Award-winning singer-songwriters Dave Gunning, Lennie Gallant, Thom Swift and Steven Bowers will bring their Music From The Heart Songwriters’ Circle to Cape Breton as they tour Nova Scotia during the week leading up to Valentine’s Day. Hosted by Gallant, “Music From The Heart” will be at Strathspey Place in Mabou on February 9, and the Shannon Studio at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre on February 10. The Music From The Heart tour is made possible through support from Music Nova Scotia’s “Bringin’ It Home” program.
Singer-songwriter Thom Swift will release his second full-length studio album titled Blue Sky Day (GroundSwell/Warner) on February 16. His debut recording Into the Dirt, released nationally in 2007, won an ECMA, a Maple Blues Award, a Galaxie Rising Star prize and two Music Nova Scotia Awards, including Musician of the Year in 2008. He was also selected by CBC’s Song Quest in 2009 as one of Canada’s top songwriters. Like his first recording, Blue Sky Day was produced by Swift and Halifax-based engineer/producer Charles Austin. It features 11 original songs and a cover of “No Depression In Heaven” and offers Swift’s distinctive blend of roots, blues, rock, folk, country and rag style.
Multiple-award-winning singer-songwriter Dave Gunning released his latest album We’re All Leaving (Fontana North) in September 2009. The album, nominated for three 2010 ECMAs (FACTOR Recording of the Year, SOCAN Songwriter of the Year and Male Solo Recording of the Year), offers 11 songs that include co-writes with acclaimed musicians James Keelaghan, David Francey, Matt Andersen and producer Jamie Robinson. Since debuting with Lost Tracks in 1997, Gunning has won six Music Nova Scotia Awards and three ECMAs, including 2008 Folk Recording, Male Artist for House for Sale and 2005 Folk Recording for Two-bit World. He also won the Indie International Songwriting Contest in the folk category for the song “Hard Workin’ Hands”.
Recognized by his peers as one of Canada’s best performing songwriters, Lennie Gallant has released nine albums (seven in English and two in French) which have won him a host of awards and nominations from both the JUNO and ECMAs. His album When We Get There was nominated for a JUNO Award and went into space aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in July 2009. Canadian astronaut Julie Payette chose the album for the astronaut crew to enjoy. Over 30 artists have recorded his songs, including Jimmy Buffett, who invited Gallant to perform it on stage with him. His songs have also appeared in feature films, television series, and in numerous theatrical productions. As a performer, Gallant’s intense delivery reaches down to the very soul of his audience, moving effortlessly through stirring narratives, comic observations, and hard driving rhythms. Gallant has just released two new albums, one in English If We Had A Fire and one in French Le coeur hante.
Steven Bowers is a gifted songwriter, singer and an award-winning producer, who has three critically acclaimed CDs and a new EP to his credit. He was a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition for his song “Bees In Jars”, and was a previous semi-finalist for his song “The Boy Who Lost An Eye”, both from his latest full CD Homing. A masterful collection of 11 songs marked by heartbreak and longing, and ultimately a ray of redemption, Homing was recognized with Music Nova Scotia Award nominations for Songwriter, Folk Recording and Producer of the Year and a 2009 ECMA nomination for Folk Recording of the Year. Bowers celebrated the release of his latest recording, a six song EP titled Circadian Anthem, with a 26-stop cross-country tour in August 2009. His song “Comfortably Sweet” (featuring Christina Martin) spent several weeks in the top ten on the nationally syndicated East Coast Countdown radio program.
