Last summer PBS aired a primetime, stunning concert featuring the pop-folk duo Dala performing their own songs alongside classics by Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan. “Girls from the North Country” was such a hit with the PBS audience that Compass Records released the audio CD version on June 26 and the DVD on August 30, 2011 . With special guests Oh Susanna and The Good Lovelies, young Dala not only pay homage to the melody, lyricism and spirit of the great folk artists of our time, but also share their original songs, including the heartbreaking “Horses,” named by NPR’s Folk Alley as one of 2010’s “Top Folk Songs of The Year.”
Reminiscent of the bohemian Laurel Canyon era with pop-leaning sensibilities, Dala’s performance on “Girls From The North Country” cinched Dala the 2011 Canadian Folk Music Award for “Vocal Group of the Year” as well as a nomination for a 2011 Juno Award in the Album of the Year category. In the US, the concert aired multiple times in major markets including Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Portland, Austin, Cleveland, Charlotte and more. With the broader release of the album and DVD, Dala’s star is on the rise; this summer they are appearance at many of the most influential summer music festivals including the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Denver’s Swallow Hill, the Lowell Summer Concert Series, Strawberry Music Fest, Sisters Folk Festival and more.
Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine of Dala have come a long way in a short time. The two best friends met in their high school music class and wrote their first song together in 2002. Since then they have released five albums and toured extensively across North America, with invitations to The New Orleans Jazz Fest and the 50th Anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival. (Listen to NPR’s stream of their performance at Newport Folk Festival Here. Dala’s album Everyone Is Someone was released in 2009 to critical acclaim. It earned them their fifth Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, a Toronto Independent Music Award for Best Folk Group, and it was named Album of the Year by The Irish Post.
1/28 Happy Days Lodge Boston Heights, OH
2/3 The Firehouse Coffeehouse Littleton, MA
2/4 Circle of Friends Coffeehouse Franklin, MA
2/11 Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Gainesville, FL
2/15 Music City Roots Nashville, TN
2/16 Pruis Hall Ball State University, Muncie, IN
2/17 Richard K. Stem Concert Hall Indiana University Southwest, New Albany, IN
2/18 Edison Theatre Washington University, St. Louis, MO
2/24 California Center for the Arts Grass Valley, CA
2/25 Sutter Creek Theatre Sutter Creek, CA
2/26 Freight and Salvage Berkeley, CA
3/9 Psalm Salon Philadelphia, PA
3/10 Miller Center for the Arts Reading, PA
