A creative and prolific songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist from Canada, Bruce Cockburn has been making and performing music for close to half a century. Though his music often circles back to blues and folk roots, it also incorporates gospel, reggae, and classic rock. He has a knack for distilling big picture spiritual revelations and personal experiences into memorable songs, earning him a spot among the best singer-songwriters of his generation.

Grammy-nominated, Brent Cobb dwells in the funkier side of country and the funkier side of rock. Audiences can look forward to his southern storytelling and swampy, country-soul swagger.

Hawktail crafts a beautiful and evocative blend of roots music. Combining fiddle, guitar, string bass, and mandolin, they unearth deep emotions from the wood of each. With individual members performing with Crooked Still, Live from Here, and the Punch Brothers, Hawktail is a rare gathering of talent and a joy to hear.

Singer songwriter Greg Laswell returns. A versatile artist, he sounds at home both with a guitar in simple folk pop arrangements while reveling in cinematic Americana, as well. Laswell is known for his single “Comes and Goes (In Waves)” and for numerous other singles featured on shows like Grey's Anatomy and True Blood.

Catch Afrofuturist electro-fusion DJ AfrotroniX and Jordanian-Palestinian shamstep pioneers 47SOUL at night three of The Cedar's 2019 Global Roots Festival! Each night of free concerts illuminates and celebrates traditions from around the globe while boldly exploring the edge of emerging art and culture.

Catch masterful Korean percussion from Kim So Ra and Dublin folk miscreants Lankum at night two of The Cedar's 2019 Global Roots Festival! Each night of free concerts illuminates and celebrates traditions from around the globe while boldly exploring the edge of emerging art and culture.

This free show-and-tell style conversation between Greg Grease and Global Roots Festival artist AfrotroniX at Slam Academy will illuminate AfrotroniX’s production process, digging into his process of creating songs, the themes of his songwriting, and the cultural roots behind his sound.

Catch the hypnotic women-led Tuareg blues of Les Filles De Illighadad and Afro-Argentine reggae icon Fidel Nadal with Mr. Pauer at night one of The Cedar's 2019 Global Roots Festival! Each night of free concerts illuminates and celebrates traditions from around the globe while boldly exploring the edge of emerging art and culture.

At 24, Ziggy Alberts has already accomplished more than most of his peers. He’s released five records, started his own record label, and sold out tours worldwide. His honest and personal music and his soothing tenor voice, reminiscent of early Ben Howard and Jack Johnson, keep fans excited for what’s to come.

Lucy Kaplansky is a rare vocal talent who blends country, folk and pop music in performances of her own sweet originals or her inventive covers of country and pop classics. After releasing her most recent album Everyday Street late last year, Lucy returns to The Cedar with her iconic voice.

Using instruments constructed from typewriters, glass bottles, and engine parts, this explosive Congolese music collective makes irresistibly danceable music. Inspired by electronica, hip-hop, and African roots and jazz, KOKOKO!’s organic, exuberant sound merges political messaging with hypnotic dance rhythms.

Grammy winning dub & reggae pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry celebrates the 45th anniversary of his landmark album “Blackboard Jungle Dub,” the world’s first dub album, by performing it live for the first time on tour with NYC's Subatomic Sound System, his hybrid band of new school electronics and veteran Jamaican musicians from the Black Ark era recordings.

Väsen, a Swedish acoustic trio consists of a five-string viola of sophisticated symphonic taste, an adventurous 12-string guitar, and a nyckelharpa (a “keyed fiddle”) deeply rooted in the traditions of Swedish folk music. Väsen’s live show is a chance to witness virtuosic ensemble playing at its finest.

Kardemimmit is a group of four awesome Finnish women who draw on a variety of Nordic musical traditions to create and perform music for the Finnish national instrument, the kantele, and their voices. With their beautiful, layered vocal harmonies and elegant, floating Kantele arrangements, they are not to be missed.

