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As a lifelong musician (Zigue, D’Accoutumée, Jeter le Pont, Dentdelion, Mil), Dana Whittle is herself the product of cultural tradition as the granddaughter of New York Metropolitan Opera singer Avilda Wilson who recorded in the late 1920s on the Okeh Records label.
Dana began playing guitar at age six, sang in the church choir and in school musicals, and by the age of 12, was touring New England with a youth folk group. At university in the late ’70s, she performed her own material as well as folk-roots and bluegrass, at clubs, bars and coffeehouses throughout the upstate New York region.
Since 1993, Dana has been married to and performing with award-winning veteran traditional fiddler Claude Méthé (Le Rêve du Diable, Manigance, Entourloupe, Ni Sarpe Ni Branche), appearing at major festivals and venues in Canada, the US and in Europe. Highlights also include appearances on NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion and numerous Radio-Canada/CBC folk-trad shows as well as a stint performing with Québec ensemble Tradnation at Disney World Orlando’s Epcot Center where she was onstage at the Canadian Pavilion for 420 shows over three months.
Dana has dedicated most of her adult life to championing traditional music and the musicians who keep it alive.
As a composer, singer, guitarist, bassist and foot percussionist, Dana has woven a unique fabric from her New England folk roots and nearly three decades as a naturalized Canadian who emigrated directly into the heart of the traditional Québécois music scene. She currently performs as a member of trad group Zigue with fiddler Claude Méthé, and since 2019, their son Aimé Méthé, and is a singer and composer in her own right. Her original repertoire includes songs in English and French, and her work is strongly influenced by the traditional Québécois music she has played almost exclusively since the early ’90s. Some of her songs and tunes are performed and have been recorded by other artists, among them, indie-folk band Rosier, trad artists Colin Savoie-Levac & David Boulanger, duo Capucine & Martin, and accordion master Stéphane Landry.
From 1973-1984 Dana performed solo and as a member of roots groups in New England, New York and Georgia (Rolled Oats, Girlfriends), where she spent seven years soaking up the local musical scene. Beginning in 1985, she was a frequent accompanist and singer for Vermont folk artists Elizabeth von Trapp and Patti Casey. From 1988-1997, her deep friendship with late Vermont Franco-American singer Martha Pellerin and subsequent exposure to traditional Québécois music led to the formation of Jeter le Pont who performed frequently in both the US and Canada, releasing two albums prior to Pellerin’s untimely death in 1997. Dana met life/music partner Claude Méthé as a result of her friendship with Pellerin. In late 1994, Dentdelion was born as a duo with Méthé, later adding flute player Denise Levac, Dana and Claude’s daughter Béatrix Méthé and Denise’s son Colin Savoie-Levac (both members of award-winning folk-indie band Rosier). From 2006-2014 Dentdelion performed together in Canada, Europe and the US. In addition to Dentdelion, Dana also performed and recorded with singer-stepdancer Tess LeBlanc and fiddler-singer Liette Remon (2000-2002).
Most recently, she, along with other family members, recorded family project “Mon père a fait bâtir maison”, produced by Béatrix Méthé, primarily featuring the compositions of partner Claude Méthé.
Other activities
Teaching – Camp Souches à Oreilles, Kamouraska, QC; AlgomaTrad Music & Dance Camp, ON; Pinewoods Music Camp, MA; Lac Matapédia Music Camp, QC; Danse-Neige, QC; Théâtre au Clain (TAC), Poitiers, France; American Festival of Fiddle Tunes (WA, virtual); private workshops in France, the US, and Canada.
Presenter, Artist – Folk Ontario Showcase Conference, Folk Alliance International (US, Canada), Celtic Connections (Scotland)
Collaborations – Project Chansons à Répandre, CRAPO, Saint-Jean-de-Matha (2011); organizer, co-director, Folk Alliance Canada RendezVous Folk! conference, 2003, Montreal (with Folquébec)
Board of Directors – Lanaudière: Mémoire et Racines (1996-1997); Folk Alliance Canada (2000-2003)
Judge – Juno Awards, Canadian Folk Music Awards, Canada Council for the Arts, Prix Desjardins
Honours
Prix Folqui Folquébec 2022 / Folk Alley Artist of the Month, Dentdelion, October 2011 / Nominated, Grand Prix Desjardins, Lanaudière (Cultural Ambassador) 2011 / Yankee magazine Top 40 Albums, Jeter le Pont-L’Escapade, 2001 / Porcupine Award Madame La Bolduc Award, Great North Wind, Toronto, Dentdelion/Les beaux yeux bleus, 1995 / Root ‘n’ Branch Top Pick, International Music, WSMU, Dartmouth, MA, 1995 / Ted Mack Talent Showcase (composition/performance), Rochester, NY, 1976
Broadcast
La Grande Veillée avec Stéphane Archambault, Fou de Folk, Metz, France / A Prairie Home Companion, Garrison Keillor, Minnesota Public Radio, NPR / Radio Canada, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal: Breakaway, Music in Memory (concert at the Maison de la culture, Montreal), Ici Vancouver / CBC television, Primetime, Toronto / Y A Rien De Trop Beau, TV Quatre Saisons, Quebec.
Discography
D’Accoutumée, Toujours les mêmes arbres (2024, Tradmédia)
Mon père a fait bâtir maison, (2023, Tradmédia)
Zigue, Hivernages (2019, Tradmédia)
Zigue, Musique du coeur (2017, Tradmédia)
Rosier, Morose (2017)
Dentdelion, La Tondeuse (2009, Roues et Archets)
Claude Méthé, L’Amant confesseur (2006, Roues et Archets)
Yves Lambert, Les Vacances de Monsieur Lambert (2003, La Prûche Libre)
Tess LeBlanc, Si ça me chante (2001)
Patti Casey, Under different skies (2000, LongShot Music)
Linda Breitag, Feet to the fire (1999, Bendy Music)
Mademoiselle, voulez-vous danser? (1996, Smithsonian Folkways)
Dentdelion, Les beaux yeux bleus (1995, Minuit dans la cuisine)
Jeter le Pont, L’escapade (1994, Minuit dans la cuisine)
Jean-Paul Guimond, Cette maison de fête (1993, indépendant)
Jeter le Pont, Entrecroisé (1992, Minuit dans la cuisine)