You may find her in your cd collection, or your i-Tunes library, but this coming Thursday, December 3rd, you will find Serena Ryder at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre. For those of you who haven’t heard her yet, she has a voice like a glass of rich red wine – sort of smoky, and smooth. She gained viral popularity, and country-wide recognition, with the release of “If Your Memory Serves You Well” in 2006, which is a collection of mainly covers by predominately Canadian songwriters. Her rendition of “This Wheel’s on Fire” by Rick Danko and Bob Dylan was her ticket into the hearts of popular music listeners, and old folkies alike. And she does a great, husky version of “Good Morning Starshine” – that’s right, from the 1967 musical “Hair”.
Thursday’s concert takes place five days before her twenty-sixth birthday, and is toting her new release “Is It Ok?”, and following the overwhelming success of the past few years, including being awarded the 2008 Juno award for New Artist of the Year. She may be new to most Canadian’s ears, but this young artist has been at it for a while. She cut her first album at 15 in Peterborough, and hit the road touring with her second album when she was 17. “Is it Ok?” is receiving great reviews. You may want to go check it out for yourself.
The MTCC is one of Sydney’s best venues for live music. Tickets are $35 for reserved cabaret seating, doors open at 7pm and the concert starts at 8pm.
