Crystal Porter - Ghosts Within The Halls (original)

I'm packing right now for Nova Scotia Music Week (#NSMW) and I'm looking forward to a weekend of music and adventure. I will be attending some of the conferences and connecting with faces, old and new. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Before I go, here is a new song for your listening pleasure, 'Ghosts Within the Halls.' I hope you enjoy it!

PS. Don't mind the mess in the background. My house is a renovation zone right now and this is the cleanest space.

Crystal Porter - West Coast (Lana Del Rey Cover)

I really love Lana Del Rey. My favorite song of hers to date is West Coast. It is the single from her latest album Ultraviolence. Yesterday, I covered West Coast. It's a little faster paced than the original. I hope you enjoy my rendition of the song!

Crystal Porter - Waterfalls (TLC Cover)

This weeks cover song is a super fun one to play. Mostly because of Left Eye's little rap during the bridge. So fun! I present to you my rendition of Waterfalls by TLC.

New Glasgow Jubilee 2014 - Highlights

I look forward to the New Glasgow Jubilee every year. This is our 3rd year in a row attending. The first year Lead Mule played on the main stage so a crew of us ventured to New Glasgow. It was my first time having New Glasgow pizza with the world famous brown sauce. They ship that pizza everywhere. I was blown away by the hospitality of the staff and volunteers who work so hard to put the event together. So much so, that we returned the following year.

This year Lead Mule and Rain Over St Ambrose each played, so again, a crew of us Yarmouthians ventured to New Glasgow. I had been looking forward to this weekend for quite some time. The schedule was as follows:

Friday, August 1: The Meds, Alert The Medic, Crash Karma, Danko Jones and Town Heroes
Saturday, August 2: Rain Over St. Ambrose, Kim Wempe, Adam Baldwin, Sam Roberts Band and Scientists of Sound
Sunday, August 3: SoHo Ghetto, Carleton Stone, Mo Kenney, Steven Page, and Tom Fun Orchestra

Late Night Stage at the Acro Lounge & EateryFriday: The Meds, Black City AvengerSaturday: Lead Mule, and Alert The MedicSunday: Machete, Rain Over St. Ambrose

I managed to grab a few shows, but honestly over the 3 days we were there I barely touched my camera. I did have an amazing time though. The first collage is Lead Mule playing the late night stage at the Acro Lounge on Saturday night. I tried to get pictures of Rain Over on Sunday night. They are all blurry though, I blame the wine... and probably all of the dancing I was doing.

Steven Page played Sunday night. His band was incredibly tight and they were very entertaining. He danced all over the stage as he played some of his solo stuff and some Bare Naked Ladies songs.

Here are a few random pics that were on my phone after the weekend. Some I took, some Melanie took. We had a time!

Mat, Marc and I met Jeff Burrows backstage. He is the drummer for Crash Karma and the Tea Party.

I didn't take this picture. It wasn't even on my phone! It's a picture of a bunch of us leaving the hotel. We are on our way down to the main stage. This isn't the entire crew though. If you want a pair of those yoga pants in the picture, send Lead Mule a message on Facebook. Mat will order a pair for you!

Next year is the 20th anniversary of  the Jubilee. I can't wait!

Harmony Bazaar 2014 - Highlights

This is the first of the 3 events that I was looking forward to this summer. The Harmony Bazaar Festival of Woman and Song is a blast. Lockeport, Nova Scotia is a very small coastal community and the people are super nice. The Harmony Bazaar falls on my birthday every year, so I have an extra reason to look forward to the event. Errin, the festival coordinator is such a nice person and the staff and the volunteers work so hard to put everything together. Here are a few pics and videos from the weekend.

Mat is loading the last couple things into the CRV. A cooler and our small BBQ. That BBQ has served us well on trips such as this. It caught fire though, but we put it out and gave it a good cleaning. That's what happens when you cook greasy sausages.

We got to Lockeport around 8 pm and set up the tent and cooked a bite to eat before we headed down to the festival grounds. There was 4 of us camping together, we were graciously offered a camping spot at the home of a couple local residents. I bought a box of Sawmill creek wine for the weekend. That stuff goes a long way! We had a couple drinks and got there just in time to catch Natalie Lynn and band.

Steffie grabbed this photo of me performing Peace of Mind during a songwriters circle Saturday afternoon, where I performed with Kim Harris, Alyssa Leblanc and Chelsea Nickerson.

