Who are the COMPADRES?
James Keelaghan is one of Canada’s best known singer/songwriters with roots deep in Canadian folk tradition. Oscar Lopez is one of Canada’s most acclaimed Latin guitar players. Together they are Compadres.

They describe their music as 'celtino', a distinctive blend of celtic and latino flourishes that, together, create an entirely new hybrid. Festival’s Jack Schuller calls the duo 'a Canadian story' - different cultures coming together to create something truly unique.

Keelaghan and Lopez have been performing off and on as Compadres since 1993, and their music  ranges from fiery instrumentals to heavenly harmonies to the highly danceable. James and Oscar will tour Australia and New Zealand in January and February 2007, opening their New Zealand tour at Auckland Folk Festival (26—29 January). 

Enjoy these fantastic, highly talented artists; who carry credits from many areas including: Multiple Juno Awards.  Sold out at the Jack Singer Concert Hall (capacity 1700), Calgary, Alberta to Live Performance at The Lincoln Centre, New York !!  Mainly because of demanding & solid solo careers, these guys rarely come together but when they do....it's terrific!

This is James’ and Oscar's first visit to New Zealand as a duo.

James Keelaghan
Folk music tells the stories of people and places, and Canada's James Keelaghan is certainly that kind storyteller. Seventeen years after his first album, he has established himself as a singer songwriter with an international following, and a compelling ability to tell the stories of himself and his land.

A commanding performer, James Keelaghan develops an intimate rapport with audiences through his stories and humour - and then leaves them spellbound with passionate renditions of songs that touch on universal emotions and relate historical events to the present.

His debut album Timelines was released in 1987, followed by Small Rebellions (1990), which featured the audience favourite Red River Rising, set during Canada's Riel Rebellion of 1870.

His fifth solo album Road in 1999, saw Keelaghan branching out musically, bringing a "Canadian All Star" line-up to perform on the CD. His next album Home is both intimate and historical, a return to folk roots and a pared down sound.

In February 2004, James released Then Again, a collection of much-loved Keelaghan songs, where James revisited these tunes to rerecord them, making them more representative of what he shares with his live audiences today.

Oscar Lopez
Hailed by the Associated Press as a "major talent", this high-energy Chilean-Canadian guitarist has been amazing listeners and critics at concerts and festivals across North America. The way Oscar’s fingers "fly along his guitar" leaves his audience breathless; his improvisations and uncanny ability to play any category of music after hearing a tune only once, leave his fellow musicians shaking their heads in awe.

Born in Chile, Oscar had an established musical career there before he immigrated to Canada in 1979. "When I came here I played in many bands, in many styles. I returned to playing the nylon string guitar, and I brought all these styles to it. I would bend a note and think, 'Hey! That works here, too.' This was the start of my fusion, if you want to call it that."

Indeed, what to call the music? The artist is reluctant to name it. "It's not flamenco, but it is in a way. It's not rock or blues, except in certain elements. There is always a strong Latin beat, a Spanish beat. Latin, definitely, because that's me, but there is so much other music that has touched me." At the heart of Oscar’s performance is his unique musical style, a "fantasy of Latin strings" -- a vibrant fusion of Latin, jazz, and classical rhythms.