Howdy folks!Cara here. I'm writing from Albuquerque, New Mexico where my new favourite word is Sopapilla! :) Yummy deep fried dough with honey. yum yum! We are here for a few shows and then head back to Ontario for the Goderich Celtic Music School (we're teaching some harmony workshops there). Getting across the border was not fun. I think customs agents are trained in how to be as mean as possible. But at least we got in!This past weekend we played the Hillside Festival in Guelph, ON. It was a great festival --- all sorts of music, from rock to pop to folk. Saw some old friends (The Bills, The Arrogant Worms, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Tannis Slimmon and Lewis Melville) and ate some great food (hooray for the Carden Street Cafe!).The week before we were at the Vancouver Folk Festival. The weather was cookin'! I met some of my favorite artists -- Dick Gaughan, Martin Carthy and Bruce Cockburn. We actually had a worshop with Martin and Bruce! What a cool experience -- we felt very lucky! And such nice men! I have been a fan of Dick Gaughan's since I was about 11 years old (his "Handful of Earth" album is among my all-time faves) and was able to catch his concert on the Sunday afternoon. It was such an incredible show. I sat there in the sun, with my eyes closed, and let the music wash over me. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences.While the girls headed home to the Peg for a few days, I stuck around Vancouver visiting friends (hiking thru the Endowment Lands at UBC and getting lost, then going rock climbing in Squamish, then ridng a bike that was too small for me across town....). Some very crazy days!It's been the summer of incredible experiences and meetings. At the Wpg festival my favorite bass player, the fabulous Hugh McMillan from Spirit of the West, sat in with me at one of my solo workshops. It was so lovely! He rocks!I'm heading to the Centre for Action and Contemplation, based here in Albuquerque, for a visit. It was founded by Richard Rohr, a well-known figure in Enneagram circles so I'll let you know how it goes! Hope all of you are having a wonderful summer!Peace out
Thrillside Festival
My 30 years of enjoying music/folk festivals goes back to the first Winnipeg Folk Festival in 1974 in my hometown. But if I've ever had a better time at a festival than this weekend at Hillside, the memory has faded My 30 years of enjoying music/folk festivals goes back to the first Winnipeg Folk Festival in 1974 in my hometown. But if I've ever had a better time at a festival than this weekend at Hillside, the memory has faded. I'm tempted to call it "the weekend where everything went right," but out of caution I'll tone that down to "the weekend where everything went right as far as I could see."
The obvious place to start is the weather, which went from great Friday and Saturday to perfect on Sunday - the sort of weather capable of pushing good Hillside vibes straight through to exuberance.
I've quibbled with festival organizers at times in the last few years about not having enough workshops where various musicians interact on stage, or even about having too many spoken acts and not enough music at the intimate Sun stage.
No complaints this time, though. There were top acts from the folk festival circuit, including The Wailin' Jennys, The Bills and the Juno Award-winning Le Vent du Nord, plenty of music on the Sun Stage and no shortage of nifty workshops.
The toughest task at a music/folk festival should be deciding which show in any given time slot to go and see, from among rich offerings. That was the case this year at Hillside, but festival organizers tossed in one truly diabolical choice - between the big-name musical comedy trio The Arrogant Worms on the main stage at 8:00 pm Sunday and The Wailin' Jennys, one of Canada's most sought-after roots ensembles, whose solo concert was on the lake stage then.
As soon as they got on stage, the Worms called having to make this choice "tragic" - and then they proceeded to make jokes about whose audience was bigger and better. And then they took it one step further, creating the first " dueling audience" routine I've ever seen at a festival. They abruptly stopped singing when a cell phone went off and was answered by one of the Worms who pretended - we thought - to be debating just that point with one of the Jennys. Then, on cue, a huge roar went up from inside the Lake Stage, delighting the mainstage crowd with the realization that it was a genuine phone conversation. The mainstage crowd roared back to show it was bigger and better. Loud chanting followed as the two crowds - which couldn't see each other - duelled, prompted by their entertainers. A classic "Hillside moment," in my view, at a festival that put comedy on its main stage for the first time this year.
As for me, I ended up watching the Worms and buiying the Jennys' latest CD. You can't win with a concert choice like that, but I guess you also can't lose.
Editorial Reviews--Amazon.com
The Wailin' Jennys--Cara Luft, Nicky Mehta, and Ruth Moody--are three Canadian singer-songwriters with already established careers who first got together for a one-shot gig in 2002 and, to their surprise, discovered that their voices blended in an almost magical harmony The Wailin' Jennys--Cara Luft, Nicky Mehta, and Ruth Moody--are three Canadian singer-songwriters with already established careers who first got together for a one-shot gig in 2002 and, to their surprise, discovered that their voices blended in an almost magical harmony. They decided to put their solo endeavors aside for a while to see where this gift would take them, and the appealing folk-pop vibe of 40 Days is the result. They perform an eclectic selection of material, including covers of John Hiatt's "Take It Down" and Neil Young's "Old Man" plus lovely versions of the old English folk songs "The Parting Glass" and "Saucy Sailor." However, it's the original songs that stand out most. As you would expect, each Jenny has a distinctive voice and writing style, but the amazing vocal harmonies help Luft's spiky, rock-inflected songs, Mehta's poetic and mysterious meditations, and Moody's lively Celtic-tinged melodies blend into a seamless whole.
