My East Coast Music Week began today in Charlottetown in the Harbourview room at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Prince Edward at the Export Buyers “Roots” Showcase. The entire afternoon at this showcase was stellar. The day began with Meaghan Blanchard, a singer songwriter from right here on Prince Edward Island, whose new album The Great Escape was released in July, 2018. She has a gorgeous voice. She sang the album’s title track, and “Far Too Long,” a song that gives a contemporary and insightful voice to a number of Shakespeare’s leading ladies. She also treated us to two new songs “Tracks for Trains” and “Do You Want a Little More,” both of which were really strong. Old Man Luedecke began his set with the jaunty and optimistic “I Quit My Job” from his 2006 album Hinterland. It is a celebration of the freedom that comes from embracing the joy that you make yourself. He followed that up with a new song called “Easy Money,” which will be on his new album, expected in June, a reaction to how, especially when one has a family, life becomes more expensive. I love when artists use their skills to write about local history, culture, and issues that affect us here in Atlantic Canada, which is exactly what Old Man Luedecke does in “Oak Island,” a song about the lasting effects of the treasure hunt on the land. He ended his set with a silly song about his love for sardines on toast, which was completely charming and had everyone singing along and laughing. Ian Sherwood started his set building the electrifying saxophone tracks with his looper pedal for the swinging “O Mary Don’t You Weep.” This Springsteen song suits Sherwood’s smooth voice perfectly. He was joined by Alicia Toner and Jill Chandler for beautiful harmonies on his sultry love song “Non Believer” from 2014’s Everywhere to Go. The soulful “Dig That Hole,” from 2017’s Bring the Light, was inspired by a line from Arthur Miller’s Death of Salesman and is completely infectious. He ended his set with the jazzy “Dixieland Dirt Bovine,” to cap off a showcase of all the various music styles that suit Sherwood’s versatile voice and musical talents so well. The Once (Geraldine Hollett, Phil Churchill, and Andrew Dale), from Newfoundland and Labrador, were up next. Hollett has a sweet, bright voice, delightful stage presence and the three part harmony with Churchill and Dale is goosebump-inducing. I especially loved “We Are All Running” from 2014’s Departures, a song that offers comfort in the communal human experience. The last set was Tim Baker, most well known as the lead singer/songwriter for the band Hey Rosetta!, who has recently released a solo album Forever Overhead. He performed “Dance,” the heartbreaking “The Eighteenth Hole” and “Spirit,” a song inspired by his experience as a musician in St. John’s, Newfoundland. All these songs beautifully showcase both Baker’s storytelling prowess and his rich singing voice.
My second event of the day was The 2019 East Coast Music Awards Show at the Confederation Ballroom at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Prince Edward. The highlight of the evening was a powerhouse, earth shaking, roof lifting, gloriously powerful performance by Reeny Smith, who also received the Bucky Adams Memorial Award. She dedicated the award to her father and grandfather Wallace Smith Jr. and Sr., who were members of The Gospel Heirs, one of Canada’s premier gospel bands, who were deemed ineligible for an East Coast Music Award Nomination back in 1992 because they “didn’t sound gospel enough,” she said. Other highlights included Jeremy Dutcher winning Rising Star Recording of the Year and Indigenous Recording of the Year for his album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa. He encouraged us all to go out of our way to meet our neighbours, that this is the pathway forward for individuals to find empathy and friendship with one another. He accepted his second award entirely in Wolastoq, which was so beautifully powerful I’m tearing up just thinking about it. Similarly, Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire (who won for both Group Recording of the Year and Enregistrement francophone de l’année) accepted their second award en français. This diversity and representation at ECMA is so important and really moving to be in the room to witness.
Jonathan Torrens hosted the awards show and began the evening singing a song from his memoir musical Sleepy Hollow, where he was helped by fellow Islander Rose Cousins, and “NewfoundIslanders” The Once; the song was full of specific references to growing up on Prince Edward Island for the hometown crowd, but it was a great musical theatre pastiche and Torrens has a lovely singing voice. It might not be the next Come From Away, but it’s got potential! Other amazing performances included “Hearts on Fire” from Rachel Beck’s 2018 self titled album, Mallory Johnson, Hillsburn, Catherine MacLellan, and Vishtèn. Dave Gunning (with Jamie Robinson and Ronald Hynes) sang “Wish I Was Wrong” (from 2019’s Up Against the Sky) and dedicated it to the Water Protectors of the Northumberland Strait. I admire how Gunning uses his music as activism, in the folk traditions of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Pete Seeger. This song speaks eloquently and heartbreakingly to the destruction of our land by corporations, whether that be The Northern Pulp Mill or Alton Gas or similar battles inherited by people who just want clean air and water across our country and beyond. Gunning, along with Ellen Page, has inspired me to learn more about these issues and to take a stand. I hope, if you haven’t already, you’ll do some research too. I’m starting with The Mill: Fifty Years of Pulp and Protest by Joan Baxter. You can buy it here. Similarly, Lennie Gallant performed his hauntingly gorgeous “Sequoia” from 2018’s Time Travel, a love song to an elder tree, that also encourages us to stop and consider the natural beauty that surrounds us.
In all, the 2019 East Coast Music Awards show was a really strong evening of music and the raising of voices that were inspiring, heartening, poignant, and many who were honouring the language, the culture, and the legacy of their ancestors. Congratulations to all the winners and all the nominees on your exceptional work this year. You can read the full list of winners here.
The last event of the evening for me was to head to the Charlottetown Beer Garden for the Pop Stage where I caught sets by Hillsburn and Paper Lions.
Every time I see Hillsburn (Rosanna and Clayton Burrill, Paul Aarntzen, Jackson Fairfax-Perry, and Clare Macdonald) perform a set I am struck by how theatrical the experience is. Although the songs don’t have one single dramatic, thematic arc, I always feel like I’m watching a cool off-Broadway pop opera starring the powerhouse Rosanna Burrill. “Sun Ought to Shine,” is an epic, mellifluous rock ballad that shows off Burrill’s gorgeous voice and the band’s rich harmonies. “Young Desire” is a more uptempo ode to young love with a catchy sing along chorus that had the whole Beer Garden shouting along. Both songs are on band’s The Wilder Beyond (2018). They also performed their anthemic 2017 single “Strange Clouds.” If you’re unfamiliar with Hillsburn, I recommend buying their albums, but you don’t get the full experience unless you also see them perform live. Rosanna’s energy and depth of emotion when she performs is both mesmerizing and infectious. She will make you want to stand up and cheer.
My last set of the night was from Prince Edward Island’s Indie rock band Paper Lions (John MacPhee, David Cyrus MacDonald, Colin Buchanan and Rob MacPhee). I first saw Paper Lions at the ECMAs in Saint John in 2017 and was blown away. If you are looking for East Coast Music to dance to, or to take to the gym to get you feeling pumped up, or if you love sick beats and perfect falsetto, please go and buy their 2016 album Full Colour right now.
I have to stop writing because my day today begins in an hour and I’m still in my pyjamas and I haven’t eaten anything yet. If you’re in Charlottetown grab a coffee, charge your phone, and catch an ECMA show while you can!
East Coast Music Week runs until May 5th, 2019 in Charlottetown. For more information visit this website. Download the ECMA App Here. Follow ECMA on Social Media: Facebook. Twitter. Instagram (@EastCoastMusicAssoc). #ECMA2019.
