Mike Aubé is an alt-folk songwriter on a mission to “comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable”. Like Woody and Arlo Guthrie before him, he blends humour, a sense of social justice and a love of nature into what Canadian Musician Magazine called “playful and catchy folk…clearly Canadian”.
Mike’s 2009 sophomore release, Cluster Folk, delivers good clean fun with tales of love gone right, love gone wrong and the dangers of falling asleep in front of the TV. Drawing from folk, rock, funk and bluegrass, Cluster Folk is a rambling jaunt that veers a little to the left of the ordinary.
“We really had fun making this record. We didn’t try to mould it into one specific sound – where the song called for bluegrass, we did it bluegrass; where the song called for funk, we brought in a four-piece horn section. But there’s still an underlying folkiness to it, thus the name Cluster Folk”.
In 2006, with the help of his former band Rust Bucket, he released his debut full-length, Aberdeen Street, a quirky collection of upbeat, well-crafted tunes featuring his popular “Dashboard Jesus” and songs about Shakespeare’s love life and a UFO abduction.
With a “voice of smoke and honey”, interesting chord progressions and an easy stage presence, Mike is one of Nova Scotia’s finest performing songwriters. He has shared the stage with some best in Atlantic Canada, including Dave Gunning, JP Cormier, Kev Corbett and Sherry Ryan.
Major Performances
Deep Roots Music Festival, Wolfville, NS, 2011, 2009 & 2007
AMP Festival, Wolfville, NS, 2009-2011
LaHave Folk Festival, 2010
Rebekah Music Hall, Bear River, NS, 2010
Opened for Dave Gunning, Berwick, NS, 2009
Stan Rogers Music Festival (Songwriters’ Camp Showcase), Canso, NS, 2008
Tunes at Noon Concert Series, Halifax, NS, 2008
Little River Folk Series, Petite Riviere, NS, 2008
Four Days in July Festival, Liverpool, NS, 2007
Harbour Folk Society, 2011 & 2009
Other Highlights
Featured in Canadian Musician magazine Sep/Oct 2010.
“…playful and catchy folk…clearly Canadian”
Included in CBC Radio’s “Canada’s Ocean Playlist”, 2009
Semi-Finalist in 2009 SongWars Songwriting Competition (for “Passing Through”)
