Édith Butler

Édith Butler

Édith Butler is a celebrated Acadian singer-songwriter and folklorist. Born in 1942 into a musical family in Paquetville, a remote community in northern New Brunswick, she began performing in cafés while attending l'Université de Moncton in the early 1960s. From 1962 to 1967, Butler performed on stages throughout the Maritimes, and on Singalong Jubilee, a CBC television broadcast across the country. A full-throated singer and engaging performer, she became known for her joyous delivery of traditional Acadian folk songs. Butler played a lead role in the National Film Board of Canada's 1964 documentary Les Acadiens de la dispersion. Widely considered the "mother of Acadian music," Butler began in the early 1970s to write her own songs, which reflect New Brunswick's Acadian and Mi'kmaq cultures, traditions and experiences. A multi-instrumentalist, she has performed to audiences worldwide and been recognized with numerous awards, including France’s National Order of Merit, the Order of Canada in 1975 and the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in 2009.

"I didn’t realize I was blazing a trail for others, but now I see it. I’ve smashed open some doors, but I’m not the only one; others have too. I’m aware of the doors I’ve opened and, if young people can now pass through those doors, it’s a little bit because of me."

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