Taryn Kawaja and Peter Lannon Friday Concert

Halifax-based composer, pianist and singer Taryn Kawaja is known for her "dark resonating chord combinations, thick dramatic piano riffs, and emotionally saturated vocals." She is on tour in Newfoundland August 20th to September 1 with Peter Lannon. Peter is an accomplished young St. John's songwriter and a member of super-cool band City on the Coast.

You can check out a video of Peter's song Anchor here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk4yrZfp0-8

Their first show is tonight (Thurs) at Swirsky's in Corner Brook - Taryn's hometown! They will be singing and making magic at Galliott Studios tomorrow.

For more details visit the Facebook page for this
tour:
www.facebook.com/events/1474503472849081/

Taryn's website: tarynkawaja.bandcamp.com

Writers at Woody Point

We've arrived at one of the busiest weeks of the year in the little town of Woody Point! There are so many incredible names on the bill this year and it is guaranteed to be a memorable time. Galliott Studios is an important hub during the festival. It is the perfect meeting place: friendly faces, tasty snacks, excellent coffee and the best deck/warf in the world.

It all begins today (Tuesday) at 10:30pm with a party for festival volunteers (food and drinks!), and will unfold as follows:

Thursday 7-9 am CBC will be broadcasting live from the shop with novelist Miriam Toews.

Friday, 9:30 am readings by poet and children's author George Murray.

Friday, 2pm Matinee concert with Anita Best and Sandy Morris. Anita was just presented with a lifetime achievement award from the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Arts Society this past Saturday at the folk festival in St. John's! Not to be missed.

Saturday, 9:30 am Readings by novelist Kathleen Winter.

Sunday, 9:30 am Readings by Joan Clark.

Sunday 2pm Matinee concert with Katie Baggs.

Sunday  4:30 pm Locals Read: if you are a writer with a connection to the Bonne Bay area, you can read during this event! Sign up at Galliott Studios anytime this week.

All of these events are free. We look forward to seeing you! Check for updates here and on our Facebook page throughout the week.

The full Writers at Woody Point schedule can be found at http://www.writersatwoodypoint.com/schedule/.

Surprise Treats, Pretty Flowers, and Matthew Hornell

Guests at Thom Coombs' show this past week got a tasty surprise: "Goat cheese, dandelion trickle and dried pansy crustini" followed by "smoked seal and fiddlehead pesto on toast". YUM! You can't beat good music combined with good food.

Matthew Hornell is no stranger to Woody Point but you are in for a serious treat this time around. In addition to Matthew's original folk songs, he and sideman Andrew Sneddon will be playing some songs from their newly released bluegrass EP THIS FRIDAY at Galliott Studios. I was lucky enough to see them play at the LSPU Hall in St. John's this past week and it was SO good and SO fun. The EP was recorded live in a Nova Scotia church and the jacket was letter-press printed and hand-folded. That's commitment, folks! This little gem is only available at live shows or Fred's Records in St. John's, so take this opportunity to get yourself a copy.

In other news, the Woody Point Regatta was a huge success, and tons of little crafters came out to Galliott Studios. The craft was tricky but with some great help from parents, everyone was able to take home a pretty homemade flower! 

Thom Coombes Monday Night!

Meet Thom Coombes from St. John's band Thom and the Tomcats. He writes and plays adorable indie rock/pop/folk songs, and lots of them - the band has five albums for sale on their bandcamp site (thomandthetomcats.bandcamp.com/merch).
You can also stream their songs on CBC radio three (which I am doing right now as I write! I am enjoying it immensely. http://music.cbc.ca/#!/play/artist/Thom-the-Tomcats)

Come to Galliott Studios for a charming solo performance this coming Monday, July 27. Hope to see you there! 

Mayhemingways Sunday Night!

Tomorrow evening at Galliott Studios you can catch the Mayhemingways from Peterborough, Ontario. This duo tours the east coast often and has become a favorite of Newfoundland audiences. They are very busy this time around: in St. John's they played at the Ship Friday night and a daytime house show at the Lady Palace. Tonight (Saturday) they are at the Grates Cove Cafe (Note: If your travels take you to the Avalon this is little restaurant/gallery is well worth the drive from St. John's!), Tomorrow they'll head west to play Galliott Studios. The final Newfoundland stop for this tour is at Flynn's Pub in Corner Brook on Monday night.

Check them out! Excellent music and really lovely people.

Have a listen to some of their tunes at mayhemingways.wordpress.com.
Watch a video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECy7G0AhJV8.

the Mayhemingways

Artist Talk This Friday!

Hello, friends! Summer is really happening now and we hope you are all having a great time no matter the weather! Here are a few little updates we wanted to let you know about:

This Friday, July 10 at 7:30pm join us for an artist talk with Jessie Knirsch. You can view some of her beautiful artwork at www.jessieknirsch.com.

