Harris, Griffin, Colvin, Miller Set For Opening Of Toronto Fest Of Arts 6/5

By: May. 11, 2009
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Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, and Buddy Miller will kick off the opening night of Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, with a special show at Massey Hall. These four incredibly talented musicians have been collaborating with one another for years and now perform an intimate performance as part of Luminato. This is a rare opportunity to see some of the most celebrated songwriters together on one stage.

The "Three Girls and Their Buddy" shows feature all four artists performing onstage together, sharing the songs and stories that have defined their venerated careers. The four have a long-established history of musical associations, having been in each other's bands, produced and played on each other's albums, covered each other's songs, and guested on each other's shows many times over the years. Buddy Miller was Emmylou's band leader in the outfit Spyboy and produced her live album by that name.

Patty Griffin's song "One Big Love" was recorded by Emmylou, who has made appearances on Patty's last two studio albums. Emmylou, Patty and Buddy - with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings - toured together as Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue, a special run of collaborative shows. Buddy has performed many times over the years with Shawn Colvin, beginning with her inclusion in The Buddy Miller Band in the 80s in New York City and leading up to the These Four Walls tour in the fall of 2006. The group reunited in October 2008 for a spirited performance at San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.

Twelve-time Grammy winner, Billboard Century Award recipient and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame Emmylou Harris has been admired throughout her career for her talent as an artist and song connoisseur, but it was with her most recent studio releases that she also revealed herself to be a gifted songwriter. In June 2008, her latest studio record, All I Intended To Be, was released to wide critical acclaim. On this record her songwriting and song-interpreting abilities are equally highlighted: the album includes four songs written or co-written by Harris, and also features striking covers, including Billy Joe Shaver's "Old Five and Dimers" from which the album's title was taken and "Moon Song," a never-before-released tune written by Patty Griffin. Known for bringing country and roots music to a new level of prominence and respect, Harris has recorded more than 20 albums and has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide and she is one of the most sought-after collaborators of this century. Emmylou Harris has lent her talents to fellow artists on countless records, including, as a guest vocalist on recent releases from Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Bright Eyes, Neil Young and Elvis Costello. Billboard magazine has called her "a truly venturesome, genre-transcending pathfinder." www.EmmylouHarris.com

Patty Griffin's latest album, Children Running Through (ATO), continues the remarkable creative evolution that has established Griffin as a vital and singular musical force and a songwriter of great emotive power. The emotional depth and breadth of her songwriting has won Griffin a fiercely loyal fan base that's continued to expand. The list of Patty's higher-profile admirers includes Emmylou Harris, a longtime supporter who has covered several Griffin-penned songs and who also appears on Patty's latest album, contributing harmony vocals to "Trapeze." Also on that list are the Dixie Chicks, who recorded much-loved versions of the Griffin compositions "Top of the World," "Truth No. 2" and "Let Him Fly" and Solomon Burke, who covered "Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)" on his latest record. Impossible Dream, Griffin's 2004 release, saw appearances from artists such as Lisa Germano, Emmylou Harris and Buddy & Julie Miller. In October 2007, Griffin's 14-song live DVD Patty Griffin: Live from the Artists Den was released. The exclusive concert took place at the Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts, a converted synagogue on New York's Lower East Side in February of 2007 and was shot in HD and mixed in both stereo and 5.1 audio. Griffin is in the process of assembling material for a new record. www.PattyGriffin.com

Three-time Grammy Award winner Shawn Colvin continues to captivate listeners with her heartfelt songs and unique guitar stylings. Over the course of an enduring career Shawn has released eight albums (including the platinum-selling A Few Small Repairs, which featured the hit song "Sunny Came Home"), maintained a non-stop national and international touring career, appeared on countless television and radio programs, had her songs featured in major motion pictures, and created a remarkable cannon of work. Born in Vermillion, South Dakota, Shawn spent years honing her art in cities as far apart as Austin, San Francisco and New York, where she helped define the "new folk" movement in the late 1980's.

Her debut album Steady On and subsequent albums Fat City, Cover Girl, A Few Small Repairs, Holiday Songs And Lullabies and Whole New You proved her to be one of the subtlest, most musicianly singer-songwriters of her time. Her most recent album, These Four Walls, (2006), was lauded by People Magazine as "the most self-assured album of her career" and "one for the ages" by the Washington Post. Shawn is currently preparing material for a live album, to be released in the spring of 2009. She recently signed a deal with Collins Publishers to publish a memoir, which will be a natural extension of the intimate, personal and often hilarious stories that she weaves into her live concerts. www.ShawnColvin.com

Named instrumentalist of the year by the Americana Music Association (AMA) for the past two years, Buddy Miller is one of the more highly sought after guitarists and has played shows or in recording sessions with such greats as Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Jim Lauderdale, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. As a songwriter, Buddy's songs have been cut by such artists as The Dixie Chicks, LeeAnn Womack, Jim Lauderdale and Emmylou Harris, among others. As a producer, his resume is just as impressive; he produced Emmylou Harris's live album Spyboy; Solomon Burke's most recent solo work, Nashville; the forthcoming Allison Moorer covers record Mockingbird, all five of his own solo masterpieces; and the Grammy-nominated record Buddy made with his wife and celebrated songwriter Julie, Buddy and Julie Miller. Buddy's own records boast a blend of soulful country country arrangements, heartfelt balladry, honky tonk and the occasional soul cover. In 2005, Buddy took home Album of the Year for Universal United House of Prayer and Song of the Year for the album's cut "Worry Too Much." One of the treasures of modern Americana music and musicianship, Buddymost recently toured with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on their "Raising Sand" Tour. A new Buddy and Julie Miller record titled "Written In Chalk" is expected out in March 2009. www.BuddyMiller.com

Presented in association with Luminato Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity.

Friday, June 5, 2009 at 8 pm / Massey Hall

178 Victoria Street, Toronto

Tickets $79.50 - $59.50 - Call 416-872-4255 or visit the Roy Thomson Hall Box Office

www.masseyhall.com

 



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