Coco Love Alcorn to Headline Gil’s Hootenanny 2023

Gil’s Hootenanny 2023 will feature singer-songwriter Coco Love Alcon, who will bring her distinctive performance style to the 14th 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.