Leonard Podolak
| The Duhks | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Genres | American folk, blues, Irish folk, folk rock, gospel, Latin percussion, soul, zydeco |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Sugar Hill (former) |
| Website | duhks |
| Members | Leonard Podolak Jessee Havey Kevin Joaquin Garcia Colin Savoie-Levac Anna Lindblad |
| Past members | Sarah Dugas Christian Dugas Jordan McConnell Scott Senior Tania Elizabeth |
The Duhks are a folk fusion band, formed in 2002 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Featuring banjo, fiddle, guitar, percussion, and vocals, The Duhks blend folk music together with various Canadian and American traditional styles, including soul, gospel, old-time country string, and zydeco. The band also commonly plays traditional Irish dance music, integrating Latin-influenced percussion as well as often Celtic- and Cajun-influenced fiddle-playing.
In 2002, Appalachian-influenced clawhammer banjo player Leonard Podolak founded The Duhks in Winnipeg with singer Jessee Havey, fiddle player Tania Elizabeth, and Celtic-influenced guitarist Jordan McConnell—all Canadian musicians. The name "Duhks" comes from Scruj MacDuhk, Podolak's defunct previous band.
The Duhks' first album, Your Daughters & Your Sons (2003), was nominated for a Juno award, leading to a contract with Sugar Hill Records. A new percussionist, Latin-influenced Scott Senior, joined the band, who then released their eponymous second album (2005), produced by Béla Fleck, which won a Juno for Best Roots & Traditional Album by a Group. "Heaven's My Home," from their third album, Migrations (2006)—produced by Tim O'Brien—was nominated for the 2007 Grammy award for Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.
In March 2007, Jessee Havey left the band to pursue other interests and was replaced as the lead singer by Sarah Dugas. The group was joined in November 2007 by Sarah's brother, Christian Dugas, as a replacement for percussionist Scott Senior, who left to spend more time with his family. In October 2007, The Duhks Sustainability Project was launched to raise awareness about ways to live a more economically viable and ecologically sustainable lifestyle. The following year, the website FestivaLink released The Duhks' first live album as well as the first to feature Sarah Dugas as lead vocalist and Christian Dugas as percussionist; the album is a compilation of old and new songs, largely recorded at a post-Earth Day benefit in Nederland, Colorado on April 2008.
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