Figgy Duff

Figgy Duff is one of the most innovative and influential folk bands to emerge out of North America. Following in the footsteps of British bands like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, but with their own unique source (the traditional music of Newfoundland and Labrador), they forged a unique folk- rock fusion, unparalleled to this day, convincing a generation who followed that there was value in tradition.

Founded in 1974 by Noel Dinn, the band was in sync with a roots world-wide roots movement, as people began to look inwards to their own people for inspiration. The cultural renaissance in Newfoundland was thriving in all areas of the arts, and Noel, who had led his 60's rock band “Lukey's Boat” to Montreal, London, and beyond, now began to assemble a group of musicians who would carry on his vision of mingling rock music with the music of his people.

In the very early years the band traveled what seemed like every square inch of Newfoundland, seeking songs and music from people, playing community halls, clubs, festivals, kitchens, full houses, empty houses, to audiences by turn indifferent, hostile, enraptured. Some of the folk purists were downright outraged that their precious folk music was being tampered with by long haired "urban intellectuals" using drums and amps, but the band measured success by the joy brought to the people from whom the music was learned – who instinctively understood that you can't cram a delicate and beautiful modal melody into a three-chord country format.

The band toured incessantly in the ensuing years, across Canada, throughout the US and the UK., hailed as “the finest, most enjoyable band to appear in the country in years” (Toronto Star), and “ the most inventive folk find since the Chieftains arrived on the scene” (The Press, Atlantic City). The live shows were powerful and exciting, spawning many imitators, and paving the way for the burgeoning Celtic music scene.
The band recorded five studio albums ( producing many more for other roots artists in NL,) and is represented on compilations around the world.

When Noel Dinn passed away in 1993, it was the end of an era. The group disbanded until 1999, when they played a reunion tour around NL to mark their 25th anniversary. The final concert of that tour was recorded live, and “Figgy Duff Live” was released in 2008, to coincide with a number of summer dates within NL.

The result has been a renewed interest in the band, and a power and intensity that has only increased over the years, as the band members become the elders of their own generation.