The portion of this show from 8pm to 9pm will be broadcast live by our friends at
WFMT 98.7, or listen worldwide on http://www.WFMT.com
Scott Cook was born in West Virginia, grew up around Western
Canada, earned a Philosophy degree in Edmonton and spent six
years teaching kindergarten in Taiwan before setting out on the
road full-time in 2007.
He's made his living as a troubadour ever since, touring almost
incessantly across Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, New
Zealand and elsewhere, averaging over a hundred shows and a dozen
summer festivals a year while releasing seven albums of plainspoken,
keenly observant verse along the way.
His latest collection Tangle of Souls comes packaged in a cloth-bound,
240-page hardcover book of road stories and ruminations. The album
spent two weeks at #1 back home on Alberta's province-wide community
radio network CKUA, and earned Scott his third Canadian Folk Music
Award nomination, for English Songwriter of the Year.
Its second single "Say Can You See" was the second most-played song
of 2020 on Folk Alliance International's folk radio charts, and took
top honours for the folk category in both the 2020 UK Songwriting
Competition and the 2020 Great American Song Contest.
In 2025 he's releasing his eighth album "Troubadourly Yours" with
another hardcover book of liner notes, part memoir and part manifesto,
and touring North America, Europe, and Australia in support. Fresh
from the open road, these are sturdy, straight-talking songs that see
the good in you.
"He sings his heart and soul, and in doing so lets light flood into
your own... He has a good eye for imagery, a gentle human touch, a
wry sense of humour, a whole lot of integrity, a warm, rugged voice
and a bunch of memorable lines... Truly one of Woody Guthrie's
children." --RnR Magazine

Heather Styka writes intricate stories into her songs and sings them with a voice that might make you think of Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday, but she describes herself as a cross between Leonard Cohen and Patsy Cline. Her songs and stories belong squarely in the folk and Americana traditions, but they're also gritty country and catchy pop, a nice mix. Onstage, she's energetic and intimate, quirky and funny.
After growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Styka moved to the city to study creative writing, meanwhile honing her song craft among Chicago's long-standing folk community. "Chicago has such a rich musical history, especially with places like the Old Town School of Folk Music," Styka explains. "I was definitely steeped in that tradition." Her 2011 release "Lifeboats for Atlantis" brought her to national attention, hitting #3 on the FOLK-DJ charts. Styka's honest, image-heavy songs have garnered her a number of awards, including being a New Folk Finalist at the Kerrville Folk Festival (2015, 2017) and official showcases at Folk Alliance International, NERFA, SWRFA, and FARM.
Armed with a guileless, unvarnished delivery, she's equal parts wordsmith and entertainer. Styka's energetic shows feel as intimate and candid as late night conversation, peppered with a quirky sense of humor and confessional storytelling.
Heather Styka was the first place winner in the Big Top Chautauqua Songwriting Competition, and then second place in the Great Lakes Songwriting Contest. A two-time finalist at the Kerrville Folk Festival, she continues to earn accolades...and most recently, an advanced degree! She wins admirers by rendering the beauty and hardship in life into song, somehow making us all feel like we're in it together.