The Duhks is a group of musicians and singers from Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the Canadian prairies. The first lineup included Leonard Podolak on banjo and vocals; Jessee Havey on lead vocals; Jordan McConnell on guitar; Scott Senior on percussion; and Tania Elizabeth on fiddle and vocals.
Since 2003, The Duhks’ music was hard to define. Some called it “contemporary acoustic,” “progressive soulgrass,” and rock-folk fusion. The group’s fascinating fusion appeared on the band’s self-titled CD, The Duhk (Sugar Hill).
With the album The Duhks, the band won widespread acknowledgement as a rising neo folk-rock band. The band won a JUNO award (Canada’s top music award), and successfully toured the world.
Environmental issues are a passion for The Duhks, inspiring the band to create The Duhks Sustainability Project (www.greenduhks.com) in October 2007. Led by Tania Elizabeth, The Duhks goal was to “tour on as sustainable a basis as possible; fueling our vehicle with Biodiesel, supporting local organic farmers wherever we go, wearing sustainable eco-conscious clothing, using earth-friendly shampoos, soaps and cosmetics and offsetting remaining CO2 emissions with carbon credits.”
“As a band, it’s something we feel very strongly about,” said founder and banjo player Leonard Podolak. “We just want to reduce our carbon footprint as much as humanly possible.”
Fast Paced World was released in 2008, recorded in Jay Joyce’s Nashville studio. “Jay’s basement studio was like something out of the Star Trek Enterprise,” said Podolak. “Joyce was very open to our ideas and very easy to work with. I also think he learned as much from us as we did from him about combining the acoustic and electric elements of our songs in a studio setting.”
In 2016, The Duhks announced that they would no longer be touring.
Discography
* Your Daughters & Your Sons (2002)
* The Duhks (Sugar Hill, 2005)
* Migrations (Sugar Hill, 2006)
* This Fall EP (2008)
* Fast Paced World (Sugar Hill, 2008)
* The Duhks at the Backdoor Theater (2008)
* The Duhks at MerleFest (2009)
* Beyond the Blue (Compass Records, 2014)
Web site www.duhks.com
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