For the last 30 years, songwriter and instrumentalist Kristin Hersh has explored everything from noise rock and American folk rock to indie rock somewhere in between. However, her emotional, gritty, and heartfelt live presence has always been there. She’ll be joined by Fred Abong and Rob Ahlers for this gripping evening.

Hailing from Scotland, The Tannahill Weavers combine traditional melodies on pipes, flute and fiddle, driving rhythms on guitar, and powerful three and four part vocal harmonies. From reflective ballads to footstomping reels and jigs, the material they perform is matched only by their lively Celtic spirits.

Russian Circles are a Chicago-based instrumental rock trio that explore a wide swath of sounds and textures. They craft existentially searching, instrumental narratives with hints of alternative, metal, and prog rock. Almost trance inspiring, audiences will feel both mammoth and delicate sound waves washing over them.

Grammy award-winning group Black Uhuru, one of the most recognized and prolific reggae bands of the last 50 years, returns to The Cedar at this rescheduled show date. Tickets from their March 31st show will be honored at the door.

Join us for a free night of traditional Somali music and dance at The Cedar, featuring live music by Thunder Band, buraanbur poetry led by Caasho Buranburtooy, and dance performed by The Somali Museum Dance Troupe, all curated by Cedar Artist Collective member Harbi.

The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians™ (AACM)’s Great Black Music Ensemble features some of Chicago’s most visionary artists of improvisation and creative music, carrying on the legacy of Chicago’s South Side creative music by expressing the excitement of new sounds and rhythms while invigorating Black musical traditions including funk, reggae, bebop, swing and African and Caribbean styles.

An energetic acoustic band with a mix of folk, hip-hop, and son jaracho influences, Las Cafeteras perform in such a way that audiences can’t help but join in the singing and dancing. They’ll be joined by Kansas City-based Making Movies.

The High Kings, a Celtic supergroup comprised of former members of Riverdance, the Clancy Brothers, The Three Irish Tenors, and more, are charting a new course for traditional Irish ballad music, equal parts rousing and reflective, energetic and insightful.

Calvin Johnson established Olympia, Washington-based indie label K Records in 1982 and founded Dub Narcotic Studio in 1993. He has performed with groups such as Beat Happening, The Go Team, Halo Benders, Dub Narcotic Sounds System, and The Hive Dwellers. He tours as a solo artist, and also performs as Selector Dub Narcotic. He's touring behind his new solo album, A Wonderful Beast, which will be released on K Records this fall.

OVRFWRD is a four piece all instrumental band from Minneapolis, MN whose diverse sound palette hints at rock, jazz, and classical. They’ll be releasing their third full length album at The Cedar.

Cleveland-born David Wilcox is a father, a husband, a citizen and a songwriter known for his smooth baritone voice, virtuosic guitar chops, and creative open tunings, giving him a range and tenderness rare in folk music. 

Delta Lady–Rita Coolidge is back with Safe in the Arms of Time, her 18th solo album and a reaffirmation of her indomitable spirit and unquenchable creative thirst.

Bruce Molsky, “one of America’s premier fiddling talents” (Mother Jones) and Grammy-nominated artist on fiddle, banjo, guitar, and song is delighted to present his brand new trio with Allison de Groot and Stash Wyslouch. 

Jupiter and Okwess transcend the Congo’s unexplored musical heritage and dive into a pool of modernity. For their first show at The Cedar, they share a co-bill with Fendika, a troupe of the most accomplished azmari musicians and dancers from across Ethiopia.

Bands often claim to be unique, but Spiro really do defy easy categorisation. They are an acoustic instrumental quartet, playing violin, mandolin, accordion and guitar (which is occasionally replaced by cello), and though they do make use of traditional themes, they are most certainly not a folk band. 

Very few musicians of any stripe so personify a musical genre as completely as Tony Furtado embodies Americana roots music. Tony is an evocative and soulful singer, a wide-ranging songwriter and a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist adept on banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar and baritone ukulele who mixes and matches sounds and styles with the flair of a master chef.