Gunning & Cormier

 Two of Canada’s greatest roots singer-songwriters finally did what everybody’s wanted—heck, what they’ve wanted—for years. Gunning and Cormier released Two, their first album together in 2017, followed by Leather and Dust in 2023 . 

With 14 albums, a Juno nomination, two Canadian Folk Music Awards, and eight East Coast Music Awards  to his credit, there’s no denying Dave Gunning’s impressive body of work. The Nova Scotian folk musician has shared the stage with legends like Ron Hynes, Rita MacNeil, Stuart McLean, and Stompin’ Tom Connors, and has been recognized in his own right as a master of his craft, both as an award-winning singer-songwriter and a captivating performer.

A gracious storyteller, Gunning’s knack for connecting with audiences precedes the skills and experience he’s earned on the road—it is a way of life. From a very young age, music has been Gunning’s way of interpreting the world around him, the lens through which he sees it, and the medium by which he engages with his community. He has never needed to look far beyond his Nova Scotia backyard for inspiration. That’s where the characters live. That’s where the stories come from. Often shining a light on the well-deserving underdogs, he’s also never shied away from tougher topics, staying true to the folk music tradition. In recent years, those topics have tended to be social and environmental in nature--causes that he holds near and dear. 

Despite delivering some very important messages in his songs, audiences should also be prepared to laugh at a Dave Gunning show. His banter is perfectly timed, self-effacing, and very funny. It’s this finely-tuned balance of sincerity and impeccable performance that makes him one of Canada’s most engaging entertainers.

As a 5-year-old boy, J.P. Cormier discovered an innate talent for playing the guitar, By the mid-’80s, not out of his teens, he was a sideman for bands and artists of many different genres in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi and all across the deep south. As he traveled and worked, he added more and more instruments to his arsenal, becoming indispensable to the musicians he worked with.

In the mid-’90s he re-entered the musical scene of his beloved Cape Breton, exploding onto the trad music scene as a fiddler, performing with a facility that stunned onlookers and sounded like he had been steeped continually in a handed-down brew of family tradition from the old country.

Nothing could be further from the truth. His previous gig was in Nashville playing mandolin and banjo in a Grammy-nominated bluegrass gospel band, performing at the Opry, and playing television shows with the likes of Waylon Jennings. All those people also thought he was one of them, American, reared in the ways of bluegrass, old time and Americana music. They knew he was from Canada, but it just didn’t seem possible.

In 1997 Another Morning was released with Cormier as songwriter and lead singer. This first album received a Juno nomination and won an East Coast Music Association award. Sixteen albums followed, winning 12 more ECMAs, another Juno nomination, a Canadian Folk Music Award and five Music Nova Scotia Awards, showcasing an astounding spectrum of talent and musical vision.

Great friends, frequent collaborators, co-writers and touring partners--there couldn’t be a better time to discover Gunning & Cormier, and the power of two.

“A beautiful thing happens when a song has close vocal harmonies. Besides a pleasing sound, many times you hear not two voices, but one. It becomes hard to distinguish who is singing what part, the lead or the harmony.” --Roots Music Canada

“Two songwriters, interpreters, guitar players, and singers at their peak. It’s the power of the song, the highest quality from the past to the now. It’s two friends, brothers, and uncompromising performers.” --Rogue Folk

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by CNY Arts.

This project is made possible with funds from the Tier Three Project Support program, a regrant program of the County of Onondaga with the support of the County Executive and administered by CNY Arts.

  ~ This project is also made possible through the support and generosity of our Folkus members. ~