Erika Kulnys wrote this beautiful song called "Have you finished writing those Break up songs?" it gave me the chills. It is stunning! She is such a beautiful soul.

Jessie Brown and the Black Devine rocked the hell out of the side stage on Saturday night! I love the bands sound and I LOVE her voice. She's the next Etta James as far as I'm concerned!

Afterwards Mat and I took a little break, had a bite to eat and some more wine and recorded this foolish little number for Instagram.

Jully Black put on an AMAZING show. She had backup dancers! She danced all the way to the merch table while her band kept on playing and she signed cd's for people. This woman can entertain and she emits confidence and power. She's a queen bee!

On Route to the Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women & Song

I'm currently packing all the items that are on my list. I've got food, a tent, bedding, my guitar and various other odds and ends that I will need for the weekend. I'm heading to Lockeport, NS today for the Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women and Song.

Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm performing during a Songwriters Circle with Kim Harris, Alyssa Leblanc & Chelsea Nickerson. It is an understatement to say that I am excitement. I love the fact that this festival's focus is female artists in various formats; music, dance, art! I'm proud to be a part of something that creates opportunities in a world that is male driven. There is a far greater percentage of published male recording artists than female and it isn't because we aren't playing. There is just a smaller margin of available opportunities for women. It has improved over the years, but we still have a long way to go.

I was listening to an interview on CBC with Kate Nash a summer or two ago. She had stated a mind blowing statistic, that in England, only 14% of all published recording artists were female. It blew my mind! While the numbers may vary from location to location, it is a window into the difficulties faced by female musicians. But alas, we are not limited by these things, it just means we have to be a little creative sometimes.

Here is the event schedule! There is still time to get a ticket. I hope to see you there, be sure to say hello!

Tonight: New Music Tuesdays The Seahorse

I'm currently on my way to Halifax, where I will kick off the return of Propeller's New Music Tuesday at the Seahorse. It is a free show so if you are in Halifax looking for something to do tonight, come on out and listen to some live music. So many great folks playing tonight!

Serenade the Summer

I await this time of year.  I am a musical sun baby who lives in the soil amongst her minion army of tiny plants. I find solace on a blanket in the garden, where I can watch everything grow and serenade softly the seeds I sow.

I work out my ideas, flirt with inspiration, ponder past events and brace myself with excitement for the wave of the future.

At the end of the day I am a simple country girl, whose eyes dance with her imagination, step by step, to the beat of her dreams.

Enjoy the sunshine, we scream for it behind closed doors during the darkest depths of winter. 

The Owen and Gerry Show at Th'YARC

Guitar tracks are Complete! #GettingErDone

It's time! I can barely contain myself. We're getting this album done! Last week, I recorded rhythm tracks and pretty finger picking tracks to 7 songs.

I often worry too much during recording sessions. I suffer from "Recording Light Pressure"... I named it myself. It's the state of panic that occurs when the record button is pressed. I know it's absurd considering I perform in public, but recording really is a completely different vibe. I get anxious when that button is pressed and only when I'm trying to record guitar or keys. I feel relaxed when I'm laying down vocal tracks. I did fine though. Instead of downright panic, my entire body would tense until the stop button was pressed. But, you can't HEAR my body tensing up so we're good. Aside from that, the process wasn't painful at all. I kind of enjoyed it.

In a little over a week, when schedules slow down, Darbs will come in and lay down some drum tracks. I know it seems backwards but all the guitar tracks were recorded to a metronome, so it's good!

It has been such a long road to get to this point and I am so thrilled to see progress. I am so fortunate to have good people helping me with the process.

Inspiring Times

It would be a lie if I told you that I was a fan of the cold. As beautiful as it may be, I am a sun baby. I do love it when the weather warms, even if it is only Mother Nature's way of teasing us. It is so inspiring to go for a walk in the sunshine and see the bright green that is new growth hiding away. It reminds me that spring really isn't that far away. Along with the new growth, comes the promise of creativity. Songs and stories emerge like daffodils pushing their way through the soil.

The last few nice days have inspired new songs, stories, characters and dreams for the future. I can't wait to share them all with you. For now, I will hide myself away by the wood stove. Practicing in my little nook, waiting for this upcoming winter storm to pass; while I dream of warm weather and the splendor it brings.