Featured Artists

If you love to sing, time to “get your sing on”. Gil’s Hootenanny will present a 2 hour singing workshop on Sunday, April 30 led by Canadian singer-songwriter Coco Love Acorn.

Let’s Sing! Let’s Play! will explore the joy of singing through melody, harmony, rhythm, creativity, improvisation, and ideas in a spirit of soulfulness, playfulness and fun. All voices are welcome.

Coco’s original songs have been used widely in TV and film and have been sung by choirs around the world. Alcorn also leads the Wonderland Singers, an online community choir and creative singing workshop series with hundreds of regular members from across Canada, the United States and beyond.

Let’s Sing! Let’s Play! takes place on Sunday, April 30 at 2 pm at the Westboro Masonic Hall, 430 Churchill Ave. N., Ottawa. Tickets are $20.

Coco Love Alcorn will headline Gil’s Hootenanny 2023, bringing her distinctive performance style to the 14^th annual May Day sing-along.

​Alcorn is a perfect fit for Gil’s Hootenanny with its focus on the collective power of singing together. Last year’s Gil’s Hootenanny headliner James Keelaghan has called Alcorn a “musical spark plug”, noting “I have never seen another performer able to bring people together like Coco does”.

​Recently awarded the 2021 Canadian Folk Music Award for Best Contemporary Singer of the Year, Alcorn’s music combines diverse musical influences including jazz, R&B, pop, folk, and Gospel. Her love of improvising, and willingness to engage fearlessly with the audience has made Alcorn an established presence on the Canadian music scene. Alcorn’s career has spanned more than 25 years, 9 solo albums, cross-Canada tours, collaborations, festival appearances, and award nominations. Her original songs have been used widely in TV and film and have been sung by choirs around the world. Alcorn also leads the Wonderland Singers, an online community choir and creative singing workshop series with hundreds of regular members from across Canada, the United States and beyond.

​Gil’s Hootenanny is also sponsoring an April 30 Alcorn-led vocal workshop entitled Let’s Sing! Let’s Play! which will explore the joy of singing through melody, harmony, rhythm, creativity, improvisation, and ideas in a spirit of soulfulness, playfulness, and fun. The two-hour workshop will take place at 2:00 pm on Sunday, April 30 at the Westboro Masonic Hall. All voices are welcome!

​Gil’s Hootenanny will take place at 7:00 pm on May Day, Monday, May 1, at 30 Cleary Avenue, the campus of the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa. The venue is accessible, has ample parking and is serviced by OC Transpo. 

​Tickets for the hootenanny will be $20; kids can attend free of charge. 

Workshop tickets will be $20.  

Tickets to both the hootenanny and the workshop will be discounted to $35.

Stay tuned for further information about ticket sales.

Gil’s Hootenanny 2023 will feature singer-songwriter Coco Love Alcon, who will bring her distinctive performance style to the 14^th annual May Day community sing-along celebrating the stories, struggles and victories of working people. Alcorn won the Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Singer of the Year in 2021 for her album Rebirth.

​Alcorn is a perfect fit for Gil’s Hootenanny with itsfocus on the collective power of singing together. She is an engaging performer who forges a deep connection with her audience, combining diverse musical influences with a love of improvisation. Alcorn will take Gil’s Hootenanny on a soulful, joyful and playful musical journey that will touch your heart.

​Gil’s Hootenanny, first presented in 2010, is inspired by the legacy of Gil Levine, who spent his life working for social justice and was the founding Director of Research at the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Gil was a great lover of folk music and an enthusiastic supporter of folk musicians. He believed in the collective power of song to bring people together to speak up and sing out for change. 

​Over the years, Gil’s Hootenanny has seen increasingly larger audiences who join the headliner and other featured artists in singing along with new and traditional songs of hope and protest. 

​Gil’s Hootenanny will take place at 7:00 pm on May Day, Monday, May 1, at 30 Cleary Avenue, the campus of the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa. The venue is accessible, has ample parking and is serviced by OC Transpo.

Alcorn will also lead a two-hour vocal workshop at 2:00 pm on Sunday, April 30 at the Westboro Masonic Hall. 

​Tickets for Gil’s Hootenanny will be $20. Kids can attend free of charge.

Workshop tickets will be $20.  

Tickets to both the Hootenanny and the Workshop will be $35.

​Stay tuned for ticket sales and further information.

Ottawa’s Gil’s Hootenanny will begin its second decade featuring musical legend James Keelaghan. One of Canada’s finest singer-songwriters, Keelaghan will bring his distinctive voice and masterful storytelling to this 11^th annual community sing-along celebrating the stories, struggles and victories of working people.