Libby & Cal – The Hagstrom-Schmidt Affair

Libby & Cal where a Millennial autoharpist meets a Boomer 12-string player at a festival and all sorts of musical magic ensues. Acoustic duo Libby & Cal transcend boundaries and trip across genres while tackling subjects that are rarely voiced in song. A delightfully risqué, painfully honest and musically stimulating experience.

Visit: www.libbyhortop.com

Libby plays her DIY-modified autoharp. Cal plays the 12-string he swapped for a bicycle. Together, Libby & Cal perform eclectic but surprisingly catchy indie-folk music. The Ottawa-based duo have played at various venues in Ontario and Quebec, as well as the 2025 California Autoharp Gathering.

Libby bought her autoharp in 2014 after many back-breaking years of lugging her electric piano to gigs. Under the name Elizabeth Bruce she released two albums of original music, As We Sadden Each Other to Sleep and The Silent I Know. She currently teaches music and runs a monthly women-centered open mic in Ottawa called, “Sad Girl Café”.

Cal (AKA Doug Hendry) has been entertaining crowds with his musical talent since the age of four, singing in a choir in his native Scotland. As a teenager, he made his way playing street corners and folk clubs throughout Britain and Europe. Cal emigrated to Canada in 1991 and has played regularly in various bands, including – Odd One Out, Bruce Enloe & the Burning Sensations, Emmi Winter & the Heroic Mad Peasants, Fiddlehead Soup, Tripoly, the Grenville Troubadours.

2021 Our Lady of Perpetual Hammer

2022 If You’ve Given Up on Love, Then Let’s Call it Something Else

2025 The Hagstrom-Schmidt Affair

“Libby and Cal unswervingly do their own thing and it is great.” – James Stephens

“Their harmonies are as tight as those of The Everly Brothers!” – Suzanne Nuttall

Running time: 73 minutes.