grey. She's excited to appear this season on City TV's Less Than Kind.

Chickie Hughes is a performer and director who has appeared on radio, screen and stage hundreds of times over the last six decades. As a performer, she is an alumnus of Rainbow Stage, MTC and the Hollow Mug. As a director, she has helmed dozens of musicals and plays in Winnipeg. A former Flin Flon Trout Queen, she's also the mother of Bookstore Owner Kelly Hughes.

Virgil Pauls grew up in Kansas before hitchhiking to New Orleans, where he cut his teeth on the blues, Cajun style. As vocalist and guitarist for seminal '80s reggae band, Velvet Touch, Virgil charmed audiences throughout Manitoba with his smokey vocals. As a visual artist, Virgil has lapsed into graphite and oils to fulfill his creative urges, and has only picked up his guitar again this year. After hiding away and honing his skills anew, Virgil is back and better than ever.

Friday, December 4/09 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live!
Gets Schooled for the Holidays
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Santa Claus expert Gerry Bowler and Kelly's Grade 11 English teacher Ed Mann, plus a Christmas story from storyteller Anne Morton and Neil Keep and the iPod Orchestra

Gerry Bowler received his Ph.D. in History from King's College, University of London, and now teaches medieval and early-modern history at the University of Manitoba. He has published on subjects such as Renaissance monarchy, theological justifications of violence, the religious content of The Simpsons and the relationship between Aristotle and professional wrestling. In addition to co-authoring Europe in the Sixteenth Century (Longman, 1989), Dr. Bowler is a leading authority on the history of Christmas and its cultural significance. His books The World Encyclopedia of Christmas (M&S, 2000) and Santa Claus: A Biography (M&S, 2005) have been translated into Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese and Russian.

Anne Morton is a native Winnipegger, born on the banks of the Assiniboine. Anne worked for 25 years in the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives, and is now Archivist of the Diocese of Rupert’s Land.

Neil Keep has been singing for 43 years, 27 of those at a semi-professional level. As a solo act and with various bands, he sings at weddings, receptions, banquets, customer and volunteer appreciation events, fundraisers, coffee houses, churches, big parties, small parties, private parties, milestone parties and anywhere else. As well as his solo show with the iPod Orchestra, he performs with local big band, Ricky Bogart and the New Casbah Band.

Friday, November 27/09 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live!
Rocks!
Host Kelly Hughes interviews legendary Chocolate Bunnies from Hell frontman P.J. Burton, Twang Trust host Stu Reid and rock writer John Einarson, with the Darren Day Is Band

P.J. Burton is lead singer of seminal '80s rock band Chocolate Bunnies From Hell. He also teaches high school English. PJ's life has followed the typical "prairie circuitous" pattern; somewhat similar to, say a dizzy Canada Goose or the wandering drunken buffalo. (Winnipeg to Dauphin to Saskatoon to Edmonton and back to Winnipeg.) The cycle is now complete. P.J. believes that he will now metamorphosize into a beautiful butterfly or at least get a face lift.

Meanwhile, the Chocolate Bunnies From Hell are enjoying yet another exhumation and are writing, rehearsing, performing and recording their third CD. P.J. rarely uses the old Emo Phillips line: "Winnipeg: it sounds like a cheap contest for pirates", unless forced into it by flamboyant talk show hosts out for cheap laughs.

As well as co-hosting Mud Puddle Radio with his 5 year old daughter Britt, graphic designer and professional music-nerd Stu Reid (right, with Little Steven) is the weekly host of TwangTrust, CKUW's #1 most downloaded and fund-drive supported radio show. Just because Stu has seen Bruce Springsteen in concert over 40 times doesn't make him a geek. There are other reasons, too. Music writer Dave Marsh called Stu's early 80's Springsteen fanzine "Bruceness", "the best (Springsteen fanzine) of them all, by far". Dave hates Stu now. Come find out why.

John Einarson is a widely-respected rock music historian and writer. He is the author of thirteen biographies on subjects including Neil Young, Randy Bachman, the Guess Who, John Kay/Steppenwolf, and Buffalo Springfield. His critically-acclaimed book Mr. Tambourine Man was acknowledged among the best books of 2005 by both Uncut and Record Collector in the UK and nominated for a 2006 ARSC (Association for Recorded Sound Collections) Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research. His most recent book Hot Burritos: The True Story Of The Flying Burrito Brothers was again shortlisted by Uncut as among the ten best music books of 2008. He has written for television and radio, hosting his own CBC radio series and contributing to television specials on Canadian music history. A Winnipeg resident and retired teacher, John continues to organize a popular annual rock 'n' roll revue at St. John's-Ravenscourt school involving over one hundred students. He is currently writing a biography of enigmatic '60s cult figure Arthur Lee of the band Love, whose Forever Changes ranks among the top albums of all time.

