Songwriters From Here And Away

19/06/2024

Dear Facebook,
Family, Kitty's, Songwriting... that's what's on my mind.

Songwriting: planning a workshop retreat in August and would like to know who folks would like as mentor/instructors. Who would you like to see? Tag em here if you can. (Y)

Kitty's: Lily, our cat is awaiting Cailin's return from her Mavens choir retreat. I imagine most of the 22 women will be hungover.
And I am off to "Kitty's Bound For Broadway" tech rehearsal in a 1/2 hour. Tatamagouche is a cool spot, but maybe not today at 32+ Celcius

Family: Just got confirmation that Artists Onboard, with VIA Rail, has booked us for late November/December trip from TO to Vancouver and back. They asked previous artists back first. I imagine next year they may open it up again. No Halifax/Montreal leg so far but great to see my daughter in Burnaby as well as brothers in Port Coquitlam and Peterborough!

15/06/2024

The full night of songs, Live at The Pink PIano Café & Lounge featuring:Mike Biggar
Laura Rae
John Cornwall
and host Robert Campbell on a couple of tunes
Songwriters From Here And Away

15/06/2024

The full night of songs, Live at The Pink PIano Café & Lounge featuring:Mike Biggar
Laura Rae
John Cornwall
and host Robert Campbell on a couple of tunes
Songwriters From Here And Away online links

12/06/2024

Grateful for all the folks who attended the songcircle on Saturday!! What an honour to be in the room with Ian and John

09/06/2024

Were you one of the 4 who missed out buying one of the 4 empty seats? ;)

In spite of the Oilers losing, the night was fantastic!!!
Thanks to Ian Janes and John Campbelljohn Live for a night of fantastic songs. Such great players and writers.

And thank you to all the patrons who showed up at The Pink Piano, Café & Lounge and made the night wonderfully perfect. Look at those happy faces.

06/06/2024

Just over 48 hours to go... still some seats open though, and I am wondering, do you think they will fill up for this one?

05/06/2024

It's a good day that starts with coffee, ends with sun & blue and in between, good work and over 80% gone for Saturday.

05/06/2024

Ooo... down to about 10 seats left for this show on Saturday!!
2 multi-award winning songwriters on stage in

05/06/2024

Would you like to see Mike do this show in Halifax area?

04/06/2024

John is great to see in person. His blues / country / roots mix includes a wide range of styles. His critically acclaimed albums and years of touring across the EU & Canada attest to the excellence of his craft.
Ian Janes & John Campbelljohn - Acoustic Songwriter Circle

04/06/2024

We have a few Orchids in our wee home.
This photo is our most recent Orchid bloom. Cailin cares for them and I appreciate them, hence my gratitude is for the beauty of both Cailin and Orchids.

I've been looking in to the plant, literally and figuratively, and some thoughts on Orchids and Patreon (Pay-tree-on?), that online crowdfunded support system, have found a connection for me.

Orchids have some interesting traits and meanings which tie all this together:
- "... a yellow orchid could be a sign of a new beginning in someone’s life." This probably references the fact I have set up an SFHAA patreon and just sorting out what to do there.

- "Vanilla comes from an orchid" Ya, I didn't know that either, but sweet things may develop.

- "Orchid seeds are tiny—so small that they can't germinate or grow without the help of a special type of mycorrhizal fungus." So they need help and I don't know if fungus will grow the patreon thing but there are already 2 supporters which is kinda cool. And, no, I will never associate supporters with fungus. Unless they are high on mushrooms maybe.

- "... symbolism associated with the orchid is love, beauty, refinement, many children, thoughtfulness and mature charm." I have one child (that i know of) and that's enough but I am certainly hopeful we can have some of the rest of those traits on the platform :)

Besides live streams of concerts and chat's with artists, and the archive of past shows I'm loading up, what would be of interest to anyone out there? I'd love to know.

03/06/2024

Another email came in to say 1000 downloads. That's different than 'listens' apparently. (but I kinda have no idea about all that LOL)
Recording the concert on June 8th with John & Ian so that'll be on the airwaves at some point too!!

rule the day! :)

02/06/2024

Artist Spotlight - Ian Janes.
Songwriter, singer, guitarist, ‘Album Of The Year’ winner, 6 ECMA nominations, 5 Music Nova Scotia Award nominations, multiple movie & TV placements, and ‘1 of 100 Canadians To Watch’ - MacLeans magazine.
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“...Ian Janes knows how to write songs that sound like classics, and he keeps getting better.”
- Rolling Stone, France
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Saturday June 8th, live in Lower Sackville with John Campbelljohn Live

01/06/2024

Grateful for all the new to the page! Thanks for supporting original music & artists. We need this more than ever these days.
We have a few new episodes of the radio show/podcast 'in the can' as they say. Just need more hours in the day to finish mixing and getting to air. There's lots to listen to online though and we're sorting out more live shows for those who are in range of Lower Sackville and....
Soon we will have the www.Patreon.com/sfhaa setup for streaming live shows. June 8th we may do a test stream there for anyone who's on board.
Seats are moving for the Ian Janes & John Campbelljohn - Acoustic Songwriter Circle

30/05/2024

The fabulous Lynne Hanson is in Halifax this weekend and has 2 house concerts.... One in Dartmouth Céofride Gaudet's place on Portland on Friday night (tomorrow!)
and a Sunday 3PM Matinee at Patchwork House Concerts
Lynn is a FABULOUS writer and performer.
I'm on a gig on the eastern shore tomorrow and then a full rehearsal on Sunday afternoon hence I am tad envious....
but she has a plan to do a SFHAA show on her next tour.
===============
Winner of two Canadian Folk Music Awards, Hanson is known for her high energy, roots guitar driven live performances, whether playing solo or with her band the Good Intentions. She has an uncanny way of connecting with her audience with an authenticity that is as entertaining as it is disarming.

