Inn Echo - About

After 6 remarkable years as a band, touring 3 continents and garnering Music PEI awards and JUNO, ECMA and CFMA nominations, Inn Echo already have much to reflect upon. Fiddler Karson McKeown has often said, “We keep having to come up with new goals because we keep reaching them!” Needless to say, they are beyond grateful for the journey that has taken them from their home base on Prince Edward Island to places like Australia’s Woodford Folk Festival and Scotland’s Shetland Folk Festival, the type of journeys that inspired the title of their 2023 album Hemispheres. But it’s the future that excites them most, not just for new tours and territories to explore but for how their sound continues to evolve, pushing the boundaries of what three trad instrumentalists can achieve.

The allure of a vibrant traditional music scene brought Karson McKeown (Ottawa, ON), Tuli Porcher (Victoria, BC) and Tom Gammons (Butte, MT) to Prince Edward Island. Despite attending the same music school in Charlottetown, they met in a more typical folky way: at a session in a local pub. Instantly, tunes, stories, and laughs were being shared, and they felt a sense that their passions aligned. Inn Echo emerged in 2019, a transcontinental love story between fiddle, cello and guitar.

It’s not just differences in hometown that bring new flavours into the mix. The trio have a special combination of musical personalities. Karson’s fiddle playing is direct, precise and powerful, showing true command over the melodies at his fingertips. Tuli often takes the scenic route, venturing between lead, harmony, and rhythm parts on both the 5-string fiddle and cello. Tom relishes the role of filling the space between two string players of such distinct styles, grounding the groove and expanding the harmony on the guitar.

Their 2023 release, Hemispheres, is a tribute to the places they’ve toured, carrying a piece of PEI with them. Produced by Jake Charron and Donnie Richard, the album has the island at heart. But the tracks invoke a range of images: an Acadian kitchen party on Breton Tune, the night sky in Queensland on Jupiter and Mars, or Tuli’s childhood home on Vancouver Island on Big Blue. Most of the tracks contain original compositions, their contributions to the continuing craft of tune writing. When they borrow from the tradition, they weave it seamlessly into their style, like with Dot MacKinnon’s by Kevin Chaisson, a PEI classic which brings a climactic finish to the track If Only. Pull up a chair, but keep your dancing shoes on, Inn Echo have stories to share and the tunes to match them.

Karson McKeown

Fiddle

Karson McKeown got his start on the fiddle at the age of 10, after hearing many of his elders play traditional music at family parties and on old tapes. He grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, surrounded by the intricate, fast-paced sound of Ottawa Valley fiddling, but he always stayed connected to his family roots, spending summers on Prince Edward Island and immersing himself in the East-Coast style. Since graduating from Arts Canterbury High School in Ottawa and completing the music performance degree at the Holland College School of Performing Arts, Karson has developed a bright, energetic and driving style. He has garnered solo recognition from the competitions of Eastern Ontario to the sessions of maritimes, performed extensively with The Trousers and Anna Ludlow, and now provides electrifying melodies and soaring harmonies to Inn Echo’s powerful sound.

On top of playing with Inn Echo, Karson’s passion for music literacy is put to use teaching fiddle and violin on PEI. Lessons at his music school are in high demand across the island, seeing him win Music PEI’s Music Educator of the Year in 2021. On and off stage, Karson devotes his energy to the world of traditional fiddle music.

Tuli Porcher

5 String Fiddle & Cello

Playing classical violin since the age of 3, fiddle tunes since she was 5, cello since 10, and now recently the 5-string fiddle, it’s easy to say that music has always played a large part in Tuli Porcher’s life. Raised in Victoria, BC, and now living in Charlottetown where she completed her Music Performance diploma at Holland College School of Performing Arts, and completed her Bachelor of Music at the University of Prince Edward Island. Tuli has been turning heads with her unique west-coast style, groove, and approach to traditional music.

At age 25, Tuli has already been a part of many accomplished BC based groups such as Coastline, directed by Ivonne Hernandez, and The BC Fiddle Orchestra, directed by Daniel Lapp, with whom she was able to tour Scotland (Aberdeen International Youth Festival), Ireland, and the Maritimes.

Tom Gammons

Guitar

Gifted his first guitar at age 5, Tom Gammons grew up fostering his love for music between his home of Butte, Montana, and yearly trips to Southeast Saskatchewan. He got his introduction into the world of tune playing and fiddle accompaniment under the instruction of Tim Chaisson and Jake Charron of The East Pointers and furthered these studies with Saskatchewan guitarists Ben Knorr and Clinton Pelletier. Because of his diverse experience with traditional music, Tom has had the opportunity to accompany players of Celtic, Maritime, Quebecois, Western, and Appalachian styles, performing in local Montana festivals, playing in bands in Saskatchewan, and hitting the sessions and ceilidhs of Prince Edward Island. Tom has completed his Music Performance Diploma at Holland College School of Performing Arts in Charlottetown, PEI, and has reached deeper into the Canadian music tradition.