Darren Day Is Band is Darren Day, Curtis Brandt, and Tim Postma. Their unique brand of music, a concoction informed by Sam Phillips, Scott Walker, Prefab Sprout, John Cale, Starflyer 59, Go-Betweens, The Replacements, Hank Williams, Graham Greene and Sam Shepard, has won over a wide array of audiences in festivals and clubs in Manitoba and in Western Canada. Day hosts CKUW's Same Train, Different Time, a weekly radio show that brings a mix of Cosmic Americana, Classic Country, Indie Rock, Power Pop, and '70s Singer-Songwriters to airwaves on Tuesday nights in Winnipeg. Darren's background in theatre has resulted in many local productions as well as appearances at The Winnipeg Fringe Festival and MTC's Brechtfest. This winter sees a new record in the works as well as soundtrack work for Day in New York in the Spring. Bartley Kives of the Free Press called their music "easily the most fully-formed, darkly-rich melodies to come out of the city this year".

Friday, November 6/09 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live!
Goes to the Movies
Host Kelly Hughes interviews incoming Film W-i-R Kier-La Janisse and screenwriter Chris Charney, featuring the folk music of Alexander McCowan

Kier-La Janisse is a writer and film programmer who hosts music-related and cult film screenings under the moniker Big Smash! Productions. She was head programmer for the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas from 2003-2007, founded the CineMuerte Horror Film Festival and the Big Smash! Music-on-Film Festival (both in Vancouver). She's curated programs at the Blinding Light!! Cinema and the Criminal Cinema in Vancouver, as well as the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. She has written for Filmmaker, Rue Morgue and Fangoria magazines, has contributed to The Scarecrow Movie Guide (Sasquatch Books, 2004) and Destroy All Movies!! (forthcoming from Fantagraphics), and is the author of A Violent Professional: The Films of Luciano Rossi, published by FAB Press in 2007. She is the Administrative Coordinator for Winnipeg's send + receive: a festival of sound and Special Events Coordinator for independent record store Into the Music. Currently, Ms. Janisse is co-producing a feature documentary called Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films that Ruled the 70s and working on a new book about female neurosis in horror and exploitation films entitled House of Psychotic Women.

Chris Charney is a Winnipeg screenwriter whose high school comedy Wild Cherry starring Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigalow) and Rumer Willis (The House Bunny) was nominated for a 2009 Canadian Comedy Award for film writing. Throughout the years he has written and produced television documentaries about boxers, Sitting Bull, exotic dancers, and serial killers for Winnipeg's Farpoint Films. He is currently working on a feature screenplay entitled Senior Year.

Alexander McCowan's name is as heavy as a brickster. His music is sharp and playful like a new-age hipster. A former student of history turned troubadour, Alexander McCowan will release Thief, a seven song EP produced by Dale Penner of Paradise Alley Studios, on November 17, 2009. It is his first independent release.

Friday, October 23/09 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live!
Goes to the Theatre
Host Kelly Hughes interviews actor Graham Ashmore, director Arne MacPherson and Aqua Books W-i-R Carolyn Gray, featuring the Broadway music of Chickie Hughes

Carolyn Gray has worked in local theatre as a writer, actor, director, dramaturge, designer, educator,and puppeteer for over twenty years. Her play The Elmwood Visitation (Scirocco) was produced by Theatre Projects Manitoba in February 2007. The play won the Manitoba Day Award from the Association of Manitoba Archives, for excellence in archival research and being a creative work that celebrates Manitoba. She won the 2008 John Hirsch Most Promising Writer Award. Recently, her short story, The Stains, took first prize in the Marie Barton Postcard Fiction contest. She has written her first young adult novel, and is preparing her new play, North Main Gothic, for its world premiere with Theatre Projects in April 2010.

Arne MacPherson is a Winnipeg-based director and actor. Arne’s work as a freelance director includes productions for the Manitoba Theatre Centre, Shakespeare In the Ruins, Theatre Projects Manitoba, Prairie Theatre Exchange, and the Manitoba Theatre for Young People. At the 2006 Winnipeg Fringe and 2005 Edmonton Fringe festivals, he performed with his two kids Gislina and Solmund in Candy From a Baby, penned by his partner Debbie Patterson. He was a founding member of Shakespeare In the Ruins (where he played Hamlet and Richard III), and acted as Artistic Chair for that company for six years. He also works with Icelandic art festival Nuna(now), and has taught acting at the University of Winnipeg, PTE school and the MTYP school.

