September 19, 2015, at 8:00 pm (doors open at 7:30)
Suggested donation (100% goes directly to the artists): $15-$20 per person

Please email fingalfolk@gmail.com to RSVP. We can then keep track of how many people to expect, and send you our address so you can find us for the show!

We hope you can join us on September 19th for this amazing concert. We have been lucky enough to see these two wonderful performers on their own, and doubly lucky to see them perform together. Knowing what they are capable of, we can say without hyperbole that you are in for a magical night. Seriously.

Tannis is one of those people with whom the mere mention of her name brings passerby’s into the conversation. This happened a couple of weeks ago at Home County Music and Arts Festival. I was telling a friend about this upcoming concert, mentioning that Tannis was taking part, and a someone in the row ahead of us turned around and said “We love Tannis, she is amazing!”. This is not the first (or third or fifth) time that has happened. If her personality on its own wasn’t enough, she is the personification of every great quality of folk music. Wonderfully written songs, powerful performance and storytelling and a connection to her audience that somehow speaks personally to every soul in the room, all combine into a show that will leave you awestruck and wanting more. I would write more but my mental thesaurus is running low and I still have another amazing person to write about!

Every year, in October, we attend the Folk Music Ontario Conference, which is part business gathering, part industry showcase, part family reunion and part of the reason I love October. One of the best parts is the FMO Youth Mentorship Program. Each year, young emerging artists are paired with established artists, who act as their guides during the conference. With their mentors, they are shown the finer points of navigating the music business, how festivals and concerts work behind the scenes (with handy tips like, always thank the soundman), touring, the music theory of a campfire jam, and of course a healthy dose of conference mingling. In addition to the learning, they also have a chance to perform at a showcase, and it is usually one of the best shows of the weekend. If you haven’t guessed yet, at the 2015 conference, Tannis was paired with Annie for the program. It’s hard to imagine a more appropriate selection than this. Everything I said about Tannis above could be repeated here for Annie, who we’ve been lucky enough to see since. A wonderful performer, she fills the stage with joy, and it spills over into the audience. You can’t leave an Annie Sumi performance and feel anything but inspired. Her songs manage to pull you into their world, and you can almost feel the cool grass on your bare feet and the warmth of the Northern Ontario sun on your face as she sings. Watching Tannis and Annie perform together (with the amazing Benjamin Rogers, who is on our wish list too!) left an entire room of music industry people with their jaws on the floor.

Needless to say, we are pretty excited to share these two wonderful people with you. That’s all I’ll say for now; you can see their bios and some videos below.

We hope you can join us!!

Annie Sumi

Annie Sumi is an aspiring Canadian musician who continues to grow in the music industry. As a child, in Whitby, Ontario, the melodies of the piano inspired Annie to write her own music. It was not long until she picked up her first guitar, and began to discover her voice. Drawing on influences that run from Aretha Franklin to Feist, her customized blend of folk and blues speaks to an expanding audience. Ask anyone who has been lucky enough to catch one of Annie’s live performances and they will tell you that she could very well be Ontario’s best kept secret. Annie currently resides in North Bay, Ontario where she studies in her final year at Nipissing University.  It was here where Annie was voted by her peers to open for a fellow Canadian artist, Lights, at a local show that left the audience speechless. Since that show, she has connected with many notable artists that have inspired her to pursue her passion for music. She is currently recording a debut album with Juno-Nominated producer Ben Leggett which is set to release in April of 2015 in preparation for her summer tour circuit. As an artist, Annie tries to combine her music with her hunger to create positive change. Her music reaches to empower the voices of the world, and to celebrate the potential of human compassion.

“If you keep reaching for stars… they’ll fall for you.” – Annie Sumi

 

Tannis Slimmon

Tannis Slimmon has been a fixture in Guelph’s vibrant roots music scene since the early 1980’s. A prairie transplant, she was born into a musical family, and was raised on a farm in Western Canada. She has been singing, writing, recording and touring locally, nationally and internationally for over 30 years; her name appears on the credits of over 85 recordings. She released her first solo album, Oak Lake, in 2001, and followed up with 2007’s award-winning Lucky Blue and 2013’s In and Out of Harmony.

A constant collaborator
Harmony – both musical and interpersonal – has been a hallmark of Tannis’ career. During the 1980’s and 1990’s, she was a founding member of various regional roots bands, including The Reverbs and Benji. She has appeared as a special guest on recordings and live performances alongside key players in the CanRock Revolution, including Rheostatics, Barenaked Ladies and Grievous Angels. She spent 11 years as one of the three songstresses of the legendary group The Bird Sisters, a trio comprised of Tannis, Sue Smith and Jude Vadala.
Tannis’ penchant for musical partnerships persists. Here current collaborative offerings include Boreal and Ondine Chorus. Boreal is a trio featuring Tannis, Katherine Wheatley and Jude Vadala. The trhee solo artists decided to join forces and do a show of winter songs. Over seven years later, their concerts have become a much-anticipated Christmas season tradition for audiences throughout Southern Ontario.
Ondine Chorus is a unique vocal ensemble guided by co-artistic directors Shannon Kingsbury and Sue Smith. Performances include a mix of composed and improvised works, often in site-specific and unusual venues and often in collaboration with artists across many disciplines. Tannis is joined in the chorus by fellow vocalists David Beattie and Tricia Brubacher, and special guest instrumentalists Jeff Bird and Gary Diggins.

Borderless music
In 2004, Tannis traveled to Mali, West Africa, with a quartet of musicians – including her partner and producer, Lewis Melville – exploring the role of music in development. She appears in the documentary of the trip, Road to Baleya, directed by Bay Waymen.
She subsequently visited Matanzas, Cuba, where she studied afro-cuban rhythms with master bata drummer Gilberto Morales-Chong. She has hosted Malian musicians in her home as part of an ongoing cultural exchange.
Her experiences in Mali and Cuba had a significant influence on the musical texture of her subsequent works.

Accolades and acclaim
Tannis’ work has consistently received rave reviews from critics and folk music scene tastemakers. In 2008, she was named Contemporary Vocalist of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards for her album Lucky Blue; the album also earned Lewis Melville a nomination for Producer of the Year.