Plenty of highlights for Wreckless Harbour
Hamilton folk and bluegrass quartet will play the Mariposa Folk Festival and will release their first vinyl record this summer.
We caught up with Wreckless Harbour to chat about their debut at the Mariposa Folk Festival, the state of folk music in troubled times, and their long-awaited vinyl release. The Hamilton-based folk and bluegrass quartet, featuring Jon “J.J.” Harley on violin, Lawren Helder on guitar, Trevor Roach on banjo, and “Big” Mark Korczynski on bass, is looking forward to 2026 and HAMILTON CITY Magazine has the first look at what’s coming up.
Mariposa Folk Festival Showcase for Emerging Artists
“We made a big effort this year to try to get in front of new people”, says Harley. “That's kind of the gist of 2026 for Wreckless Harbour. We want to be opening for bands. We want to be playing festivals, playing shows outside of our usual wheelhouse.”
It was this goal for the upcoming year that led to the band applying to join the Orillia-based Mariposa Folk Festival’s 2026 lineup.
“Jon and I both actually applied for this,” says Roach. “We were looking at folk fests all across our area and Canada generally, and when we finally heard back, it was excellent, because they not only invited us to join the lineup, but to take part in the showcase.”
According to its website, “the Mariposa Folk Festival has a proud reputation of discovering and launching new talent. One important way we do this is through our annual Mariposa Showcase for Emerging Artists – an audition in front of a panel of judges and a live audience.”
It’s worth noting that a showcase is not just a handful of acts, but a full roster with more than 240 applicants for the 2026 season. From that pool of acts, which included such prominent folk artists as Vickie Brittle, Dane Peterson, and JD Crosstown, Wreckless Harbour was invited to perform four songs in front of an audience as well as a panel of judges.
“Showcasing is an opportunity for you to show the best that you can do in 20 minutes or less,” says Korcynzski.
“We decided to make a weekend out of it,” says Harley, “so we headed up to Orillia and stayed the night. We were super relaxed and feeling pretty good going into it, though we went super heavy with rehearsals before it was our turn.”
Roach noted that the confidence they felt going into the showcase was very important because it helped them to play their best, because that is what the showcase judges wanted to see. “It’s also about promoting the artists. Even if you don’t win, you've got a room of over a hundred people. They're interviewing you while you're there. By this time, people have already heard your music. They've listened to our online recordings. They know we have likable songs.”
As Harley notes, however, the part that takes a successful showcase band across the finish line is audience engagement. “That was something I just felt really proud of seeing my bandmates doing. We got feedback about making eye contact with people. We got feedback about our energy. We had banter. We brought on Trev's dad as a special appearance. We were getting the last part of our last song and a feeling came over me. Like I felt that we had done the best we could do. I didn’t even care if we won at that point. I was just surrounded by these guys. I love doing what I love.”
And the response from the audience and judges? Overwhelmingly positive. Wreckless Harbour is now slated to perform at Mariposa, which includes prominent acts such as Father John Misty, Billy Bragg, Sarah Harmer, and Great Lake Swimmers to name just a few.
Wreckless Harbour will play the Downtown Orillia Stage on Thursday, July 2 at 7 p.m., the Pub Stage on Friday, July 3 at 5:40 p.m., and the Bohemian Embassy Stage on Saturday, July 4 at 1:30 p.m.
Click here for more information, visit Mariposa Folk Festival,
Music for tough times
“Indie folk is pretty characterized by pretty sad stuff,” says Harley, “and I'm not knocking any of these people down. I like their work. But most recently, we have Noah Kahan's new record coming up. He’s someone who really brings effort to destigmatizing mental health, is very open about it, and has these songs that sound happy. You look at the words, though, and they’re very sad.”
Helder adds that they try to do something that’s a little bit different in a genre that’s noted for a lot of sad songs and unhappy themes. “Our music doesn't shy away from tough topics, or from the complexities of feelings and loss. But we do have a sound which tends to be a bit more upbeat. I think when people are in tougher times, they're looking for a little bit of that lightheartedness that we carry.”
Korczinski acknowledges the history of folk as a community-building form of music that has a strong relationship with issues of social justice and finding ways out of trouble together.
“When things are rough, folk music gets good because folk music becomes vital. Folk music, when it's done well, is accessible. It has acoustic instruments. You don't need a whole lot of gear. You just need some creativity. A couple of strings on an old wooden something.”
Official vinyl release
Mariposa wasn’t the only milestone that Wreckless Harbour has reached in 2026. The band will soon be celebrating the launch of their first vinyl record Step Lightly on Sunday, June 21 at Ringside on James Street North.
Earlier in this spring, the band received the first test presses and shared the unveiling on their Instagram account. The test pressings are not the final album: similar to a book proof for the authors, the pressings are records without the album art that the artists receive for review prior to the official release.
“We had the recordings done for a while,” says Roach, but there were so many details surrounding the formatting, the art, making sure everything was all packaged up good to get the actual vinyl.”
The production timeline for the vinyl was delayed due to a number of factors, including an album cover photo shoot that took place on a day with bad lighting, but also in large part due to one person in particular.
“I never thought we'd ever have to say this,” says Harley, “but Taylor Swift delayed the pressing, not only for our album, but many artists. She was releasing an album last year, and they did seven colorways, all different shades of record, so she took over the entire pressing plant.”
This was a nationwide bottleneck, which created a waitlist for performing acts across the country. “Between a Mariah Carey Christmas pressing and Taylor, we got out diva'd in 2025,” says Korczinski, noting that this was not a problem that people had in the 1980s when record presses were ubiquitous. “You could just go to somebody's basement. They probably had a press. You could get a master recording ready in a day.”
Though the Instagram video of the unveiling shows the experience better than any words can convey, the moment itself was a core memory for each member of the band, something Helder describes as unbelievable. “Holding it in our hands, and then putting it on the turntable and hearing our music come off of this physical medium, literally, the grooves are in the disc. This is something that we did with our fingers and our voices.”Wreckless Harbour’s album release party will take place at Ringside Hamilton on Sunday, June 21. Doors open at 7 p.m., with the show at 7:30 p.m. featuring some surprise guests and friends of the band. All ages welcome! $20 general admission or $40 for a ticket and record bundle. Tickets available through. Eventbrite (with online fees) or directly through the band with an e-transfer to wrecklessharbour@gmail.com.
