NASHVILLE — Offbeat country outfit the Hot Club of Cowtown, fiddle virtuoso Vassar Clements, and singer/songwriters Kevin Welch and Kieran Kane are among the country-music performers set to invade July folk festivals in Canada.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival lineup for July 6–9 includes Welch and Kane, whose collaborative album, titled Live in Melbourne (Dead Reckoning), bows July 25.

"This album was a happy accident," Kane said. "We're not a duo but a couple of pals playing together and having a good time for about two to three hours — it's like a marathon, definitely not for the faint of heart. We just set chairs on either side of a table with an ashtray and cocktails and let 'er rip."

According to Kane, who will release a solo set in October, the two will play several European dates to support the album.

Welch and Kane are also slated for the Calgary Folk Festival held July 20–23. The Bad Livers, singer/songwriter Jesse Winchester and country artists Neko Case and Her Boyfriends, Jon Langford and Sally Timms also will perform.

Langford and Timms recently released their own collaboration, Songs of False Hope and High Values, on Bloodshot Records. The limited-edition, eight-song EP mixes original material with such covers as Dolly Parton's "Down From Dover" and Willie Nelson's "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" (RealAudio excerpt).

"The set culminated from our interest in playing acoustically," said Langford, who also provided the cover art. "I had started playing acoustic gigs in Chicago, realized it attracted a different crowd and wanted an outlet for those songs. It was also a test to see if my voice could stand without the prop of an electric band. It's like wandering around naked."

Langford and Timms are playing several dates together this summer and are selling 2,000 EPs through the tour, mail order, the label Web site (www.bloodshotrecords.com) and select stores. Langford also is a member of the insurgent country band Waco Brothers, whose next album is due in October.