RECENT NOMINATIONS

  • 2022 Maple Blues Awards: Male vocalist of the year (Kevin Harvey) 
  • 2021 Maple Blues Awards: Recording/producer of the year (Bill Garrett) -Hand me down Blues 
  • 2021 Maple Blues Awards: Songwriter of the year (Kevin Harvey) 
  • 2020 JUNO Awards: Blues album of the year  -Hand me down Blues 
  • 2020 Maple Blues Awards: Recording/producer of the year (Bill Garrett) & Songwriter of the year (Kevin Harvey)
  • 2020 Canadian Folk Music Awards: Traditional singer of the year (Kevin Harvey) 
  • 2019 Maple Blues Awards: New group of the year 

 

DURHAM COUNTY POETS

Durham County Poets are a “band” in the truest sense of the word!

It all started in a small café in Ormstown, Quebec. The band continued to percolate and spread onto the Canadian music scene, allowing them to tour across Canada and on into the United States. Each member writes and arranges, and brings something unique to the table. You’ll hear a variety of genres and a broad range of styles. Be it Blues, Soul, Folk, R&B or Gospel, it all weaves seamlessly together to create a truly authentic contemporary Canadiana sound. 

  

The band’s debut albums 

The first album, Where the River Flows, was a local hit, receiving some radio airplay and attention And allowed them to express themselves and showcase their musicianship and abilities as songwriters. They remained focused and kept their strong sense of purpose. Now, with a manager on board – Heidi Fleming of FAMGroup – two more albums would follow: Chickaboodah Stew and Grimshaw Road.  

Their fourth album, Hand Me Down Blues, would build on that success, remaining on Roots Music Report’s top 50 charts in Canada for more than 12 months. And was nominated for a JUNO Award for (Best Blues album of the year 2020) 

 

Here we all are in 2022 – now what? 

(A new album, Out of the Woods) 

Produced by Bill Garrett, OUT OF THE WOODS was released in May 2022. The band has kept busy over the past two years, writing and drawing inspiration from life as we now know it and allowing good and bad experiences to shape each heartfelt song. The band is back in the groove, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. You’ll hear original, uplifting compositions from the Blues, R&B, Soul, and Gospel genres that reach deep down into the soul. 

  

Reviews 

“Lead singer Kevin Harvey and his band are sonic shape shifters of the first order. Whether it’s blues, folk, soul, country, gospel, or New Orleans swing, they purvey it with skill, aplomb and pure honesty.” 

– Nate Dow, Fallout Shelter, Massachusetts 

  

“There’s something about the Durham County Poets that leaves you feeling that everything might be OK in the world after all. There’s a human spirit that lives in these people and their music is the medium that allows that spirit to roam free.” 

– Bill Hurley, Extended Play Sessions 

  

Hand Me Down Blues 

“Though this is mainly a blues album, it’s not as ‘blue’ as the title led me to think it would be.  You’ll also find spirited gospel, a bit of country twang and slinky jazz, even some jump/swing on a track like Kidney Stew; there’s something fresh around every corner here” 

— by John Kereiff The rock doctor