The Wailin' Jennys - 40 Days
"40 Days" (Jericho Beach Music) is the first full-length CD of The Wailin' Jennys, a Canadian folk-roots vocal trio that will startle you: Together singing in harmony their voices shimmer like clear lake water "40 Days" (Jericho Beach Music) is the first full-length CD of The Wailin' Jennys, a Canadian folk-roots vocal trio that will startle you: Together singing in harmony their voices shimmer like clear lake water. One can especially hear those tingling harmonies on "Saucy Sailor" and on the ever so tender closer "The Parting Glass."
At some magical moments on the CD it seems as if voices are actually musical instruments.
The three singersǃ
We just returned from the Vancouver Folk Festival and what a crazy time that was. We were very busy all weekend and shared the stage with so many great performers. We had some inspiring workshops with Bruce Cockburn, The Bills, Martyn Joseph, The Duhks, Martin Carthy, Janis Ian, Geoff Berner, The Backstabbers and the Warsaw Village Band, to name a few.
We were particularly honoured to be a part of the festival finale with the wonderful Utah Philips. It was a beautiful night--the festival is situated beside Jericho beach and includes a gorgeous mountain view. With homemade lanterns (designed by festival-goers) weaving through the night sky, we sang with the audience and thanked the many festival volunteers. It was something we'll remember for a long time. Now we're off to Hillside. Hope to see you there!
Festival Season
Hello again,I'm not sure we've all caught up on sleep after the hectic and wonderful Winnipeg Folk Festival, but we're on our way to Vancouver tomorrow morning! We'll be playing a short set on Granville Island at 3:00 pm on Wednesday in case people can't make it out to the festival. This performance is related to the Vancouver Folk Festival and you can find out more information at http://www.thefestival.bc.ca/granville.cfm.We'll be at the festival all weekend and we are particularly looking forward to our workshop with Bruce Cockburn as well as the tribute to Leonard Cohen. We will also have the honour of having Kevin Breit sit in with us during our concert so please check that out as well. All in all, it looks like this festival is going to be a fabulous one and we are quite excited about what lies ahead.Take a gander at the On Stage page from time to time for new fall and winter shows and don't hesitate to drop us a line at the Guestbook. We have all been working on the food page when we get a chance and hope to have that up before the summer is over. Stay tuned!~ Nicky
Hello all, The Winnipeg Folk Festival is over (boohoo) but we had a busy and great time out there in Bird's Hill Park. We hope everyone who made it out this year discovered plenty of new music and had a chance to hear some favourite performers. We were blown away by Jackie Green and The Buena Vista Social Club with Ibrahim Ferrer, found some new inspiration in Girlyman and Leela Gilday, and enjoyed the tried and true with the likes of Po Girl, Martin Carthy, Dan Frechette, Suzie Vinnick, Shooglenifty and Martyn Joseph (to name only a few). It was good to be home.
We're off to Vancouver this weekend for the Vancouver Folk Festival and it looks to be a very busy one. We have a workshop with Bruce Cockburn (!) and we'll be taking part in a tribute to Leonard Cohen. Can't wait! Hope to see many of you there...
A wail of a trio
Blossoming folk group breaks into mainstream country radio Blossoming folk group breaks into mainstream country radio
Catch them at: Little Stage on the prairie, Fri., 12:30 pm; Snowberry Field, Sat., 12:45 pm (Cara Luft only); Green Ash, Sat, 2:30 pm (Nicky Mehta, Ruth Moody); Snowberry Field, Sun 11 am; Shady Grove, Sun, 3:45 pm
You’re being hailed as something a folk-pop supergroup, your first album is out on one of the country’s foremost folk labels and you release a gentle, acoustic version of a Neil Young song as your first single and video.
And what happens?
The Wailin’ Jennys’ cover of Old Man becomes a hit at country radio and gets added to the rotation at CMT, Canada’s country music video network.
Go figure, eh?
But what’s another curveball in the life of the Winnipeg folk trio comprised of Cara Luft, Nicky Mehta and Ruth Moody?
After all, this is a group that wasn’t even meant to be a group. So if country radio wants to help spread the word on this sweet-voiced threesome, then so be it. The road followed by the Jennys has been filled with similar happy accidents.
Still, being added to commercial country radio playlists across Canada is enough to give Mehta and Moody pause to think as they sit discussing their music in the caf_