Newfoundland & Labrador’s Weary explores the sonic pangs of heartache through the atmospheric stylings of sophomore album, Hush. Complete with emotive, lingering guitars and swooning melodies that, as described by creator Kate Lahey, offer up songs of loving, losing, longing and change. 

Following up their acclaimed debut album Feeling Things, which was nominated for MusicNL’s Alternative Album of the Year in 2018, Hush continues the trajectory for a project equal parts emotionally resonant and artistically striking. 

A nominee for MusicNL’s Rising Star of the Year in 2018 as well as earning a 2016 long listing for the Borealis Award, and with noted performances at East Coast Music Week Rising Star Stage, Flourish Festival, Bloom Fest, Lawnya Vawnya, Halifax Pop Explosion, Out of Earshot Festival, and MusicNL week, Weary’s trajectory continues to rocket skyward, as does their way around a tune that tugs at the heartstrings as well as engaging the mind.

Lahey caught up with The Herald for the latest in our album deep dive series, diving into the inner workings, and meaning, behind Weary’s Hush. 

Big Love 

This song is about struggling with mental illness, particularly watching a loved one struggling with mental illness and feeling both helpless and full of hope for their beauty, resilience and spirit. This song is about how we can feel trapped or limited by our minds, while our hearts are overflowing. 

Body 

This song deals with intergenerational loss from my perspective as a Newfoundlander. I wrote this song after my maternal Nan passed away, who I loved dearly. Making sense of the ways the memory moves across generations, how we hold multitudes, I attempt to work through my desire to remain connected to all that came before me, particularly my ancestral relationship to this island. 

Broken Window

Working through my relationship with my teen years, particularly my relationship with addictions, this song explores how loss and longing shaped my experience with trauma as a young person in Newfoundland. Images of smoking cigarettes, listening to The Strokes, skateboarding and even overdosing lace this song with fragments of memory that reflect the effect of brokenness I felt at that time in my life. 

Twin Flame 

Chris Meyers, who is the guitarist for Weary and also a co-vocalist on this song, is also my partner. It has been a long journey of finding how music fits into our relationship and how our relationship fits into music. This song was a really special opportunity to have those worlds interact creatively as we reflect on the many expressions of our connection. 

Trust

Trust explores a moment where my past and future collided. Love asked me to take a leap of faith into the unknown, while trauma filled me with fear. Working through a claustrophobic sense of flightiness, trust explores the ways in which our past can overwhelm our desire for a better future. In my search for belonging, security and safety, I found myself scared of the very things I long for because of their unfamiliarity. Trust is not about trusting someone else with your heart, but about learning to trust yourself. 

For all things Hush and Weary visit weary.ca and all official social medias.

From Ennis Road to venues across the globe, Maureen, Karen and Teresa Ennis, lovingly known as The Ennis Sisters, have lived their childhood dreams of becoming internationally regarded singer-songwriters and touring artists. 

From their debut album launch in the summer of 1997, to proudly celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2022, the trio of sisters have seen the ebbs and flows of the music industry, overcome hurdles and experienced the highest of highs in the music business.

Now, ahead of their provincial 25th anniversary tour and upcoming new project On We Go, the trio sat-down with The Newfoundland Herald to, in their own words, reflect on a lifetime in the music business, on the roads less travelled and many lessons learned. 

THE EARLY DAYS

Teresa: So many changes have happened since we started back in 1997, which is when we released our first CD. We’ve actually been on the go longer than that, but that’s sort of when we felt like when we started counting, the professional official day. June 25th, 1997. And we released our CD at the Delta. 

Karen: We were so nervous. And I remember running into Alan Doyle and he said, ‘you’ll always remember your first and everything else you will have to measure up to this.’ And it’s true. Like that was just such an exciting time for us. We got to perform on this big stage, sold out crowd.

Teresa: I remember being in that room 25 years ago (first album launch) and I remember that was probably one of the very first interviews we ever gave because I believe it was Toni-Marie Wiseman came over and asked if we could give an interview about how we felt about our first album release. And we were so green. We had no idea how to answer questions. We didn’t reflect on our time in the studio or what any of this felt like. It was just like happening moment by moment.

Maureen: But I mean, it’s been such a wild ride of the highest highs and also seeing where the industry is in between when you’re trying to reinvent or figure things out. A lot of changes. The ups and downs of the industry and we’ve experienced so much in 25 years and what’s amazing is 25 years later, we’re going to be on the stage again at the tent, Iceberg Alley (June 25th, 2022).

The chances of that actually happening exactly 25 years later to have an opportunity to play that same music from 25 years ago, with the bands who were also there 25 years ago. It’s sort of like this weird serendipity, to be able to celebrate and probably with the same people that were in that room 25 years ago.

Teresa: Music was something that we just did anyway. So we didn’t even think of it as a career. We were all under the age of 19 and so we were just doing it for fun and had no idea really where it was going to take us. We just knew that this is what we love to do.

