← Back to the listening map
OUTPORT STORIES · FOLK REINVENTED · 23 SONGS
Newfoundland
Newfoundland’s collection begins with the communal pull of folk-rock and moves into the island’s songwriters, traditional singers and indie bands. Great Big Sea and the Irish Descendants sit alongside Ron Hynes and Figgy Duff, giving the opening both energy and reflective space.
The later selections broaden the view with Hey Rosetta!, Tim Baker, the Once, Amelia Curran and newer voices. Local musical identity here is more varied than a pub singalong: ballads, harmonies, rock arrangements and intimate storytelling all have a place.
Listen on SpotifyThe stories in the grooves.
Read in playlist order. Listening cues are editorial guidance; references support cultural context.
- 01
Ordinary Day
Great Big Sea
Recording: Play
An energetic opening from one of Newfoundland’s most widely recognised bands.
Listen for Listen to the force of the communal refrain.
- 02
The Night Pat Murphy Died
Great Big Sea
Recording: Play
A lively narrative song represents the band’s folk-party side.
Listen for Follow the storytelling rhythm as closely as the chorus.
- 03
Barrett's Privateers (Album Version)
The Irish Descendants
Recording: Gypsies And Lovers
A Newfoundland group’s rendition places a wider Atlantic song tradition in local hands.
Listen for Notice how the group delivery turns the narrative into a shared event.
- 04
Sonny's Dream
Ron Hynes
Recording: Face To The Gale
Hynes is essential to the songwriter strand of this portrait.
Listen for Follow the story’s changing emotional perspective through the vocal phrasing.
- 05
Atlantic Blue
Ron Hynes
Recording: Cryer's Paradise
A second Hynes selection gives his reflective songwriting more room.
Listen for Listen to the restraint of the performance and the space around the words.
- 06
Rattlin Bog
The Irish Descendants
Recording: Gypsies And Lovers
A cumulative folk song brings the communal energy back.
Listen for the way repetition becomes the engine of the performance.
- 07
Weather Out the Storm
Figgy Duff
Recording: Weather Out The Storm
A signature Figgy Duff song represents Newfoundland’s meeting of traditional and contemporary music.
Listen for Notice the balance between the voice and the band arrangement.
- 08
Red Heart
Hey Rosetta!
Recording: Into Your Lungs (and around in your heart and on through your blood)
This selection brings Newfoundland indie rock into the story.
Listen for Follow the gradual expansion from individual voice to ensemble momentum.
- 09
Welcome
Hey Rosetta!
Recording: Seeds
A companion track shows another side of the band’s broad, melodic arrangements.
Listen for the changing density behind the lead vocal.
- 10
All Hands
Tim Baker
Recording: Forever Overhead
Baker’s solo work extends the Hey Rosetta! connection in a different setting.
Listen for Notice the phrasing and the arrangement’s steady forward movement.
- 11
We Are All Running
The Once
Recording: Departures
The Once adds a modern Newfoundland folk-trio voice.
Listen for Focus on the blend of voices and the way the refrain opens out.
- 12
The Mistress
Amelia Curran
Recording: Hunter Hunter
Curran brings sharply focused singer-songwriter craft to the collection.
Listen for Keep your attention on the vocal narrative and the economy of the backing.
- 13
The Bliss
Fortunate Ones
Recording: The Bliss
This duo adds a contemporary, harmony-led folk-pop texture.
Listen for how the two voices reinforce and separate from one another.
- 14
Red Is the Rose
The Ennis Sisters
Recording: Women of Song
A traditional ballad interpreted by Newfoundland’s Ennis Sisters highlights vocal harmony.
Listen for Follow the sustained notes and the blend between the singers.
- 15
Fearless
Kellie Loder
Recording: Fearless
Loder represents another contemporary Newfoundland songwriting voice.
Listen for Listen to how the performance builds from the central melody.
- 16
Music & Friends
Simani
Recording: Favourites
Simani supplies a familiar Newfoundland community-music reference point.
Listen for Notice the easy invitation to join the refrain.
- 17
I'se the B'y
Harry Hibbs
Recording: Harry Hibbs At the Caribou Club
A widely recognised Newfoundland standard anchors the traditional side.
Listen for Listen to the dance-like lilt and direct delivery.
- 18
The Badger Drive
The Dardanelles
Recording: In the Spring, That's the Time
A Newfoundland logging ballad links local history with a modern traditional band.
Listen for Follow the narrative and its rhythmic momentum.
- 19
Banks of Newfoundland
Matthew Byrne
Recording: Ballads
Byrne’s traditional singing brings a seafaring ballad into clear focus.
Listen for Listen to the voice’s control of pace and emphasis.
- 20
So Let's Go
Alan Doyle
Recording: So Let's Go
Doyle’s solo work connects Great Big Sea’s familiar energy to a later pop-rock setting.
Listen for Notice the chorus’s lift and the full-band support.
- 21
Reel 'n' roll
Rawlins Cross
Recording: Reel 'n' roll
Rawlins Cross adds a Celtic-rock bridge between tune tradition and amplified band music.
Listen for the relationship between the melodic figures and the rock rhythm section.
- 22
Heave Away
The Fables
Recording: Tear the House Down
The Fables give the collection another recognisable Newfoundland folk-rock singalong.
Listen for Listen to the call-and-response feel of the refrain.
- 23
Lukey
Great Big Sea
Recording: Up
This traditional Newfoundland song returns the sequence to its communal roots.
Listen for Follow the repeated refrain and the band’s rhythmic lift.
