Highlights

2022 Rise Up finalist in RAWA’s Songs for Social Justice Songwriting Competition

2019 Performed to sold out houses in Germany and Denmark

2018 Semi-finalist UK Songwriting Competition for I’m on Fire:

https://erikakulnys.com/videos/im-on-fire/

2017 Performed Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival, Northern Ireland

2017 Performed with Wallis Bird in Sligo, Ireland

2016 Played Copenhagen Pride Mainstage

2016 Fan-funded Rise Up charted Top Ten:

https://www.spincount.ca/home/archives/05-2017 and charted top ten in US

2016 Co-Winner of The National Voice of Women’s Kim Phuc Youth Peace Award with El Jones

2016 Winner, First Place Cork Folk Festival’s Songwriting Contest

(national Irish competition)

2016 Winner, First Place People’s Music Network Social Justice Songs Showcase Contest, Northeast Regional Folk Alliance

2016 Honourable Mention Rhode Island Songwriter’s Association Contest

2016 Honourable Mention, Posi Awards

2016 Finalist Canada South Songwriting Competition

2016 Finalist Ottawa Grassroots Festival Sing-a-long Contest

2015 Performed Stan Rogers Folk Festival Mainstage

2015 Winner, Music Nova Scotia Inspirational Recording of the Year

2015 Regional Semi-finalist of CBC’s Searchlight Competition

2015 Performed at Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival final concert

2014 International Acoustic Music Award Finalist for Female Artist 

2007 Finalist, Phoebe Poetry Competition judged by Anne Carson

2005 Winner, $25, 000 Watson Fellowship to study, write and perform Folk Music for Social Change in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Brazil and India

Erika Kulnys connects deeply to audiences with her powerful voice, authenticity, innovative piano work and infectious joy. She opens hearts with her passion and commitment to social change. A native of Nova Scotia, Erika’s performed internationally in venues ranging from the Bitter End in New York City to the World Social Forum in Caracas. Her album, Angel on the Road, won Music Nova Scotia’s Inspirational Recording of the Year and was a finalist in CBC’s Searchlight Competition for Canada’s best new artist. Rise Up garnered awards from Ireland to Florida (First Place Cork Folk Festival’s Songwriting Contest 2016, First Place People’s Music Network Social Justice Songs, Honourable Mention Rhode Island Songwriter’s Association Contest, Honourable Mention, Posi Awards, Finalist Canada South Songwriting Competition, Finalist Ottawa Grassroots Festival to name a few) and charted Top Ten on Folk DJ and Roots Charts. Erika won a $25, 000 Watson Fellowship to study music and social change in six countries, was a finalist for the International Acoustic Music awards, and has received international airplay including CBC, BBC, and NPR.

Erika’s sixth studio release, Rise Up, is a social justice-themed album, recorded at Signature Sounds by Mark Thayer (James Taylor, Josh Ritter, Richard Shindell) and featuring musicians Dave Mattacks (Paul McCartney), Laurie MacAllister (Red Molly) and Jim Henry (Mary Chapin-Carpenter). Rise Up was released at Copenhagen Pride, where Erika performed on the mainstage in 2016. Rise Up travels through folk-pop, Americana, and rock to explore the depths of human love and suffering, and calls us to unite globally for peace and equality. Throughout, Erika’s songs reflect universal human experiences with passion and acute honesty, while the album’s production uses the many colours of strings, dobro, percussion, and harmonies to create a living landscape of sound and story.

Erika’s voice has a striking range of timbres and emotions and her humour and honesty onstage make her music accessible to folks young and old, and across cultures. Though her roots grow deep in story-telling folk traditions, Erika is also a classically trained pianist, a poet, and composer who challenges boundaries. Erika’s musical scope ranges from ancient folk songs to gritty rock and she has the gift of writing meaningful songs that remain intimate while being political. Erika writes about real human experiences with joyful conviction and tenderness, inviting her listeners to not only witness, but to experience creativity at its core.

Erika grew up in Nova Scotia singing in the peace movement and in choirs, going on to study music composition, piano, and creative writing at the United World College (NM), Oberlin College and Conservatory (OH), and won a Watson Fellowship to participate in groups working for social change through music in Ireland, Venezuela, Jamaica, Brazil and India. She worked with revolutionary bands in Venezuela, recording and touring through small villages in the Andes, and performed with Battakare, an ensemble of youth in Sao Paolo who create and perform samba-influenced hip hop. She volunteered at a school for disabled children in India, and studied folk music’s influence on the peace movement in Northern Ireland.

