The Small Glories make their US debut with ASSINIBOINE & THE RED, an album that celebrates the Canadian Prairies. The first single, “Oh My Love,” is included in NPR’s “New Music Friday” Spotify playlist. The album’s title references the junction of two rivers, the Assiniboine (pronounced ‘uh-sin-uh-boin’) and the Red, in the duo’s hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and celebrates the happenstance meeting of members Cara Luft, an original member of the Wailin’ Jennys, and multi-instrumentalist JD Edwards.
The album’s songs play out like travelogue of sorts. ASSINIBOINE & THE RED is rich with a sense of place and geography and is bookended by two songs that pay tribute to localesLuft and Edwards’ onstage chemistry and humor complements their energetic live performances and buoyant, Americana-inflected folk songs; their exuberant harmonies bring to mind such duos as the Civil Wars and Shovels & Rope, but with a Northern spin.
Recorded in Winnipeg, Manitoba during a bracingly cold Canadian spring, ASSINIBOINE & THE RED reuinted the duo with producer Neil Osborne, frontman and songwriter for the iconic Canadian rock band 54-40.
“Although he’s not a ‘folk artist,’ he has the heart of a folk singer and firmly believes in the power of song and in serving the song,” says Luft of Osborne.
“Each of the songs on the album is a co-write, either between the two of us, ” Luft explains, “or between us and other writers, which we feel has helped created a very unique and powerful collection of songs.” Co-writers include some of Canada’s finest — Lynn Miles, James Keelaghan, Catherine MacLellan, Bruce Gurthro, Ashley Condon and Andrina Turenne — as well as American poet Glenn Bowie.
“Many of the songs were written around the theme of home — where we call home, where others call home — and the various stories and histories and landscape of these specific locations. We focused on Canadian places; we are Canadian after all!”
Already known in their native Canada as well as for their performances at international festivals including SXSW and AmericanaFest, the duo has captured the charm and chemistry of their live shows with ASSINIBOINE & THE RED’s collection of engaging, memorable songs.
TOUR DATES:
7/6/2019 Long Island Museum – Stony Brook, NY
7/7/2019 Joe’s Pub – NYC, NY
7/9/2019 Middlebury Festival on the Green – Middlebury, VT
7/10/2019 Music on the Green – Saranac Lake, NY
7/11/2019 The Music Hall Loft – Portsmouth, NH
7/12/2019 Riverbend Park – Winston, OR
7/13/2019 McCabes Guitar Shop – Santa Monica, CA
7/14/2019 Hound Dog House Concerts – Santa Barbara, CA
7/19/2019 Stewart Park Music Festival – Perth, ON, Canada
7/20 -7/21/2019 Home County Music & Art Festival , London, ON, Canada
7/26 -7/28/2019 Stan Rogers Folk Fest – Canso, NS, Canada
7/31/2019 Summer Concert Series in Caseley Park – Riverview, NB, Canada
8/2/2019 Indian River Festival – Kensington, PEI, Canada
8/3/2019 Blue Skies Music Festival – Clarendon, ON, Canada
8/8 – 8/11/2019 Edmonton Folk Festival – Edmonton, AB, Canada
8/12-8/16/2019 The Song School – Lyons, CO
8/16- 8/17/2019 The Folks Festival – Lyons, CO
8/18/2019 Bear Creek Folk Festival – Grand Prairie, AB
8/24/2019 Thrasher Opera House – Green Lake, WI
8/25/2019 Porcupine Mountains Music Festival – Ontonagon, MI
8/30/2019 Oak Harbor Music Festival – Whidbey Island, WA
9/4 -9/7/2019 Arts Midwest Conference – Minneapolis, MN
9/11 -14/2019 Americana Conference / AmericanaFest- Nashville, TN
9/27/2019 New Moon Folk Club- Edmonton, AB, Canada
9/28/2019 Bow Valley Folk Club- Calgary, AB, Canada
10/3/2019 Empress Theatre- Fort MacLeod, AB, Canada
10/4/2019 Festival Hall – Calgary, AB, Canada
10/5/2019 Key City Theatre – Cranbrook, BC, Canada
10/11/2019 Rogue Folk Club – Vancouver, BC, Canada
10/12/2019 Jo Beattie Presents – Victoria, BC, Canada
10/14 -10/17/2019 Arts Northwest Conference- Boise, ID
10/18/2019 Acoustic Alchemy Studio at Augustana Chapel – Boise, ID
10/19/2019 Tuft Theatre – Denver, CO
10/20/2019 Vilar Performing Arts Center – Beaver Creek, CO
10/23/2019 Miners Foundry Cultural Center – Nevada City, CA
10/24/2019 Ballard Homestead – Seattle, WA
10/25/2019 The Old Church – Portland, OR
11/4 -11/6/2019 Arts Market Showcase- Durham, NC
11/07/2019 Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art Aetna Theater – Hartford, CT
11/8/2019 Shalin Liu Performance Center- Rockport, MA
11/09/2019 The Park Theater – Glens Falls, NY
11/10/2019 Daryl’s House – Pawling, NY
11/12/2019 The Cutting Room – New York, NY
11/14/2019 Tin Pan – Richmond, VA
11/15/2019 The Landing Pad Stage – Rock
12/1/2019 The Hive – Shrewsbury, UK
12/3/2019 Kitchen Garden Cafe – King’s Heath, Birmingham, UK
12/4/2019 Green Note Cafe – Camden, London, UK
12/6/2019 Live from Torr Vale Mill – New Mills, Peak District, UK
12/8/2019 Whitstable Sessions Music Club – Whitstable, Kent, UK
