April Verch

While Verch is perhaps best known for playing traditional fiddle styles from her native Ottawa Valley, Canada, her performances extend into Old-Time American, Classic Country, and beyond, for a well-rounded tour-de-force of North Americana sounds. Verch currently tours in two duos; one with her husband Cody Walters, as well as "Newberry & Verch" with Joe Newberry. On stage, Verch is almost superhuman, flawlessly intertwining and overlapping different performative elements. She stepdances while fiddling. She sings while stepdancing. Sometimes she sings, steps and fiddles all at once, with apparent ease and precision. With 18 albums and over 2 decades of international touring under her belt, Verch is a seasoned veteran. She won’t be the one to tell you about her championship titles, nominations, and awards, or the fact that she was one of 6 fiddlers who represented the Canadian fiddle tradition to the world at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, as part of a segment called "Fiddle Nation.” Instead, in speaking with her, you’ll hear about how passionate she is about sharing her music; in small gatherings in remote communities in Iqaluit, to large prestigious concert halls like Mozartsal in Vienna. She loves this music, and it's her honour to share it with you.