Rick Taylor & Barry James Payne team up to focus on their folk roots. Having crossed paths several times over the past few years, Payne & Taylor have been talking about collaborating, but the timing was never right. They finally found time last year where their schedules allowed the required time to collaborate.

"To me Rick Taylor is one of the most talented Canadian folk and blues artists and underrated musical legends of our time and he is still out there performing. A hidden treasure. He is an amazing songwriter and his guitar playing skills are outstanding. We have a synergy working for us and I think people will be pleasantly surprised by what they will hear." Payne said.

Taylor has recorded and performed with Willie P. Bennett, Stan Rogers, Douglas MacArthur and Colleen Peterson, has fronted many of his own bands and has 3 solo CD’s to his credit. Stepping out of his usual blues genre to perform folk and a Canadian version of Americana, he joins Payne of the popular Celtic-fusion band Rant Maggie Rant (and a prolific folk-country-blues songwriter himself aka String Bone), to explore his folk-roots past, as the two collaborate on country-blues tinged folk songs about everyday life. These two great Canadian roots artists come together to deliver a very special performance.

Payne's String Bone solo project has received accolades from music aficionados from Europe to the USA. An Americana-UK CD review headline asks "Lucinda Williams & Gordon Lightfoot's Lovechild?" His record 'nadir' was cited as being influenced by and reminiscent of Dylan's 'Blood On The Tracks', Springsteen's 'Nebraska', Wilco's 'AM' and Lucinda Williams' 'Car Wheels On A Gravel Road'. High praise indeed for a relatively unknown songwriter. His song 'Midnight Train' spent over a year in regular rotation on the ABC national Country radio station in Australia. String Bone released this debut record in 2009 with veteran troubadour Shannon Lyon at the producer’s helm and Bob Egan (Blue Rodeo, ex-Wilco) contributing to several tracks. Payne has played over 250 shows, including a tour in Europe. As a solo artist, he has shared the concert bills with, Bill Bourne, Luke Doucet, Royal Wood, Melissa McLelland, Craig Cardiff, Colin Linden, Sultans Of String, Madison Violet, Danny Michel, New Country Rehab, Emma-Lee, Ginger St. James, Mae Moore and several others of note.