That's a photo I took from the Newfoundland ferry this evening as we arrived! I'm out here on tour with my friends in Bruce Peninsula, an amazing band that I'm lucky enough to be a part of. We're touring the East Coast for the next two weeks until the Bruce Peninsula LP release party at Lee's Palace in Toronto on October 27th! Details about that are here.
While I'm out east, I'll be playing my own set at the Halifax Pop Explosion! I'll be playing solo, which I haven't done in a while, so I'm really excited. The show is on October 22nd at the Bus Stop Theatre. I play at 8:30pm, but you should also stick around for Bruce Peninsula's set at 11:30! Full show details are here.
It's been a busy Fall for me so far, with constant touring on my own and with Bruce Peninsula. I should mention that we finished off the Ivy Mairi/Long Haul tour in September with a great weekend of shows in the Montreal/Ottawa area, ending on a beautiful evening in Wakefield, Quebec, at the Blacksheep Inn. Here's a photo from the squaredance/concert event we did at By Chadsey's Cairns winery in Prince Edward County (for those who don't know - I moonlight as a squaredance caller!!).
We've had such a great time out East! Right now we're nearing the end of our 14-hour drive from Halifax to Ottawa. We're going a tad stir-crazy, but our tour-family love can't be broken! iPhone scrabble matches, and hoola hoop breaks help too....
Last night we finished off our run of East Coast shows with a last-minute house show organized by my friend Nick Everett (he's an amazing musician! Check him out here!) The show was a great potluck at Nick's home in Halifax. The great Willie Stratton opened the show, and then the Long Haul and myself shut the night down! What a Monday! Halifax people are the best!
We played two other great house concerts while we were in Nova Scotia - one in Antigonish, and another in Lunenburg on the South Shore. Both were really cool places to visit, as I have roots in the province. My dad was born on the South Shore, and I got to catch up with family outside of Antigonish. Big love to my friends Connie and Rebecca Roher (check out her art here!) for organizing these two shows. At the Lunenburg show, we were lucky enough to have our good friend (and South Shore baby) Jennah Barry play a set. Keep your eyes peeled for her new record, which should come out sometime next year. It will be amazing!
But the biggest love goes out to my tour-family, Matt, Lucas, and Kirty. We are having the best time! Here they are looking frozen after a night at a Quebec campground....
Tomorrow night we're home briefly for a night off, then we're off to Trois Rivieres, Prince Edward County, Montreal, and Wakefield next weekend!
What a great weekend it's been! We were at the Dakota Tavern on Thursday night celebrating the release of my new record NO TALKER, and what an amazing time it was! A sold-out house full of all my nearest and dearest! I have to give a huge thank-you to my amazing band - Matt Bailey, Lucas Gadke, Mike Brushey, and special guest Michael Eckert on pedal steel - who really made the night. And of course to the wonderful Dakota for having us.
Thursday's great vibes left us with tons of excitement as we begin our tour this weekend. During the next 3 weeks I'll be touring around Ontario, Quebec, and out to the East Coast with one of my favourite Toronto bands the Long Haul, which features my two bandmates Matt and Lucas. We've already had amazing shows playing for loved ones and new friends in Orillia, Port Perry, and Peterborough, and today we leave for 4 shows out on the East Coast! For full tour dates, see the TOUR section of this site.
My good friend Kirsten Scholte, who sings in the Long Haul, was kind enough to host us for the afternoon at her family home outside Orillia before our show. I rambled the fields with her hilarious dog Dani. Country living people!
It’s been a busy summer but, at long last, my new record NO TALKER is finished!
We’re celebrating with a big release party at Toronto’s Dakota Tavern this THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH! It’s an early show – 8-10pm, so don’t be late!
I’m so proud of this album, and I’m happy to say that we’ll have the full band in tow – Matt Bailey on guitar/mandolin, Lucas Gadke on bass, and Mike Brushey on drums. We’ll also be joined by our good friend Michael Eckert who will be guesting on pedal steel! AAAAND the whole evening will begin with a solo set by my great friend Sean Donald. Check out his beautiful music at www.myspace.com/seanpatrickdonald.
Here’s the beautiful poster, courtesy of the wonderful Sasha Plotnikova….
For the last three years, I’ve put on an annual summer show at St. Andrew-by-the-Lake church on Toronto Island. The building is really important to me musically, because it is where I did some of my first public performing. It’s also where kith&kin (my traditional singing group with my mom and sister) recorded our album Yet Will I be Merry.
This year’s summer show will feature my great friends the Weather Station and the Elwins. Both are amazing bands that you must check out! This will be my last show until my cd release on September 8th at the Dakota Tavern (details on that soon!), so it’s going to be a very special night!
Well it sure has taken me long enough to get on the blogging train, but I’m happy to finally be here! I’ll be posting lots to make up for it, I promise!
I’ve been busy in the studio with Mike Timmins recording my new album. We’re aiming to release it in early Fall (with an accompanying tour! More on that soon.), but you can expect some little previews during the summer months. Stay tuned!
My friends at Humble Empire shot some beautiful videos of me at Trinity Bellwoods park a couple weeks ago as part of their Live in Bellwoods series. Below is a video of one of my newer songs, Lover or a Friend, which will be on the new record! To see the whole series of 3 videos, click HERE.
