Eight Canadian female musicians to watch in 2008

[rockpit]

Eight Canadian female musicians to watch in 2008

Lynn Saxberg
For Canwest News Service

Monday, January 14, 2008



Singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards. (Maple Music)


In the cycle of rock ‘n’ roll, the last few years have been marked by reunion tours and comebacks of classic-rock giants. U2, Bruce Springsteen and The Stones have recently lumbered around the world and last year the Police, Van Halen and Genesis resurfaced after long absences. Even Led Zeppelin made an appearance that everyone’s hoping will lead to a tour.

Given all that retro-rock swagger, it’s amazing a young woman from Canada has managed to emerge as one of the freshest new voices in the industry. Leslie Feist, the artist better known as Feist, has been working on her craft for years, but last year’s excellent disc, The Reminder, is proving to be her breakthrough. That catchy iPod commercial didn’t hurt, either.

Feist ended the year with a slew of Grammy nominations, and the disc was included on hundreds of Top-10 lists (including mine). Sure, she’s a talented singer-songwriter with a great album, but now millions recognize her as “the iPod girl.” Thanks to that exposure, the musical misfit from Calgary is well on her way to superstardom.

In 2008, we’ll see how she handles the fame. We’ll be watching the Grammy and Juno telecasts to see how she does. And we’ll see if Feist’s emergence signals a change in public taste, a shift from macho rock to softer, gentler sounds.

As I peer into the future, by perusing tour schedules and release dates for 2008, it looks like we’ll be hearing from a lot of other Canadian women this year. In a few months time, Feist might be seen as the tip of the iceberg, the beginning of an onslaught of female voices from Canada.

Not only are world tours by Avril Lavigne and Celine Dion coming soon to a territory near you, but some of our most successful musical exports also are due to deliver fresh product. We can expect new discs by k.d. lang and Alanis Morissette by spring, and maybe even something from Shania Twain later in the year (but I doubt it, word is she’s still working on it). New releases also are expected from Ottawa sweetheart Kathleen Edwards, as well as from piano gal Sarah Slean and newlywed rocker Bif Naked.

To help you prepare for what’s sure to be declared a trend, I’ve taken the liberty of identifying eight Canadian women artists to watch in 2008. Most of the names you’ll recognize.

1. Alanis Morissette: It’s been several tumultuous years since we’ve had a new record from the Ottawa-born superstar. In that time, she turned 30, got engaged, survived a breakup and learned to ride a motorcycle. Her new disc, Flavours of Entanglement, is due for release in April, and she is previewing new material on a tour with Matchbox 20. The only Canadian cities on the schedule so far are Toronto and Vancouver.

2. k.d. lang: The Alberta-raised vegan has a quietly powerful album in Watershed, due for release next month. Anticipation is high Ñ it’s her first recording of new material in eight years, and her first self-production job. Lang’s tour schedule is beginning to fill in: next month includes two nights at New York’s Lincoln Center, both already sold out.

3. Avril Lavigne: The mall-punk princess with the skull fetish bounces back to home turf with a Canadian tour that starts March 5 in Victoria. Her latest disc is titled Best Damn Thing because she says it’s the best damn thing she’s ever done. Although entertainment media are on alert for signs of a bulging tummy, Lavigne and her Sum 41 hubby are so far resisting the temptation to add little ones to their rock ‘n’ roll lives.

4. Celine Dion. After a lengthy stint in Las Vegas, the Dion family caravan is hitting the road for a world tour that is expected to last well into 2009. The global adventure includes six concerts at Montreal’s Bell Centre between Aug. 15 and 25.

5. Kathleen Edwards: Ottawa’s alt-country sweetheart releases her fourth disc, Asking for Flowers, on March 4.

6. Bif Naked: The left-coast rocker, who married a sportswriter last summer, is working on two new albums, one of her own and one with Jakkarta, a collaboration with death-metal guitarist La Machina. The muscular, tattooed frontwoman recently revealed she’s been diagnosed with breast cancer but I wouldn’t be surprised if she got the records out anyway. Our prayers are with her.

7. Sarah Slean: An engaging pianist with a flair for drama, the sweet-voiced Slean will send a chill down your spine with her haunting new single, Get Home, the first song from her forthcoming disc, The Baroness, due for release March 8. “It will be my honour to present to you another studio album, full of Paris, disastrous affairs, meditations on struggle, moments of clarity and maybe even a nod to Dostoevsky,” Slean writes in a message to fans on her website. Sounds like a hit to me.

8. Anne Murray: Canada’s silver-haired crooner soared to the top of the Canadian charts last year with the collaborative project, Duets Friends and Legends, a disc of songs that pair her sterling pipes with those of artists such as Shania Twain and Martina McBride. The disc comes out in the U.S. this month; it’s sure to be popular among the boomer masses. Which will make it even more difficult to score concert tickets for your mom when Murray tours this spring.

© CanWest News Service 2008



Source: Eight Canadian female musicians to watch in 2008


Nice wording...

Poor Bif Naked . She's tough, though...

[Jimmyzz]

Nice article, thanks for the post.

[Seyary_Minamoto]

Nice

[Prudence]

Woohoo t4p JC!

[Josh]

Thanks! I liked the last line about Avril and Deryck having babies. haha.

[Lewymocha Original]

lol, looking for a bulging tummy

I think the only way she will get a bulging tummy is ordering too many pizzas while on tour