Folk Roots Radio Episode 409: feat. Tannis Slimmon & More New Releases

Nov 21 2018

Episode 409 of Folk Roots Radio features an interview with Guelph singer-songwriter Tannis Slimmon who has been making music for over thirty years. Amazingly, she has done so while holding down a career in research at the University of Guelph. Over the years, Tannis Slimmon has been involved in The Bird Sisters, The Lucky Sisters, Boreal, Ondine Chorus, Essentia and more – while producing three wonderful solo albums including the Canadian Folk Music Award winning “Lucky Blue” from 2007. The good news is that Tannis is now making music full-time which makes it a very good time to catch up. We also take a look at more of the latest new releases, including new music from Kaia Kater, The HillBenders, Craig Robertson, Vishtèn, Rachel Baiman, Childsplay, Andrea Ramolo, and Jay Aymar. Check out the full playlist below.

Interview

Tannis Slimmon grew up in a musical family on a farm in Manitoba before moving to Guelph ON in 1980, announcing herself on the Canadian folk scene as a member of the critically acclaimed Bird Sisters (with Jude Vadala and Sue Smith). Since then, her music career has gone from strength to strength – with three great solo albums (with support from her partner Lewis Melville), taking home Contemporary Vocalist of the Year at the 2008 Canadian Folk Music Awards, for her second solo album, the fabulous “Lucky Blue”. Tannis has also been involved in many other musical collaborations including vocal groups Essentia & Ondine Chorus, The Lucky Sisters and currently Boreal (with Jude Vadala and Katherine Wheatley). Boreal’s annual Songs For The Snowy Season concerts start in late November. For more information on this year’s dates, visit borealsongs.ca. There’s also a new duo – Sweetcorn and Sunflower with fellow Guelph based singer-songwriter Annie Sumi – they’re just back from a tour that took them out to Vancouver Island. Check out the great video session they recorded at BNB studios HERE. The good news, for such an accomplished artist, is that Tannis is now able to make music full-time allowing her a renewed focus on her solo career, and her other projects. Visit Tannis Slimmon online at tannis.ca.

That’s all we have time for, this time around. Thanks to all the artists who share their music with us, and thank you for listening. We have a lot of great music and interviews to bring you on future shows. I hope you’ll join us!

Listen

You can listen to this episode again on Soundcloud by following the link below. You can also listen to episodes of Folk Roots Radio, on demand, via iTunes, Stitcher and Tune-in Radio. (Click on the highlighted link to reach your chosen platform.)