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Taking a departure from her previous focus on composition, Carmen Braden will step onto the main stage to perform at Folk On The Rocks this summer.

Braden will be joined by fellow Yellowknife musicians Rob Elo (Wilkinson), Ben Cornel, James Franklin and David Dowe. They are slated to play July 19 on the main stage and July 20 on the Cabin Radio stage.

鈥淎 lot of the music that I make is made to exist without me there. Like, we play compositions by people who have written them and they're gone now 鈥� pieces that are mainly for concert stages, or places that have classical histories or more experimental sides of sound.鈥� said Braden. 鈥淥rchestras are basically classical music cover bands. I have called the Toronto Symphony Orchestra a cover band to its face. And I love them dearly. And they're awesome. But they also commission new music, which I鈥檝e been a part of that, and I鈥檓 starting to pull back on that.鈥�

Braden says she feels grounded now because she has established a body of work that is "moving on without me needing to do the legwork on it. And I鈥檓 excited to let that body of work exist for a while now, without me adding to it.

"So, right now, I鈥檓 finishing two pieces in that same vein, but what I鈥檓 really excited about is this live music project, where I鈥檓 the singer/songwriter of this group that鈥檚 playing this other kind of output that I have, which exists more in the studio, and on pop music, or folk music, or rock music 鈥� and needing to be in the room for it.鈥�

Braden is stepping back from the 鈥渃omposition鈥� side of her music creation, letting performances that very much necessitate her presence 鈥� on stage and with the music 鈥� take priority.

鈥淭his is like scratching a different itch," she said. "And I think this is what I need more.

鈥淪o many of the things I do are kind of these one-off projects, or compositions, or like the theatre work that I just did, it happens and then it鈥檚 done. And I won鈥檛 ever be in the same room with the same people ever again. There will be variations on it, but what I鈥檝e loved about having these four beautiful humans that I play with is that we鈥檝e returned to this. We don鈥檛 meet three times a week and shed these songs, but we've come back to them. They鈥檝e settled more. It feels like I鈥檓 growing, into this room, with people I trust,鈥� she added.

Braden released a full album, titled A Hard Light, this past December. She recently received a Juno nomination for Classical Album of the Year by contributing 'Crooked By Nature' on the Album Ispiciwin, which was an ensemble project involving artists from across the country. 

Braden's exploration of sound and performance continues to shift and evolve amid changing global and personally creative landscapes.

You can find info, demos and more music at carmenbraden.com or catch her live at Folk On The Rocks in July.