Governors Songwriters Circle with emerging bards MacDougall, Stone, and Thomason May 26

Three of Atlantic Canada’s most praised songwriters come together for a night of songs and stories at Governors Pub on Sydney’s Esplanade, Thursday, May 26.

This special Songwriters Circle featuring Steven MacDougall, Molly Thomason, and Carleton Stone, opens its doors at 8pm, with the show starting at 9pm sharp and finishing up at 12 midnight for anyone worried about putting in a good day’s work on Friday.

Donkin born, Steven MacDougall, has been a prolific singer-songwriter since the age of fifteen. Best known as the frontman for funk jam band, Slowcoaster, MacDougall has also released a well reviewed solo effort, Spanish Bay, in 2005. MacDougall has preformed solo acoustic with artists such as Gordie Sampson, Bruce Guthro, J.P. Cormier, Lennie Gallant, Rita McNeil, Matt Mays, and Ron Hynes. Since 2007, MacDougall has made songwriting trips to Nashville and has co-written over seventy-five songs in Music City. MacDougall is now recording his second full-length solo record due out in 2011, consisting of songs written with an impressive list of Nashville and Canadian songsmiths.

Carleton Stone‘s first album, Carleton Stone Drives the Big Wheel, was nominated for an East Coast Music Award (Rock Recording of the Year) and two Music Nova Scotia Awards (New Artist and Pop/Rock Group Recording). Stone and his band won Music Nova Scotia’s Battle to Canadian Music Week, defeating 15 other NS bands and earning a headlining spot on the Music Nova Scotia: Enter the Tiki stage during Canadian Music Week in Toronto in March 2010. In September 2010, Stone signed a label and management deal with GroundSwell Music. His recently completed new album, produced by Hawksley Workman, is slated for release in fall 2011.

Molly Thomason was born in Sidcup, Kent, England, but moved with her theatre practitioner parents to Nova Scotia in 1996. This young singer-songwriter released her first CD, Through the Static in June 2009 when she was 14 years old. It was subsequently nominated for two Music Nova Scotia awards for New Artist Recording of the Year in 2009, and for Pop/Rock Recording of the Year in 2010. The album also produced two number ones on the East Coast Countdown and her song “Kiss Me” was featured on an episode of Degrassi in October 2010. Thomason’s second album, Beauty Queen, was produced by the award-winning Halifax musician/producer Dale Murray and is set to drop May 27 of this year. Her first single, “All Down the Highway” is already receiving wide airplay across Canada.

Tickets for this show are $8 advance, or $10 at the door, available at Governors Pub. Or make it a night out and buy tickets, reserve a table for dinner and stay for the show.