INDUSTRY CHANGES

Karen: I remember one time, a few months (after the album release show) driving down a road. Someone was set up just by the overpass there selling tapes and tops. And they had our tapes there and our tops. And the only way you could get music back then was to buy it or to listen to it on the radio. So you could actually make a living, which we did, by selling your music.

Dad would get calls because he was our manager at the time. He was getting calls all the time, we need restock! He was always going down to Fred’s, O’Brien’s, Walmart, Kmart, whatever was there, and just restocking because that’s the only way you could get it. And that album sold over 50,000 copies. Then when we signed our record deal back in the year 2000, that was around the time Napster started coming in. So people could then get on and download your music.

Teresa: First of all, it was a compliment in one sense that enough people were sharing it, but at the same time it was like, this is horrifying. How are we going to make money from this if it keeps going down this road? And it kept going. They’re (streaming giants) out in their yachts and their million dollar mansions off the backs of artists who are pouring their blood, sweat and tears and doing what they love to do and what they’re passionate about, but can no longer make money off music.

Maureen: In the 25 years, we were able to experience what it was and then what it became. And it’s amazing how we’ve been able to kind of move inside the evolving and the changing parameters of this industry.

PASSION & PATIENCE

Maureen: Over 25 years, you become very patient. For us, it’s like the long drives and showing up and doing your show. And there’s still so much joy in getting on stage because it’s the only time, 25 years later, singing the same songs like “Red is the Rose” and “Out From St Leonard’s” and talking about where we’re from brings us so much joy and so much pride of place, still, that that’s what keeps us going. 

Because I’ll tell you, this industry is tough, it’s hard, and we self-manage. Everything that we’re doing every single day, it’s enough to make you want to go, ‘okay, I don’t wanna do this anymore,’ but the payoff is showing up and people still enjoy what we do and we still love what we do 25 years later. 

And it’s so worth it.

Teresa: And you really would have to. You would really have to have passion in your heart for a music career and for music through all this. There’s been some really tough times and really low lows. But it’s that exact thing, getting on stage and getting to connect with people through music that makes it worth it.

Maureen: It’s finding the joy when we get on stage, finding the new stories to talk about and our perspective on different things and just plugging them into our show. And the only time that I feel like my mind is completely calm is when I walk out on stage. I think of nothing else but that. It’s a feeling, it becomes an emotion and it’s such a lovely, wonderful thing that I hope we get to do for many more years.

Teresa: And we’re very aware. Every time we go on stage we say ‘we got to enjoy this moment here,’ because you never know.

Maureen: How many more times are you going to load in your suitcase and your gear, do another show, sing this one song and I’m so aware of it. Every time is like ‘do we get to sing the song another 20 times? Do you get to sing the song another two times?’ We don’t know. 

It’s just an appreciation for our relationship and our time, being able to do this. This is such a lucky thing to do, see the world and sing our music.

LESSONS LEARNED

Karen: Dad and Mom managed us. Of course you’re teenagers and you always think you know better and you’re in your early twenties, you think you know better. And Dad was always trying to push us in a certain direction and trying to give us advice. 

‘This is really what you have to do.’ And we didn’t listen and we went and we did what we thought we needed to do. And then you do that and you look back and think wow, Dad was right. 

He kind of understood the industry part of it. And we were just kind of, we want to be famous. We didn’t see the business the way that he did. So I feel like Dad and Mom kind of knew and could see through some of the things we couldn’t at that time. 

Maureen: I think for me, in the beginning where it took off, and for us it just took off. It was a novel sister thing. And we were young and it just took off and it was so fast. We were exactly where we needed to be, right time, right place. 

I think if we had to be able to stop, I think what Karen’s trying to say is that there was a whole other layer of business that needed to be understood, along with really being solid in what message you wanted to put out in the world for your company. And then as we went along, that developed because you kind of had to deal with the ups and downs. This is the focus of our company. This is what The Ennis Sisters brand looks like. 

And when you understood the actual business sense of it, it would have made the road a little bit more smooth. Understanding the layer of business that this is a product you’re selling. And it’s not just getting up on stage and being a star or whatever. There is an actual business being run underneath the product.

Karen: With the music industry there is no manual. There’s nothing that every artist can follow that will get them the success that they want. It’s being true to yourself. And that’s the other thing. It’s like you learn that you’ve got to do what makes you happy.

Maureen: We also learned, with the three of us, is learning our relationship with each other and how to give each other space and when it’s necessary to kind of move in and help. But we really respect each other’s talent inside the group and know what each one offers the company. And then as soon as we all fit into our spaces, the company started to run like a well-oiled machine. And that was another big lesson for us was to let each other shine where you needed to shine and step in when it was necessary.

