Music of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is an Atlantic Canadian province with a folk musical heritage based on the Irish, English and Cornish traditions.Little is known for certain of their musical heritage due to the lack of written records, but the Beothuk people are reputed to have sung and danced; few details are known by modern historians.England, Ireland and Scotland sent many settlers to eastern Canada, and they brought with them instrumental tunes, ballads, and other musical traditions, which were passed down orally through the generations.Radio programs such as Irene B. Mellon and The Big Six, the television shows All Around The Circle (1964) and Ryan's Fancy, collections such as Gerald S. Doyle's Old Time Songs and Poetry of Newfoundland, musicians including accordionists Ray Walsh, Wilf Doyle, Omar Blondahl, John White and the McNulty family (musicians), and scholars including Maud Karpeles also contributed to the preservation of Newfoundland and Labrador music.Other traditional performers to rise to prominence in this period included Anita Best, Kelly Russell, Jim Payne, Émile Benoît, Rufus Guinchard, The Bay Boys and Minnie White.In the 1980s and 1990s, traditional Newfoundland music's popularity dwindled, though rock, punk, heavy metal, blues and other styles developed their own scenes in the region.[5][6] Notable newcomers bringing national and international recognition to the province include Hey Rosetta!, Amelia Curran, The Mountains & the Trees, Sherman Downey, Adam Baxter, AE Bridger, Andrew James O'Brian, Don Brownrigg, Damhnait Doyle, Kat McLevey, The Novaks, and Soap Opera.Memorial University's campus station, CHMR-FM Radio has several shows dedicated entirely to Newfoundland and Labrador music, including Jiggs Dinner with Roland Skinner.