BOOK James- Lots of options
If you've been cruising around this site you'll see that there are a number of different ways to have me visit your community. I'm still on the road a lot, despite the considerable challenges facing the biz these days.
Contact and Booking- Please Consider Hiring Me! I'm currently my own agent till I find some professional help!
Lots more info in the Bio and the Press Kit
Pipe Street Productions
Box 714
Guelph, ON
Canada N1H 6L3
Phone: 226-971-9132
Here are some of the incarnations that I'm working with currently. See if one of them might fit your programmimg mandate!
- James Solo. Best for smaller venues, a small entertainer! I lug around an EV full of instruments ( guitar, banjo, keyboard, penny whistle, harmonica, and more. I do a combo of my latest works from recent albums, old favourites from my days with Tamarack, humorous ditties, (many from my days as songwriter-in-residence for CBC radio's Basic Black show)- and I'll give a couple readings from my novel and my collection of road stories. From the historical to the hysterical and all things in between.
Here's me playing all by my lonely self in Pennsylvania- I've chosen a song that I'll share in three different combos for comparison.
2. James Gordon and Connie Murch
This new duo happened kind of accidentally. Friend and fellow Guelphite Connie Murch came on board in the fall of ‘24 to offer tour support for my British Columbia and Alberta tour. An accomplished singer, she’d get up and sing a few songs with me and the audience response was so enthusiastic that we're now doing whole shows together. Besides that tour, we've performed at Southern Ontario venues including Guelph's River Run Centre and Toronto's fabled Hugh's Room. From Connie's Bio: “From her early days singing rock and roll in Toronto clubs to joining an all-female band in Guelph, music has always been at Connie’s core. These days, she finds joy in a new rhythm—harmonizing in a heartfelt duet with James Gordon”
Here we are at the Aforementioned River Run. Two small people on a very large stage. ( The orchestra was taking a break :) Two songs including the same “This Canoe Runs On Water”..
3. James Gordon With Katherine Wheatley
Many of you know my dear friend and neighbour Katherine Wheatley for her own thriving musical career. Check her out at https://www.katherinewheatley.com We've written a lot of songs together, and when her busy schedule allows, Katherine joins me as my accompanist with her strong voice and guitar playing, AND she joins me in my “Exceptional Ensemble”, see below. Our calendars seldom collide, so this duo is available infrequently. Book now ! We've performed together many times over the years.. but not enough!
And here we are singing , guess what- This Canoe Runs On Water!
4. James Gordon and his Exceptional Ensemble
For his most recent album “Wrinkles And Scars”, James assembled his ‘dream team’ as his backup band, and they recorded the project live over two nights at Guelph’s River Run Centre. Dubbed the “Exceptional Ensemble”, one reviewer, noticing the impressive pedigree of the musicians gathered for the occasion, referred to them as ‘The Royal Family of Canadian Folk’. All veterans of the Canadian roots music scene with their own thriving solo careers, the band performed at Toronto’s legendary “Hugh’s Room” and Kitchener Ontario’s Registry Theatre before deciding that they’d like to keep the momentum going with appearances in concerts and at festivals. Though it’s a nightmare navigating their busy touring calendars, they’re committed to making it happen when possible.
Ian Bell, Randall Coryell, Anne Lindsay, David Woodhead, and Katherine Wheatley are familiar to most fans of Canadian roots and folk music. They’ve all worked with James many times over the years, but this is the first time they’ve appeared all together. Thrilled with the response, we’re hoping to fill in some dates in late 2025 and 2026. Let us know if you have a venue that might fit their talents by contacting james@jamesgordon.ca
Here are a couple links from our album debut: including a ‘comparison’ track.
Anne Lindsay has established herself as one of the most engaging and versatile instrumentalists in Canada, adapting her unique violin/fiddle style to the eclectic sounds and musical languages of this country’s rich cultural texture.She is an exuberant fireplug of a session-player-to-the-stars (Led Zeppelin, The Chieftains, Blue Rodeo, James Taylor, Roger Daltry) whose skills have graced many a stage around the world. Anne has played on hundreds of recordings and is a featured performer with the Jim Cuddy Band, The Skydiggers and John McDermott. She was the resident fiddler for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the stage production of The Lord of the Rings. She has also built a formidable career on her own as a musician, composer and vocalist — all showcased brilliantly on her new album, Soloworks.