Graham Ashmore is a member of the theatre companies Adhere and Deny, Winnipegger Ensemble, Tom Tom, and Little Theatre of the Grey Goose. He got his start in the seminal 80s theatre company Rude Players, whose work was based on the methods of Mike Leigh and Hull Truck. He has performed in Hamlet, Measure for Measure, The Tempest, Troilus and Cressida, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and King Lear, for the Manitoba Theatre Centre, Shakespeare in the Ruins, Tom Tom, English Suitcase, and University of Winnipeg, and he has studied Shakespeare under a number of tutors.

Chickie Hughes is a performer and director who has appeared on radio, screen and stage hundreds of times over the last six decades. As a performer, she is an alumnus of Rainbow Stage, MTC and the Hollow Mug. As a director, she has helmed dozens of musicals and plays in Winnipeg. A former Flin Flon Trout Queen, she's also the mother of Bookstore Owner Kelly Hughes.

Friday, October 9/09 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live!
Host Kelly Hughes interviews Malahat Review editor John Barton, featuring former Aqua Books W-i-R Anita Daher plus the music of Kevin Scott

John Barton has published nine books of poetry and five chapbooks, including Designs from the Interior, Sweet Ellipsis, Hypothesis, and Hymn, which was released by Brick Books in August. A third and bilingual edition of West of Darkness: Emily Carr, a self-portrait, his third book, was published by Buschek Books in 2006. Co-editor of Seminal: The Anthology of Canada's Gay-Male Poets, he has won three Archibald Lampman Awards, an Ottawa Book Award, a 2003 CBC Literary Award, and a 2006 National Magazine Award. He lives in Victoria where he is the editor of The Malahat Review.

Award-winning young adult writer Anita Daher was Aqua Books' inaugural writer-in-residence. Anita Daher has been writing and publishing in Canada for well over a decade, often drawing inspiration from the many places she's been fortunate to spend time in. After being named recipient of the 2007 John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer, she buckled down and wrote three more novels for juveniles and young adults. Two of them, Racing for Diamonds (Orca) and Spider's Song (Penguin/Puffin) were finalists for the 2008 Arthur Ellis Award for best juvenile crime novel. Racing for Diamonds was also been named a finalist for the 2009 Hackmatack East Coast Reader's Choice Award. Anita lives in Winnipeg, and will always accept invitations for dim sum.

Kevin Scott is a local musician with several irons in several fires at all times. A multi-instrumentalist, his interests range from solo classical piano (he has a Grade X Royal Conservatory diploma) to early music (he plays harpsichord and recorder in local early music ensemble Amindra Consort) to folk/rock bands (he is one of the co-founders of local psych-folk group Mr. Pine, in which he plays assorted guitars, keyboards and other sundry instruments). Since 1998 Kevin has been a DJ at UMFM (101.5FM) in Winnipeg, hosting two shows of great musical diversity, and he also works as a church organist.

Friday, September 18/09 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live!
Into THIN AIR
Host Kelly Hughes interviews writer Margaret Sweatman, slam poet T'ai Pu and THIN AIR Director Charlene Diehl, with the roots music of Virgil Pauls

Kelly Hughes Live! takes you on the road to THIN AIR 2009, the Winnipeg International Writers Festival. Winnipeg's only live talk show, KHL! brings you all the trappings you've come to expect from the television talk show: comedy, music and celebrities. The only difference is that you haven't heard of any of my guests, and you'll have to leave your house. So it's not that much like TV after all.

Charlene Diehl is the dynamo at the hub of THIN AIR. She's also a hard-working poet, and the author of the full-length lamentations (Trout Lily Press, 1997) and the chapbook mm (disOrientation press, 1992).

T’ai Pu, aka PuConA, was born in rhyme cyphas, groomed in drum circles, nourished by DJs and bands. His word/sound power is expressed through verbals (lyrics, written pieces), spitz (extemporaneous spoken word), voxbox (beatboxing, chants), and percussion. T’ai Pu has performed at jazz and folk festivals, radio-shows, nightclubs, special events, and community projects, and has recorded with several artists. His lively poetry and music show for kids, “Keep Sweepin’!” has made him equally adept young and old, mesmerizing audiences with his verbal virtuosity and genuine warmth. T’ai Pu lives in Winnipeg.