If you attended last week's book talk and discussion with Miles Howe and Annie Clair, you will be interested to know that Mi'kmaq land defender Annie Clair has an upcoming court appearance. you can find out more here: https://vimeo.com/122691310. Donations to help with legal fees can be sent to supportannie@riseup.net.

And finally, here are a couple of snaps of the cruise ship Ocean Endeavor out in Bonne Bay, taken from our back door yesterday. Happy July!

"We all drink water and share the land"

If you are concerned about the impact that proposed fracking could have on the environment and people on the west coast of Newfoundland, come to Galliott Studios this Sunday, June 28 at 2pm.

Independent journalist and author Miles Howe and Annie Clair, a Mi'kmaq land defender from Elsipogtog First Nation, will be hosting a book talk and a discussion about the anti-fracking movement. Both Howe and Clair were participants in the protest against shale gas development in New Brunswick in 2013 that became shockingly violent when an initially peaceful demonstration was confronted by RCMP in full riot gear. 

Howe's book, Debriefing Elsipogtog, explores what went wrong in terms of regulatory oversight and an insufficient consultation process, as well as how people united to build a successful resistance. Ultimately, Southwestern Energy were forced to leave New Brunswick. Howe says, “What happened in New Brunswick can just as easily happen in Newfoundland.This isn't a book I necessarily wanted to write, but its value as a primer to those who find themselves in similar situations of opposition shouldn't be underestimated.”

This is the kind of issue that it would be easy to ignore until it is too late. As Annie Clair says, “Sharing the story of this struggle is important to all people, not just Mi'kmaq people. We all drink water and share the land.”

Wonderful Strange

It was suggested that this week I write about my music and my latest recording. I never know what to say when people ask about songwriting because didn't start doing it on purpose. Little melodies and bits of poetry have always come into my mind and I learned that I enjoy turning them into songs. Somehow, due to some lucky twist, playing small and simple folk songs has become a big and important part of my life. I get to connect with friends and strangers through these songs and I am pretty sure that's the best thing there is.

The new album is called Wonderful Strange, and it was released in February, just a little over a month before my new baby boy was born. I chose the title long before we started recording. Most of the songs are a little odd in some way, and I wanted the recordings to be quirky and honest. I had a great time working with Jake Nicoll in his studio on Duckworth Street in St. John's. He is a great friend and lots of fun to experiment with. Ilia Nicoll, Darren Browne and Sherry Ryan also play and sing wonderfully on the record and we've had fun playing some live shows since. You can pick up a copy of Wonderful Strange at Galliott Studios! It looks like this:

The photo at the top is printed inside the jacket of my cd. It was taken two years ago during Writers in the Wild during Writers at Woody Point. I am under a big fir tree on the Lomond hiking trail. The year before that I played in the same spot with my best pals, All the Wiles. This year I wanted to go back to Woody Point with my little family so made a special request to play in the forest again and they said yes! So, if you're at the festival keep your eyes open for me along the trail! 

Mark your summer calendar!!

June is flying by and there are already so many things (kayaking! Boat tours! Music!) happening around Bonne Bay (have a look: http://visitgrosmorne.com/). In Cow Head the Gros Morne Theatre Festival is in full swing.  I will write in more detail about this festival next week. In the meantime you can check out their schedule here: http://www.theatrenewfoundland.com/.

Starting July 3 and continuing until the end of August, Gros Morne Summer music will be hosting a variety of classical performances and trad nights at the historic and beautifully restored St. Pat’s performance space in Woody Point. Starting on July 26 you can take in The Woody Point Pageant, an afternoon show that winds through downtown Woody Point with performances all along the way. The schedule for Gros Morne Summer Music can be found at http://gmsm.ca/2015-season/.

You'll also want to have a look at the very exciting lineup for this year's Writers at Woody Point festival (August 11-16). it can be found at http://www.writersatwoodypoint.com/ . I will continue to gush about this festival as it approaches.

Ta for now!.

Welcome Back!

Happy beginning-of-the-season to friends and fans of Galliott Studios! As of June 3 we have re-opened for the summer. Hours are 11-5, Wednesday to Sunday.

I’m Katie Baggs and I’ve taken over writing this blog for a while. I’ve had the good fortune to spend time in Gros Morne over the past four summers as a musician at Writers at Woody Point, Trails Tales and Tunes and Gros Morne Summer Music. Whenever I arrive in Woody Point I make a beeline for Galliott Studios. There’s always a crowd of interesting people drinking cups of real coffee, eating epic cheese plates and getting on like old friends. And that deck!!!

Keep your eyes open for musical guests throughout the summer. On July 19, stomp your feet and sing along with folk duo the Mayhemmingways . You’ll love them! On July 31 you can catch a performance by singer-songwriter-guitar player-extraordinaire Matthew Hornell. Beautiful performances of incredible original songs, and he’s super charming too! Not to be missed.

More special guests will be announced so stay tuned. I am looking forward to keeping you all updated throughout the summer.