“In a few short years, Ella has gone from emerging talent to rising star in Canadian bluegrass and acoustic music.”
Ella Korth is a singer-songwriter and driving guitar and banjo player. Growing up in a family heavily immersed in the acoustic music scene created a lifelong passion for both bluegrass and old-time music, which Ella brings to her craft.
With her own band, Ella has opened for Grammy Award Winner Judy Collins, Mama’s Broke band, and played numerous festivals including The Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Festival, NimbleFingers, The Cowichan Valley Bluegrass Festival, Harvest Moon, and many others. Her first single, Dancing On My Own, written with Pedro Johnson has been playing on Sirius XM Canada. Ella formed a band called Dill Pickle and won 4th in the Appalachian Stringband Competition with two original songs at Clifftop, WV, 2026.
Ella is a new addition to The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, alongside Sharon Gilchrist (recording and touring mandolinist with Tony Rice) and Rachel Baiman, acclaimed songwriter, fiddler and banjo player. The trio has played Grey Fox Festival, Ossippee Valley Festival and String Camp, and Earl Scruggs Fest, among others.
As a side musician, Ella toured with Leith Ross in the Uk, Europe and North American on banjo, mandolin, electric guitar and harmony vocals. Ella played guitar in Grammy Award winner John Reischman’s band at the Canadian Folk Music Awards and filled in on country telecaster with Boy Golden. Ella has toured and collaborated with Trent Freeman, Madeleine Roger, Le Ren, Jack Schneider, and Desiree Dawson. Festivals of note Ella has played as a side musician are CMA Fest Nashville, Calgary, Canmore, Edmonton and Winnipeg Folk Festivals, NPR Mountain Stage with Philip Bowen, opening tour for William Prince, and Burnaby Roots and Blues Festival.
Passionate about songwriting and co-writing, Ella won a Kootenay Music award for “Best Roots Song” in 2018 with bandmate Talel McBriar under Ella & Talel. The duo performed with the ViaRail Artists on Board program in the summer of 2019, playing on the train from Halifax to Vancouver, won studio recording time and have played multiple festivals together.
Workshops and Music Camps
Ella has taught at:
Ossippee Valley String Camp
Workshops at NimbleFingers
Guitar, harmony singing and clawhammer banjo workshop at Woodstove Festival, Tiny Lights Fest, Oly Old Time and Seaside Fest
Ella has hosted bluegrass jams with an emphasis on fun and inclusivity, at Harvest Moon Festival, Campbell Bay Festival and others
Ella is available to teach the following types of workshops:
Harmony singing
Beginner and intermediate levels for both Flatpick and Rhythm Guitar, and Clawhammer Banjo
Songwriting
“Backing Yourself Up on Guitar for Singers” is a popular workshop she’s taught at a number of camps and festivals