Katherine Wheatley:
In addition to touring across Canada, the U.S. and Europe as a solo singer/songwriter, Katherine is a member of the Toronto super group "Betty and The Bobs", plays regularly in the hilarious and moving duo "Wendell and Wheat" (where "she doesn't leave a dry eye and he doesn't leave a dry seat") and tours every winter with Tannis Slimmon and Angie Nussey in the trio "Boreal". Katherine is in high demand for her innovative songwriting and music workshops. She's written and recorded over 200 songs with kids through her Youthsongs program and has produced over 30 CDs with schools across North America. She works as a singer and zodiac driver on board the ship The MS Expedition as it plies the seas of Antarctica and the Norwegian Arctic
David Woodhead:
You've probably seen David’s name listed on the backs of recordings in your collection and, yes, he's on some 300 projects and worked with many influential artists including Perth County Conspiracy, Stan Rogers, Oliver Schroer, Gil Scott-Heron, and David Sanborn. His live gigs have included working with Malagasy guitarist Donné Roberts (a recent Juno nominee), classical-folk fusioneers Ensemble Polaris and veteran jazzers Manteca, as well as touring internationally with master songwriter James Keelaghan. David has done instruction at the Folk Alliance International conference (Kansas City), Haliburton Winter Folk Camp, the Goderich Celtic College and Ontario’s The Woods. He's been an invited guest improvisor at Arraymusic and Casey Sokol’s improv soirées at York University, and done a Music Residency at the Banff Centre, working on music which led to his most recent Confabulation CD, Tunnels and Visions. Recently he's been taking part in various events involving Quebecois and Balfolk (European folk dance) music, playing tenor banjo and mandolin.
Ian Bell has performed across Canada and in the United States since the late 1970s On his own and with a number of different ensembles, he has appeared at numerous folk festivals (Winni
peg, Mariposa, Edmonton, Ottawa, Yellowknife, Owen Sound, Lunenberg , Montmagny, and others) and in concerts and dances in venues ranging from The Lincoln Center to the finest Ontario barns.
Randall Coryell
Bo Diddley, Mel Brown, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, White Noise, Prince Charles and the City Beat, Alannah Myles, The Marigolds, Tom Cochrane and Red Rider, Roy Buchanan, Paul Butterfield, Quartette, Glass Tiger, Gwen Swick, Prairie Oyster, Vytek-Coryell-Bird, Tamarack and much more.
5. Songwriting Workshops
These have become a real specialty for me. I can take any group of less than 30 bold volunteers from kids to really old skeptical adults, and in a minimum of 90 minutes they will write a song from beginning to end. No previous musical experience necessary. Read more about my “Rhyme Capsules” school songwriting and recording program, or additional workshop information on the Songwriting In The Schools page on this site.
6. Children’s Shows
Often accused of being rather childish himself, James is a natural kid’s entertainer. His “No Grownups Allowed” album has sold 50,000 copies, and its successor “Bouncy Bouncy” is catching up fast. In a fast-paced 50-minute set of original songs geared towards 3-8 year olds, James keeps his young audiences keenly involved. James and the kids are all ready for a nap by the end!
7. House Concerts
Wanna host a James Gordon House Concert? Touring with a band for many years, I was used to fairly large venues, and taking up a lot of space on-stage. Since I’ve begun touring solo I’ve discovered that my ‘act’ is much more portable, and the music I’m making seems to suit an intimate, informal environment. The growing circuit of house concerts in North America has opened up some new areas that otherwise lacked a ‘folk’ venue. If you haven’t experienced a house concert, you should check one out, and what better way than to host your own!
Here’s how it works: I’m not very big. You’d be surprised how an average-sized living room can be turned into a concert space. All you need is around 30 people who wouldn’t mind paying at least 15 dollars to hear a great evening of songs and stories. We know you’ve got some friends you’d like to invite over, and I’ve got an extensive mailing list, and I can usually rustle up quite a few customers for you. How does a huge rock star like me manage to make something like that economically worth while? Well, for one thing, each of your guests usually goes home having purchased something from the travelling James Gordon CD Boutique, plus you get the added pleasure of providing a light meal and lodging for me Overhead is low, and the commitment to putting on a great show is high.
