Newfoundland and Labrador talents showcased in Sweden

At its core, Live at Heart is a live festival for music and film lovers.
Hosted in Orebo, Sweden, the event features more than 200 artists and 300 concerts at 20 venues over four days, making Live at Heart is the perfect live festival for music lovers, artist and music industry.
But it is so much more and was for five acts from Newfoundland and Labrador, part of a contingent of 18 in total from across Canada who took part in the Live at Heart Music Festival Sept. 2-8.
Those acts included rapper Kielley Koyote, Selina Boland, Skiddrpup, Rozalind Macphail and Waterfront Fire
Participants attend seminars, workshops and other activities on various topics concerning music, songwriting, marketing, entrepreneurship and business during the day and then play their trades onstage at night by circling the city centre and enjoying performances at local venues such as clubs, bars, restaurants, hotel lobbies etc.
Musicians from around the world gathered and provided a unique amazing experience through a vast range of musical genres including folk, jazz, country and blues to punk, pop, rock and heavy metal.
The following are brief biographies of the N.L. based artists:
Selina Boland
A self-described folk-pop artist with a touch of Atlantic ocean breeze tossed in. She is a singer/songwriter and mixes in her guitar talents to showcase her poetic, storytelling songs. Boland was born into the music world as she is the daughter of Laverne Squires, a folk singer who made “Lukey’s Boat” famous. She mixes that history in with traditional Newfoundland, Irish, classical and ‘60s rock influences into her writing and performances. She has been performing since 2005. She first made a name for herself in 2008 with two songs: “Orphan” and “Hero” that were ranked in the Top 10 of a national songwriting competition. She is recording a new album for release this fall and was been invited to perform at Live at Heart Festival in Sweden
Skidderpup
The band was first formed in the summer of 2001 in Grand Bank. Its members, Dave Noseworthy, Damon Greene and Chad Grandy had a chemistry from the start. The trio were equally respected musicians in their own right having success with earlier bands that toured the Newfoundland and Labrador festival and bar circuits in addition to playing regular stints on the island of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. The bands eclectic rock sound is versatile with tight arrangements, inventive harmonies, musicianship and well-crafted songs that pays homage to the great heartland rockers of the ‘70s and ‘80s performed with a modern approach and a style that makes the songs their own.
Rozalind Macphail
Macphail is one of the world’s leaders in flute looping and live film scoring. She uses her classically-trained flutist skills to blend effected flute, electronics, voice, omnichord, field recordings and silent film through Ableton Live. Macphail creates music for film and live performance and has released several albums of original work. She explores new ways to combine image and sound, in works that speak honestly of place, person and the human experience. She recently took home an East Coast Music Award for Electronic Recording of the Year and was chosen as MusicNL’s Female Artist of the Year, in addition to playing at the Live at Heart festival.
Waterfront Fire
St. John’s band Waterfront Fire, comprised of Jordan Coaker (vocals), Andrew Boyd (guitar), Paul Brace (bass), Ben Thistle (guitar) and Dan George (drums) produce a sound that is a distinct blend of modern rock, introspective lyrics, soaring vocals, and progressive arrangements emulating bands like Pink Floyd, Rush and Led Zeppelin. The band is great to watch in person as its energy keeps the audience captivated. They have also drawn comparison to bands such as The Tragically Hip, Hey Rosetta! and even modern pop rockers Paramore.
Kielley Koyote
How many white rappers from Newfoundland, Canada do you think are into lo-fi hip-hop and count the likes of XXXTentacion and Earl Sweatshirt as their formative influences? Josh Kielley aka Kielley Koyote might look like he could growl into a mic, but he offers razor-sharp wit and rhymes about his own life and weaknesses on his current EP “Weak Days,” which even got hype from rap star Gucci Mane. Rolling Stone India named him as one of its Top 10 acts they found at the festival. He was born in St. John’s and has been performing rap for two years, taking the poetry and verse he has created and combines that with clever beats to complete the story. Since the “Weak Days” EP, Kielley Koyote has opened for Juno nominated Ghettosocks, Evil Ebeneezer and Jyay and those performances, diligence and hard work by his management team got him a chance to play at Live at Heart recently.

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