So, today was the last day to enter nominations for 49 Songs from North of the 49th Parallel with CBC’s Radio 2. It’s so cool to be a part of this and the dialogue on Radio 1 has been great. I’m so glad my favourite musicians are Canadian and I love thinking about how that came to be.
In honour of my birthday in 2003 a good friend gave me the best gift ever – mixed cd’s that introduced me to new musicians including Corb Lund. She knew his music from when he was a member of the smalls and at the time his folk/country wasn’t very well known at all. His music was the first step towards my obsession with Canadian, and especially, Alberta, music.
My favourite Albertan today is John Wort Hannam and there’s a story here too. He was the evening entertainment at a little conference I went to in Okotoks. There weren’t many of us there to listen but wow did those of us who stayed have a good time listening and sharing knitting stories! When he started singing about the Lost Creek Fire (near where I’d worked the summer before) I was hooked! I still love his tunes, and his last CD was produced by another favourite…
Vancouver’s Steve Dawson is a rockin’ musician and producer with his own label, Black Hen Music. I was first introduced to his tunes courtesy of a friend and colleague from that summer of 2003. When Steve came to our small town I recommended the show to a few friends and we ended up being the majority of the audience. It was so cool! Everyone was amazed by his talent and we were able to converse with him afterwards too. He’s since produced more of his own cd’s and they’re all in the music rotation in this house!
Some of the other regulars in my play list include Jessica Heine, Harry Manx, Maria Dunn and T. Nile. I think there’s a theme here – real people, writing real music, telling their own stories. What could be better?
I’m looking forward to hearing the short list on Radio 2 on Monday – I’m hoping that one of my favourites make the cut!
Elemental pieces of my everyday life 