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Stephen
Fearing
Multiple Juno Award winning Stephen Fearing is one of the foremost
performing singer-songwriters in Canada.
Mixing powerful lyrics, creative arrangements and brilliant guitar
playing, Fearing has built up a loyal and dedicated international
audience with a wide range of songs - from his 1988 release Out
to Sea, to his last Juno winning album Yellowjacket. A founding
member of Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, Stephen has collaborated
with many artists including Shawn Colvin, Richard Thompson, Sarah
McLachlan, Tom Wilson, Colin Linden, Margo Timmins and most recently
producing Happy Here the latest Juno-nominated album from Suzie
Vinnick.
His latest recording, The Man Who Married Music is a 'Best Of'
collection, with tracks handpicked by Stephen, featuring some of
the best music he has released over his career as well as two brand
new tracks No Dress Rehearsal and The Big East West.
www.stephenfearing.com |
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| Norma MacDonald
is a singer-songwriter and avid biology nerd. She was raised on
AM country stations and Willie Nelson cassettes in her hometown
of New Waterford, Cape Breton, but has made her home in Halifax,
NS for the last number of years. On her sophomore recording, ‘the
forest for the trees’, MacDonald manages to seamlessly meld
her innate old-school country sensibilities with contemporary influences
(Wilco, Patty Griffin, Bruce Springsteen) without losing a drop
of authenticity. By the time the band kicks in on the opening track
“a little longer”, one gets a sense they are listening
to an artist who has finally come into her own. Juxtaposing lyrical
sophistication with playfulness, MacDonald balances a visceral sense
of nostalgia and longing with hopefulness for what lies ahead. Her
efforts were awarded with a 2009 ECMA nomination for Female Solo
Recording of the Year.
www.normamacdonald.com
www.myspace.com/normamacdonald
www.sonicbids.com/normamacdonald
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With a clear, warm and intimate approach
to music that has been delighting audiences for over a decade, Dave
Carroll is pleased to release his highly anticipated debut solo
recording, Perfect Blue. This collection of twelve refreshingly
unique and insightful songs, is injected with a "coming home"
sense of familiarity that subtly transcends musical barriers,bridging
the genres of pop, rock, country and folk.
Perfect Blue represents a new chapter for the Halifax musician
who has enjoyed a successful career as songwriter and performer
with the ECMA award-winning band, Sons of Maxwell. Dave has written,
recorded and released over 40 original songs on the band's eight
cds, shared in awards and nominations for multiple ECMA and Nova
Scotia Music awards and has toured Canada, the US, Europe and China.
This project was recorded in the fall of 2007 in Halifax, Nova
Scotia using some of Atlantic Canada's finest players and was co-produced
with the highly regarded Jamie Robinson. Three of the songs were
co-written in Nashville with Bernie Chiaravalle, Grammy winner Jon
Vezner, and Canadian Steve Fox.
www.davecarrollmusic.com |

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RyLee Madison
is an honest performing songwriter who writes music inspired by
her own observations and take on life. As an Ambassador for the
Canadian Red Cross, an award-winning artist and a touring musician,
RyLee’s life overflows with fascinating experiences that surface
throughout her music.
RyLee’s recording career includes three albums and 8 national
country radio singles in Canada.
Currently living in Nashville TN writing full-time, RyLee is anticipating
the release of her fourth CD in the early spring of 2010.
She is a five-time winner of the Music Industry Association of
Nova Scotia (MIANS) Awards, five-time nominee with the East Coast
Music Awards, two-time Just Plain Folks Award nominee – USA. |
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| In Laura Smith's
music, real emotions ebb and flow. Your heart is in her capable
hands, and likewise, she has entrusted you with hers. As she sings,
her strong, melodious voice waves and catches, snagging on a scar
here and there, surfing on a wonder, staring down a riddle... As
you listen, the two of you go along together; brave and surfacing;
calm and inquisitive.
Smith's music is direct and honest. Sometimes, fiddles and guitars
gently lift and carry her spirited vocals, while her melodies and
careful poetry dig deep. "My work is all very simple, earth-based,"
says the Maritime-based singer/songwriter. Her work is not so much
written, as painstakingly designed, cut and stitched together. "Like
quilt craft," she explains. "I make it body and soul,
with everything I have available - my sensibilities, my ability
to play. So many things come into the making of a song. When I say
write, it limits what I bring to bear."
www.laurasmith.ca |
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Emcee
Russell MacKenzie - FX101.9
Host / Music Director
Born and raised in Halifax, this home grown boy is thrilled to
be on the air in his hometown. After graduating from the Atlantic
Media Institute, Radio took him off to Summerside, then The Annapolis
Valley and now back home at FX101.9.
Since letting in his first stray cat at age 4, appropriately named
'Hobo', this animal lover has been attempting to speak for those
who can't, and will help out any way he can, knowing how much our
furry friends appreciate us all being here today, and how our continued
support is essential. |
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