If your idea of a great folk concert includes soaring harmonies, driving fiddle tunes, a little country twang, and stories that actually stay with you, Maggie’s Wake may be one of the fall’s best discoveries.
The London, Ontario-based folk-Celtic quartet comes to Hugh’s Room Live on Sunday, October 25 at 8 p.m. to launch its second album, Lifelines, a 14-song collection that blends Canadian folk storytelling with Celtic tradition and a distinctly contemporary roots sound.
The band is led by Tara Dunphy, an award-winning songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, and Lindsay Schindler, an award-winning fiddler, violinist, songwriter and composer. They are joined by bassist Andrew Kosty and guitarist Kenneth Palmer, creating a sound that moves easily between intimate story-songs, jigs and reels, whistles, double fiddle and rich vocal harmonies.
That versatility has helped Maggie’s Wake build momentum quickly.
Formed in late 2022, the group won New Artist of the Year at the 2025 Canadian Folk Music Awards and has since showcased across Canada, the U.S. and Ireland. More recently, the band signed with the U.K.’s Strada Music International, a sign that its reach is extending well beyond Ontario.
Lifelines takes its title from a painting the band encountered in Portland, depicting a hand marked with deeply etched lifelines. The image became the starting point for an album about the emotional, creative and physical connections that shape and sustain us.
The record also features an impressive group of collaborators, including David Francey, percussionist Cheryl Prashker, and guests Blair Heddle, Dean Harrison and Larry Smith. Producer Paul Mills returns to guide the project alongside engineer and mixer Adam Plant.
The Toronto release show offers a chance to hear the new material in the kind of room that suits it particularly well. Hugh’s Room has long been one of the city’s most respected homes for folk, roots and acoustic music, where strong musicianship and storytelling can take centre stage.
For audiences who like their folk traditional but not predictable, Maggie’s Wake offers an appealing mix: songs grounded in Celtic and Canadian roots, but with enough energy and stylistic range to keep the evening moving.
Maggie’s Wake: Lifelines CD Release
Sunday, October 25, 8 p.m.
Hugh’s Room Live, Toronto
👉 Tickets and concert information are available through Hugh’s Room Live.
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