Margaret Sweatman is a playwright, poet, performer and novelist. Her plays have been produced by Prairie Theatre Exchange, Popular Theatre Alliance and the Guelph Spring Festival. She has performed with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra and the National Academy Orchestra, as well as with her own Broken Songs Band. Margaret Sweatman is the author of the novels Fox, Sam and Angie and When Alice Lay Down with Peter, which won the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction, the Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, the Carol Shields Winnipeg Award and the McNally Robinson Book of the Year. Her long-awaited new novel, The Players, has just been released by Goose Lane Editions.

Virgil Pauls grew up in Kansas before hitchhiking to New Orleans, where he cut his teeth on the blues, Cajun style. As vocalist and guitarist for seminal '80s reggae band, Velvet Touch, Virgil charmed audiences throughout Manitoba with his smokey vocals. As a visual artist, Virgil has lapsed into graphite and oils to fulfill his creative urges, and has only picked up his guitar again this year. After hiding away and honing his skills anew, Virgil is back and better than ever.

Friday, September 11/09 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live!
Into THIN AIR
Host Kelly Hughes interviews writers Deborah Schnitzer and Jan Andrews, with Bluegrazz musician Ben Wytinck

Deborah Schnitzer teaches Literature at the University of Winnipeg and has written the long poem loving gertrudestein Loving Gertrude (Turnstone 2004) and the novel gertrude unmanageable (Arbeiter Ring 2007). Her latest novel An Unexpected Break in the Weather (Turnstone) breaks on September 15, 2009. (Debbie is also a force of nature - in a good way.)

Writer and storyteller Jan Andrews was born in the U.K., and now makes her home outside of Ottawa. The incoming Storyteller-in-Residence at the Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture at the University of Manitoba, she’s been delighting readers and listeners for over thirty years. Recent books include Stories at the Door, The Twelve Days of Summer, and Winter of Peril: The Newfoundland Diary of Sophie Loveridge.

Silky-voiced Ben Wytinck got his start at age nine, playing drums in his father's band at a rural Manitoba bar. He moved to Winnipeg in 2001, to play what he calls Bluegrazz (Bluegrass and Jazz). His eponymous debut CD contains ten of his finest self-penned songs.

Friday, September 4/09 7pm

Kelly Hughes Live!
Into THIN AIR
Host Kelly Hughes interviews writers Catherine Hunter and Michael Van Rooy, with the Mennonite Blues music of Bush Wiebe

Catherine Hunter teaches English and Creative Writing at the University of Winnipeg. For ten years she was the poetry editor of The Muses' Company Press. She is also the author of seven books, including the poetry collection Latent Heat (Signature Editions, 1997), which won the Manitoba Book of the Year Award in 1998. Her most recent work is the crime novel Queen of Diamonds (Turnstone Press, 2006).

Michael Van Rooy's debut, An Ordinary Decent Criminal, won the 2006 Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book by a Manitoba Writer, and has been recently optioned by Big Mind Films. Before settling on a writing career, Michael studied history at the University of Manitoba and was a restaurant manager, bartender, fishing guide, card dealer, news editor, cheesemaker, and federal prisoner. He uses all this experience to inform his writing. A former Aqua Books Writer-in-Residence, Michael lives in Winnipeg with his wife and three children.

Bush Wiebe is a Mennonite musician from Steinbach Manitoba who specializes in Mennonite blues. In the first 32 years of his life, he moved 32 times all over Canada and Paraguay. He says, "I am very proud of my Mennonite heritage. Being forced out of our homes and land 500 years ago and being on the move ever since, we've been persecuted and misunderstood for generation. I want to celebrate our culture, and to give modern day Mennonites a voice and a place in the greater culture."

Friday, May 15/09 7pm

The Manitoba Writers' Guild presents
Three Days in May:
Kelly Hughes Live!
Host Kelly Hughes interviews writers Brenda Hasiuk, Chandra Mayor, Struan Sinclair, Duncan Thornton and Armin Wiebe with music by the Manitoba Classical Guitar Duo

Thursday, May 14/09 7pm

The Manitoba Writers' Guild presents
Three Days in May:
Kelly Hughes Live!
Host Kelly Hughes interviews writers Kate Bitney, Rob Keough, Bruce McManus, Christina Penner and Barbara Romanik with music by Todd Hunter

Wednesday, May 13/09 7pm

The Manitoba Writers' Guild presents
Three Days in May:
Kelly Hughes Live!
Host Kelly Hughes interviews writers David Annandale, Clarise Foster, Tim Higgins, Anna LaPointe and Mike McIntyre with music by Lyle E. Style

top of page

Get the Flash Player to see this player.