Singer/songwriter James Keelaghan is a gifted storyteller. His love of history and his deep affinity for Celtic and Anglo folk traditions give those stories wings.

“That’s the music that really speaks to me. That’s my heart music,” says the veteran Canadian folk artist. As for the stories themselves, they tend to be inspired by social and justice issues, historical wrongdoings, sometimes the landscape and other times love and personal relationships. “I’m always trying to find the stories of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances,” he confides.

During his roughly 40 years as a performing artist he’s made an indelible mark on the musical folk landscape. He’s released 13 albums, the latest of which, Second Hand, was nominated for Canada’s highest music award, the Juno, for Traditional Roots Album of the Year. He’s already won one Juno, a Canadian Folk Music Award, received five other Juno nominations and four other Folk Music Awards nominations. He’s performed in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Ireland, the U.S and across Canada.