The prolific songwriter has released nine studio albums along with two books of poetry over her 18 year solo career. She’s toured extensively across North America, Europe and the UK, and appeared at leading international festivals including Take Root (Netherlands), Glasgow Americana (Scotland), Maverick Festival (UK), Kerrville Folk Festival (US), and Winnipeg Folk Festival (Canada). She has also toured as support for Grammy-nominated artists like Gretchen Peters, Steve Forbert and Albert Lee.

Lynne Hanson will release her tenth studio album “Just A Poet” in Spring 2024.

30/05/2024

Hunh. It's amazing how time marches on and it is only when we see the markers pop up, like this one, that we think, "ok, that was quick..."
Lots more radio shows than 50 but not all are uploaded as podcasts.
An interesting journey started by Chris & Jim when they asked me to take over the show in fall of 2022 and now live shows, patreon and all that too...
It's a learning process for sure.
Grateful that Cailin hasn't kicked me out. Yet.

27/05/2024

Saturday June 8th @ 7:30PM !!!
Songwriters Circle with 2 fine songwriters!
Reserve now (Y)

26/05/2024

To All The Folks who filled the Pink Piano last night for the lovely time with Terra M Spencer: Can't thank you enough!

Every show we learn a little something. Last night Jenn tried a new ordering system that she's refining for next time and me? I learned I can say things that people might find funny in a way I had no clue about. I was told about it after the fact. I can be a little... 'unaware".
Suffice it to say that what I meant to say was, "if you have items, LIKE TABLES AND CHAIRS, that are pink which you think might work in the café, send us a photo! LOL

Next Songwriters Circle is June 8th. Stay Tuned!!

25/05/2024

Bill is a well known jazz & blues pianist with a fabulous touch and a rich history...
"... While still in his teens, he joined the band Earth Opera, originally based in Boston. Stevenson left the band in 1968, after the release of their first album. During Stevenson's time with Earth Opera, the band frequently opened for The Doors, being fellow recording artists on Elektra Records, as well as having Jac Holzman as producer.[1]

After leaving Earth Opera, Stevenson returned to Ottawa, where he continued to play locally for a number of years. One of his associations was as an early member of Heaven's Radio,[2] considered to be one of the best bands to come out of Ottawa in the 1970s.[3] As of the mid-1970s, Stevenson relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, from which his career has been based since. During his career, Stevenson has worked with many notable artists, including John Lee Ho**er, Amos Garrett[4] and Tom Rush.

Stevenson is the 2008 winner of the East Coast Music Award for Jazz Album of The Year.[4] With Tom Easley and Geoff Arsenault, he is also a 2009 East Coast Music Award nominee for Blues Album of The Year.[5]...
..." - Wikipedia
Madame Madame Badero - Bill Stevenson
Whole Town Gathering Round - Bill Stevenson
Bird In A Willow - Bill Stevenson
Don’t Go To San Francisco - Bill Stevenson
Some Of These Days - Shelton Brooks
Wild Nights - Bill Stevenson / Tom Easley
Cant Help Myself - Bill Stevenson
i’m All Smiles - Michael Leonard / Herbert Martin
Once In A While - Michael Edwards / lyrics: Bud Green
Young At Heart - Johnny Richards

25/05/2024

Very happy to announce that the concert tonight, with Terra Spencer, at The Pink Piano, Café & Lounge is completely SOLD OUT.

I saw this driving down the street yesterday and I've been assured by Jenn & Mike that it was NOT enroute to the Pink Piano. They already have very serviceable Pink bathrooms. 🩷

Stay tuned for news on a
Songwriter Circle Concerts, a 'Musical Dinner Theatre' show, plus regular songcircle nights and more Concerts in the works too

21/05/2024

Say Hello to Terra Spencer! One of Canada's finest Songwriters.
Maybe you've seen or heard her with David Francey , Ben Caplan , Matt Andersen or maybe Dave Gunning .
A natural storyteller. “The real deal.” Ron Sexsmith
Up close, Acoustic and a sweet venue in Lower Sackville; licensed & great snacks!
Jim Henman concert Sold Out! You'll be sad if you miss out on this one!

19/05/2024

apropos of May... just a few days away and she's live in Sackville
@ The Pink Piano, Café & Lounge

and

Sackville Business Association

18/05/2024

Ray Bonneville Music is one of the finest Roots/Blues/Americana songwriter guitarists on the scene today, with his own unique style and presentation. Ray is the 'real deal'.www.RayBonneville.com
Playing drums with him is the equally impressive Geoff Arsenault https://www.geoffarsenault.ca a fine songwriter in his own right, with great tracks and you can hear his podcast episode here: https://www.podbean.com/pu/pbblog-h76bc-f52556 www.SFHAA.ca (this Ray Bonneville episode is a remaster of a previous show)

18/05/2024

A remaster of the episode with Ray Bonneville Music @ the Carleton
with Geoff Arsenault on drums
Looking forward to hearing Terra Spencer on the 25th!

Ray Bonneville is one of the finest Roots/Blues/Americana songwriter guitarists on the scene today, with his own unique style and presentation. Ray is the 'real deal'.www.RayBonneville.com Playing drums with him is the equally impressive Geoff Arsenault https://www.geoffarsenault.ca a fine songwrite...

18/05/2024

Appearing May 25, Lower Sackville
Acoustic, Up close & personal
Licensed Cafe, All Ages

17/05/2024

Hahaha!!
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1189103812105523

17/05/2024

Here ya go!!