Erika has made waves in classical music as well as poetry. Erika’s composition, “Salt,” scored for bassoon, oboe, cello and soprano was chosen to represent Oberlin College at the Midwest Composers Symposium and was featured on Oberlin Conservatory’s promotional CD. Erika’s poetry has been published in numerous literary journals across the US, and her poem, “Las Noticias en Traduccion” was a finalist in Phoebe’s competition judged by Anne Carson.

Erika has performed at major venues internationally such as Centro Cultural in Sao Paolo, theatres across The Maritimes and the United States, including The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. She’s played festivals such as Lunenburg Folk Harbour, Harmony Bazaar, Stan Rogers Folk Festival, Cleveland Music Festival, Rhythm of Life, and performed her song, Rise Up at the closing ceremonies of the final Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival onstage with Holly Near.

Erika loves working with others and has collaborated with renowned artists such as Bruce Guthro, Paul Jefferson, Rose Vaughan, El Jones, Emily Keeener, Gareth Dunlop, Alan Roy Scott, Kamila, Scott Macmillan, and shared festival stages with artists such Buffy Sainte-Marie, Dave Gunning, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Josh Ritter, and Richard Thompson. Her band has included Rose Vaughan, Asa Brosius, Sara and Kamila, Daniel Gale, Pam Mason, Guy Mendilow, Stefan Amidon, Jordi Comstock, Adam Fine, Jeff Torbert, Keith Mullins, Duncan Macmillan, Naomi Morse, Scott Macmillan and Elvie Miller. Erika toured Rise Up in Denmark, Ireland and the UK, Canada and the U.S., and toured her first release, Hurricane in South Korea, Spain, Jamaica, Venezuela, and Brazil. Erika toured Angel on the Road and her four releases of 2014: double album, Revolution (world-alternative), WINGS (pop-country), Year of the Water Snake (folk) and Angel on the Road (folk) across the North and Southeastern US, Cuba, Quebec, Ontario as well as Nova Scotia, playing venues such as the Evergreen Theatre, The Al Whittle Theatre, and the Music Room.

2019, 55 Tour Dates

March 2019 8 date tour of Cuba; El Mejune

April 2019 3 date tour of Nova Scotia

May 2019 Showcased Canadian Music Week

May 2019 6 date tour of the UK; Green Note, Edinburgh Folk Club, Star Folk Club, UWC Atlantic College St Donat’s Arts Centre

June 2019 5 date tour of Germany with sold out shows and 1 date in Czech Republic; Hafen 2, Art Stalker

August 2020 11 date tour of Eastern Canada; Kingsville Folk Music Festival, Halifax Urban Folk Festival, The Carleton, Emmanuel United Church, Arundel United Church, Riverfest

September 2019 4 date tour of UK; Rose and Monkey opening for Martin Carthy, Edinburgh Folk Club with James Keelaghan

Sept. 2019 Copenhagen, Geyser Festival

Sept 2019 4 date tour of Germany; Apex Kultur e.V.,

Art Stalker

Nov 2019 Toronto, Official Showcase, Indie Week, showcased Northeast Regional Folk Alliance

Jan 2020, New Orleans, FAI Private Showcases

Currently planning a tour for 2022-24 in North America and Europe in support of upcoming record, Stand Together

Press quotes

“Sometimes an artist possesses a voice that reaches out and seduces your senses, Erika Kulnys has one of those voices. Let’s be honest here, there’s no way you can hear that voice without falling under its spell. The depths of engrossing story-telling that pervade every track on this album are so strong it’s almost possible to reach out and touch their intensity. -Folkwords, UK

“The possessor of a quite extraordinary voice, Rise Up, the seventh studio album by Kulnys, finds the Nova Scotia resident in fine form reflecting on matters worldly as well as closer to home…The aforementioned Roaring For A Revolution, the cream of the crop, bears a healthy relation to Anais Mitchell in style and indeed delivery. Kulnys powerful and soaring vocal is the winner here without doubt, bringing the poignant lyrics and melody to life. -Lonesome Highway, Ireland

“The Music Room in Halifax was packed to overflowing last Friday night for the CD launch of  the amazing Erika Kulnys. Erika and her group of talented musicians wowed us for two and a half hours of music, most of it written by Erika. This Halifax daughter is destined to be our next Sarah McLachlan.” –Terry Paul Choyce, CDKU, Canada

“By possessing the ingenious intellect and activist zeal of Ani DiFranco combined with the poetic skepticism of Leonard Cohen, Kulnys is artfully cementing her place in the history books of artistic heroes of our time.” -Shannon Webb-Campbell, Canadian Music Journalist

Example of local media attention:

https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1007153

More at https://erikakulnys.com/reviews