The Great Festival Season of 2019 

It’s September!!!  Back to school is in full effect (my daughter just started high school!) and the leaves are starting to change colour.  With the feeling of fall in the air, I have to remind myself that the summer festival season is still in full swing! We have two big festival performances just around the corner and almost immediately after, the start of concert season - the first of which is in Whitby as part of Music By the Bay LIVE on October 4th!

It’s hard to put the happenings of the past three and a half months into words. SO. MUCH. AWESOME. It’s true. The 2019 festival season has been absolutely magical and there are still some magical moments to be had in our upcoming Harvest Jazz & Blues and Stonebridge Wasaga Beach Blues Fest experiences.

Also, with a rotating lineup of about 15 bandmates, I’ve had an embarrassment of riches when it comes to musical company. Some of my long-time music buds and bandmates (Van Sheen, Bunny Stewart, Seamus Cowan, and Rob Radford) have shared the stage with me for 15 or so years in a number of formations. Getting to see their faces during our  Montreal Jazz Fest performance in front of thousands of people made me appreciate our friendship and musical bond even more. Kirt Godwin was my guitarist opening for The Tragically Hip in 2011 in front of over 25,000 people. He also performed along side me when I showcased for Gene Simmons earlier that year. We have shared some interesting stage times, but my favourite moments with Kirt were definitely from this summer. Fellow Prince Edward County native Benni Vander sings the sweetest harmonies and Papa Zak Colbert lays down the most dig-worthy bass grooves. We also welcomed the happiest of drummers in Shawn Rompre and Mike Fitzpatrick (you might recognize Mike from Downchild Blues Band!). Finally, the first female bandmate I’ve ever had in 20 years came in the form of a slaying bassist named Anna Ruddick. I’ve known Anna for over ten years and to share the stage with her (and many long car rides and hotel rooms) brought us a special friendship and bond. Full-time musicians with daughters. We are special people and we know it. 😉 (And if you’re a City and Colour fan, you’ll be excited to hear that Anna has been hired as the new bassist and will be traveling the world these next months/years! Go, Anna!!). Many thanks to ALL (not everyone is listed here!) of my bandmates this past summer. You truly made this one of the greatest seasons of my life.

Thanks to the many festival promoters who booked us this summer knowing full well that many of their attendees would look at the schedule line-ups and wonder “Who’s this Miss Emily??” You took a chance on me, and you were enthusiastic about having me play your event and I’m so incredibly honoured and humbled by your collective encouragement and graciousness. My entire team is so grateful and thankful. Special shout out to all of the festivals and series that booked us this summer season from British Columbia to New Brunswick! Cheers to Paisley Blues Fest, Orangeville Blues & Jazz Fest, Rockland-Bergen Music Fest, Montreal Jazz Fest, Royal Botanical Gardens’ ‘Garden Music Nights’, Opinicon Lake Music Festival, Roy Thomson Hall’s LIVE on the Patio Series, Lighthouse Blues Festival, Beaches Jazz Festival, Kitchener Blues Festival, MusicWestport Fest, Summertime Blues Fest in Nanaimo, Harvest Jazz & Blues Fest, Wasaga Beach Blues Fest and Music By the Bay LIVE!  Special shout out to Tim who hosted the coolest house concert in London, Ontario, to round out one of our weekends on the road back in July.

On a final note, I’ll leave you with a little back story about my excitement for the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival we’ll be performing at on September 12th...

During a road trip in 2003 I randomly and completely accidentally found myself in Fredericton, New Brunswick, during the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival. There I saw a performance by one of my idols Suzie Vinnick and attended a guitar workshop by Rick Fines. Two musical moments in my life that helped change the energy and commitment to my career in music.

At the time, I was living out of my car, couch-surfing with friends and family in Ontario. 16 years later I am EXCITED BEYOND WORDS that I will be performing at this year’s Harvest Jazz & Blues Fest!!! Commitment to your dreams requires hard work and patience, but I’m living proof that dreams come true. ❤️????

Here’s to a very memorable 2019 Festival Season! Thanks to all of you who watched performances, introduced yourselves, bought CDs, bought shirts, ‘liked’ and followed my social media pages and posted pics and videos. You are all AWESOME!!!