Don Ross and Julie Malía are both well-established solo performers, each with many years of touring and recording under their belts. In 2023, they decided to form a new musical partnership, uniting their virtuoso guitar skills and beautiful singing voices in order to expand on the possibilities that a great pairing affords. While each continuing to play solo internationally, Don and Julie have recently toured together in Germany, Austria, the UK, Italy, Canada and the USA. Since the beginning of their collaboration, they have performed over 100 times together and are currently working on a duo album.

2026 sees the release of Don’s latest CD, SONGS THAT FOUND ME. His 20th solo album, this time Don focusses on vocal music. The album features interpretations by other songwriters on six of the tracks, and two original songs. The feature is on Canadian composers, including Stephen Fearing, Serge Fiori, Joni Mitchell, City and Colour and Bruce Cockburn. Don’s version of California songwriter Joey Dosik’s neo-soul masterpiece “Running Away” rounds out the collection.

After working for many years releasing recordings for various labels over the years, Don opted instead to fund the production of his last two albums (including 2023’s release entitled WATER) by launching Kickstarter campaigns and releasing the albums on his own label. Embracing the “new music business” model and moving with the changes in the music marketplace are hallmarks of Don’s approach to creating and sharing music. According to Don, it’s very much a story of “Adapt or die!”

Julie is a highly talented guitarist, singer and songwriter who has made a name for herself in recent years with great compositions and impressive festival appearances. Originally from the region of Swabia in southern Germany, she also works as a lecturer at the Carl Maria von Weber Music University in Dresden, Germany.

Julie is one of the most sought-after soloists on the European acoustic scene. Her repertoire covers an impressively broad musical spectrum – from self-penned heartfelt songs, very original cover arrangements, and diverse virtuoso styles on the classical guitar through to modern fingerstyle arrangements. There are few musicians who can boast such mastery of all these related but very different genres.

Julie recently released her latest album, SEAGULL, featuring her original songs and her stunning guitar playing. The recording was nominated for the prestigious German Record Critics' Prize (Preis der deutchen Schallplattenkritik) in July 2024.

Don was born and raised in Montreal and has lived in various parts of Canada over the course of his life. The son of a Mi’kmaw Indigenous mother and a Scottish immigrant father, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music) degree from Toronto’s York University and started working full-time as a musician in 1988. That year he won the US National Fingerpick Guitar Championship for the first time. He won the competition for a second time in 1996.

Don has released solo CDs with a multitude of labels, including Duke Street Records, Sony Music/Columbia Records, Narada Records and CandyRat Records. Over the course of his career, Don’s touring base has gone on to include trips to Australia, India, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, and a dozen European countries, in addition to his concerts in Canada and the USA.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Don went back to university, completing a Master of Arts degree in Orchestration through the University of Chichester (UK) and graduating in early 2021. He immediately started working extensively in the world of scoring orchestral and electronic music for video games, films and television.

In addition to his solo performances and recordings, Don also heads his quartet Don Ross Louder Than Usual, which focuses on his more jazz-leaning repertoire.

In 2021, Don won the prestigious Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Julie resides in Dresden, Germany and Don lives in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada