Folk music tells the stories of people and places, and Canada's James Keelaghan is certainly that kind storyteller. Seventeen years after his first album, he has established himself as a singer songwriter with an international following- and a compelling ability to tell the stories of himself and his land.

Growing up in Canada, Keelaghan always knew he'd pursue either music or theatre as a career, but he studied history at the University of Calgary just in case. Eventually music "just took over."
It's Keelaghan's passion for history that has inspired some of his most celebrated songs, witness 'Jenny Bryce,' Red River Rising,' or 'Cold Missouri Waters'.

His debut album TIMELINES, released in 1987, was a collection of historically themed ballads with settings ranging from the early days of the Canadian Pacific Railroad to the 'On to Ottawa Trek' of 1935, to the Second World War.

His follow-up recording, SMALL REBELLIONS, released in 1990, features the audience favourite 'Red River Rising,' set during Canada's Riel Rebellion of 1870.

In 1993, Keelaghan made his debut on the Green Linnet label with MY SKIES, which won him a Juno award (Canada's equivalent of a Grammy) for Best Roots Traditional Recording, and was recognized by the Alberta Recording Industry Association.

A RECENT FUTURE, released in 1995, included some of Keelaghan's most acclaimed works yet. 'Cold Missouri Waters' is the story of a team of fire fighters who perished in the 1949 Mann Gulch fire in Montana. Keelaghan was nominated for a second Juno award in 1997 and A RECENT FUTURE spent two months on the Gavin Americana charts in the U.S.

In 1997, James embarked on a collaborative project-COMPADRES-with Latin guitarist Oscar Lopez, on the Vancouver-based label Jericho Beach Music. Fusing Latin and Celtic music into a new style they called 'celtino,' the duo played to excited audiences across North America, including a live performance at the Lincoln Center. The COMPADRES album earned Keelaghan a third Juno nomination for Best Roots Traditional Recording, and was voted Album of the Year by the readers of Vancouver's Rogue Folk bulletin.

The release of his fifth solo album, ROAD, in 1999, also on Jericho Beach, marked a turn in Keelaghan's career. He had been branching out musically, and brought a 'Canadian All Star' line-up to perform on the CD. He also broke new ground for himself with a deeply personal collection of songs.

Keelaghan's sixth solo release, HOME, is both intimate and historical, a return to folk roots and a pared down sound. HOME takes James back home, back to his folk roots and a more traditional sound. It includes six new original songs, two exceptional covers (David Francey & Ian Tamblyn) and a wonderful traditional song "Flower of Magherally". Violinist Oliver Schroer produced the recording and joins Hugh McMillan (Spirit of the West) to accompany James.

In February 2004, James released THEN AGAIN. On this collection of much-loved Keelaghan songs, James revisits these tunes to rerecord them, making them more representative of what he shares with his live audiences today. It's not so much a 'best of', but a 'better than ever'; with 11 new recordings of Keelaghan favourites.

James spearheads a wide range of creative projects. In 1996, he won the Global Visions Artist of the Year award for his work on the documentary Feeding the Future: The Seeds of Survival. He is also active on the radio-from regular Canada Day broadcasts on the CBC (Canada's national broadcaster), to two radio series for CKUA radio in Alberta. Songlines asks songwriters about their favourite songs. In Sense of Place, Keelaghan asks musicians from around the world the question- "Why do you live where you live?"

While many artists find it dificult to 'break' out of Canada, Keelaghan has simultaneously built a following in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. He tours all three regions regularly. He performed at the 30th anniversary of Denmark's Tønder Festival, and he was the first Canadian to play the Hong Kong Festival in 1995. He was a founding Board member of the North American Folk Alliance. More recently, his song 'Cold Missouri Waters' was recorded by folk 'super group' Cry Cry Cry (Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky, and Richard Shindell) and in 2002, won first place in the folk category in the USA Songwriting Competition. The compeition also recognized James this year, yet again, by awarding him .rst place in the folk category for 'Message To The Future'.

A commanding performer, James Keelaghan develops an intimate rapport with audiences through his stories and humour - and then leaves them spellbound with passionate renditions of songs that touch on universal emotions and relate historical events to the present.

As a matter of fact you can look him up in the Canadian Encyclopedia. James is fond of noting that his entry is longer than the one for the Royal Bank. But shorter than the one for the red squirrel.

Also see James Keelaghan on Sonic Bids.