Click to listen to Marie-Josée Houle’s “Blase D’La Vie” marie-josee-houle-blase-dla-vie

Marie-Josée Houle was born in Val d‘Or, Quebec and raised in Edmonton, Alberta and celebrates her dual cultural roots through music. She sings and writes fluently in both English and French, she brings the Townships to the Prairies and beyond. This lady scores major points with me personally for having been classically trained on the accordion at age five. But, like yours truly, her musical history is as varied as her hair colour. In 2000, she took up the electric bass and saxophone in order to form two very eclectic projects in Edmonton: “Pangina”, an all-girl punk band and “The Elevators”, a post-modern muzak band. Her reconnection with the accordion coincided with a move to Ottawa in 2003 and culminated in the world music collaboration known as “Casadore.” The success of that project – including a performance at the 2005 Ottawa Folk Music Festival – served as a springboard for her solo work.

Her solo debut, Our Lady of Broken Souls, was released in March of 2007 to much critical acclaim, including a nomination for Best Folk Album of 2007 by the Ottawa Xpress alongside local folk sensations Jim Bryson and Andrea Simms Karp. The album charted and received solid airplay on local college and community radio stations across the country.

Take this paragraph break to go pick up her album at CD Baby but make sure you come back and read all about her upcoming concert dates!

(Back? See, that was painless.)

Right now Marie-Josée is busy with her many musical and artistic endeavours, performing and recording with a multitude of musicians, working with theatre groups and filmmakers.

2007 saw her play the main stage of WestFest, play Toronto’s Nuit Blanche, embark on her first successful cross-country tour, and recently share a stage with other celebrated female Ottawa artists like Kellylee Evans and Kathleen Edwards for a live recorded performance for a CBC Radio 1 broadcast.

As 2007 brought her international shows in England and Norway, she aspires to continue to transport the streets and cafés of Paris to the clubs, theatres and festivals of Canada and beyond.

In this video: Tebo interviews accordion player Marie-Josee Houle on ‘The Rocks’

Upcoming Shows:
7 Jun 2008 13:00 Lisa Poushinsky’s Famous Round Barn Party Russell, ON
4 Jul 2008 20:00 w/ Guelph’s Meredith Grant Rasputin Folk Café Ottawa, ON
5 Jul 2008 20:00 w/ Michael Reinhart The St-Ambroise Montreal, ON
6 Jul 2008 19:00 Gladstone Hotel Toronto, ON
7 Jul 2008 20:00 w/ Ginger St. James Pepperjacks Hamilton, ON
8 Jul 2008 20:00 The Spill Peterborough, ON
9 Jul 2008 21:00 Alex P. Keaton London, ON
10 Jul 2008 21:00 w/ Ginger St. James Blue Moon Lounge Burlington, ON
12 Jul 2008 20:00 Loplops Sault Sainte Marie
13 Jul 2008 21:00 The Apollo Thunder Bay, ON
15 Jul 2008 20:00 Lady of the Lake Brandon, MB
16 Jul 2008 21:00 Bushwakkers Regina, SK
18 Jul 2008 21:00 Café Vivant Saskatoon, SK