I can help out other ways too. I’ll help tidy up. I’ll wash the cat. I’ll amuse your children with zany antics. I’ll feign sincere interest when you show me slides from your trip to Disney World.
It’ll be fun, honest.
There are usually dates available when I’m touring through your area—why I’ve even done cottage concerts or backyard shows in the nice weather.
See you at your place!
Some more about what you get when you hire me!
I think I’ve learned how to romance an audience. By the end of the night, usually we’ve got a good thing going together, and it gets hard to say good-bye. We promise to stay in touch though and we know we’ll get together again next time I come through, which isn’t as often as I’d like to, cause, you know, the show business isn’t what it once was.
This romance comes from years of learning how to read a crowd and respond to their needs and desires; how to find out what we have in common. If they’ve come to listen, ( and as I get older I pretty well don’t bother with the venues that don’t offer that as a starting point for our relationship,) then I owe them something to listen to. We establish a trust early on so that I feel safe getting personal with them, and they discover through the songs something that speaks personally to them. One of the things that keeps me out on the road, ( no, it’s not the food,) is when folks will say after a show that it felt like I was singing just to them, and ABOUT them. I know I’ve done my job when I hear that.
I like to mix it up a bit. I’ll do tear-jerkers, shit kickers, rib ticklers, head scratchers, thought provokers, wrist-slitters, knee-slappers, toe tappers, heart breakers and humdingers all in one set, and if it looks like the crowd is partial to one of those in particular, why, I’ll settle in to a run of those for a spell.
I’m not very trendy I suppose. Or hip. Or young. I’m a songworker plain and simple. I’ve written about 1500 of the little darlings now. It’s an obsession. If I may toot my own horn a bit, ( and I DO play the horn in my shows sometimes), some of those songs have done me proud. They get sung around campfires, and by choirs, and by other artists who take them around the world and record them. One of them, Frobisher Bay, was named “Favourite Canadian Song” in a CBC poll. Another one, “Mining For Gold”, was recorded by the Cowboy Junkies on their famous “Trinity Sessions” album, and it’s been used in films and even TV commercials. ( OK, you’re right, I won’t let that happen again. I was broke. )
I toured with my old band Tamarack for twenty years. Our mission was to be a voice for the Canadian identity, to carry our stories forward with songs about the hard working people who made this country great. Mission accomplished to a large extent I think. We played everywhere and we were inclined more towards the back roads when touring and that’s kind of stuck with me.
I was the luckiest guy around for the twelve years I was a songwriter-in-residence with the CBC. With Arthur Black’s show I had a new song on the radio every week and folks got to know me for that. With a regional show called “Ontario Morning” I did a weekly feature called “Hometown Tunes” where I’d take listener’s lovely letters about their home towns and carve them into songs. If you live in Ontario I’ve got a song about your town.
For almost 20 years I’ve been bringing my ‘rhyme capsules’ songwriting-in-the-schools program to students of all ages. I’ve also written and produced 6 full-length musicals.
I’ve made 40 albums solo or with Tamarack.
The music business is tough these days. People are siloing themselves, not going out as much. They are not buying CDs like they used to. Songwriters don’t get the media attention they once did. Revenue is way down and expenses are way up. It doesn’t really make any economic sense to be on the road anymore. It’s in my blood though, and I’ll keep doing it not because it makes sense, but because I continually feel rewarded by the connection I make with audiences around the world who seem to find something of value in what I’ve been doing all my life. And if there’s one advantage to the longevity of my career, at least people seem to know who I am and are still keen to check out my newest work.
Here’s where you come in. If you would like to host a concert for me, I’ll put on a good show for you and help promote it. To be honest, I prefer the smaller halls to the big theatres. My music seems to suit a more intimate performing experience. I think it’ll be worth your while, and I know we can work something out that will make things fair for the artist and the promoter.
The success of my new CD has increased interest in touring, so I’ll be traveling farther afield over the next 18 months and would love to stop at your joint. Shall we give it a try?