Hi folks,
I spent the fall and first part of this winter touring with Grant Simpson. We played shows in Ontario as a CD Release tour for my new album, Frost on Black Fur. It was a full month of playing gigs spanning from Montreal to Kingston to Kingsville in southern Ontario. Here's a shot from our show in Perth, with Japhy Sullivan sitting in for a few tunes.
In January we played on Vancouver Island and traveled by bus and ferry to get to our gigs. It was great to play some new venues and meet great folks along the way. We also had alot of friends and family come out to the shows. We were taken for a hike up a mountain near Cumberland and ended up shin deep in snow after a morning downpour of rain. It felt really good to be outside and near mountains again.
This is a shot from the Union Street Grill and Grotto. The food here was amazing. I had a salad that came with a grilled head of romaine top of it, a half an avacado and a pile of quinoa..... we ate here a few times over our 3 day stay in Courtenay. The river in Courtenay was gorgeous too. We went for an early morning walk along it and could see the impact of recently rising waters. I think it would be a lovely paddle out to the ocean - apparently people float down it in tubes in the summer time.
Our last BC gig was on Thetis Island. We played a fundraiser for a non-profit called School Orchards Africa. It was a huge success with 50 people coming out for a house concert and dinner by the ocean. Grant and I stayed on the island for a couple of days after and had a lovely time with our hosts and friends. We went paddling!!!! I've never been canoeing in January before - it was such a thrill, and really felt decadent to be able to do this at this time of year. Thetis is really protected, so we were on the ocean but it was really calm weather and easy to explore. We had a great time, surrounded by fog and popping into the pub at the marina for a cup of tea on the way home. That felt pretty luxurious after all the wilderness paddling I've been doing.
So....
Now I'm in Ottawa and gearing up for some gigs I have coming up including Ormstown, QC as well as a double-bill house concert with singer-songwriter Ali McCormick. I'm going to be emceeing at the Wilderness Canoe Symposium in Toronto in February, and touring in Saskatchewan and Alberta in March.
Enjoy those lengthening winter days,
Kate