NEW MATERIAL

Teresa: We had a bunch of music ready to go to record a new album. The pandemic hit and then it was in lockdown mode. And then we were able to prepare, sit and really concentrate on that project. It gave us time. We had a really busy schedule and we were, at the time, trying to figure out when we were going to get time to record this thing? And we wanted to work with Alan Doyle again and we weren’t sure if he would have time in his schedule. 

Karen: I always say the one good thing about being trapped on the island was that Alan Doyle was also trapped on the island because he’s so busy, right? 

Teresa: We temporarily converted Mallard Inn into a studio. And we sort of bubbled up with Alan Doyle and Peter Green and basically we played everything ourselves.

Maureen: The entire point was to keep it as contained in our bubble and see how much of the project we could do ourselves. I mean, we did have Wade Tarling and Cory Tetford as outside musicians on the project. But other than that it was so contained to just what was in the room as much as we could do. It was kind of like this cool little thing: what can we do to make this music?

Teresa: And it was so fun. We took a month and just spent a month, as special as possible, just us. Like, how can we do this without adding too much to it? Let’s make this music during the pandemic in a bubble. And we’ll always remember it. You really could spend the time and focus on it because everything else was locked down and we could properly sit and concentrate and there were no time constraints or anything.

Maureen: And then we also didn’t lock ourselves in. This music has all kinds of different colours on it. It was true to every song.

We were so proud of these songs and it was just fun to make it. And again, we called it On We Go because it was during a pandemic. And let’s just keep moving on no matter what. For the last 25 years what have we done? Moved onward.

The Ennis Sisters anniversary tour in NL kicks off June 6th in Gander and includes stops in Grand Falls-Windsor, Corner Brook, St. John’s and a very special Come Home Year celebration set a the Iceberg Alley Performance Tent on June 25th.
For tickets and all things Ennis Sisters visit their official social medias and website theennissisters.com

ST. JOHN’S, NL – MusicNL is pleased with the showing of Newfoundland and Labrador talent at this year’s East Coast Music Awards (EMCA). With 45 nominees, MusicNL members are well represented when compared to counterparts in other Atlantic Regions. Leading the nominees with 3 each are: Justin Fancy, Quote the Raven and Kelly McMichael.

MusicNL announces the winners of the 2021 Music Awards. Taking home 2 awards each: Ofray Harnoy, Quote the Raven, Kelly McMicheal and Maria Cherwick. The Labrador band The Flummies walking away with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

Album of the Year
Presented by FACTOR
Sherman Downey – New Beautiful

Alternative Artist of the Year
Clare Follett

Celtic/Traditional Artist of the Year
Presented by O’Reilly’s Irish Newfoundland Pub
Maria Cherwick

Classical Artist of the Year
Presented by MUN School of Music
Ofra Harnoy

Country Artist of the Year
Presented by Due South Promotions
Carolina East

Electronic Artist of the Year
Virginia Fudge

Folk/Roots Group of the Year
Presented by The Citadel House
Quote the Raven

Global Music Artist/ of the Year
Presented by McInnes Cooper
Ofra Harnoy

Group of the Year
Presented by Yamaha
Quote the Raven

Indigenous Artist of the Year
Presented by First Light
Jason Benoit

Instrumental Artist of the Year
Duane Andrews

Jazz/Blues Artist of the Year
Presented by Coast 101.1 FM
Ana Luisa Ramos

Music Video of the Year
Presented by Up Sky Down Films
Mallory Johnson & Twin Kennedy – Wise Woman (Director: Cecil Johnson)

Pop Artist of the Year
Presented by DC Design House Inc.
Rachel Cousins

Rap/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
Presented by HipHop NL
Winnie Churchill

Rising Star of the Year
Presented by MDIIO
Matthew Hender

Rock Artist of the Year
Presented by Bannerman Brewing Company
Kelly McMichael

Side Musician of the Year
Presented by VOCM
Maria Cherwick

Solo Artist of the Year
Presented by Cox & Palmer
Kelly McMichael

Ron Hynes Songwriter of the Year
Presented by SOCAN
Kellie Loder

Fans’ Choice Entertainer of the Year
Presented by The Telegram
Rum Ragged

Lifetime Achievement Award
The Flummies

An impromptu trip to Nashville in 2019 set the wheels in motion for the sophomore record from Americana Folk duo, Quote the Raven. The sounds filling the Nashville airways reinvigorated the Newfoundland duo’s inspiration and they found a new home in the Americana genre. Their upcoming record titled Can’t Hold the Light, is a summation of the journeys that the pair have experienced over the past three years.

Collaboration has always been at the forefront of everything Quote the Raven has done. Similar to their first record Golden Hour, Can’t Hold the Light features an A-list of Canadian collaborators including Chris Kirby, Charlie A’Court, Blake Reid, Andrew Waite, Jessica Pearson, Andrew Sneddon, Nick Earle, and so many more.

In the past two years, Quote the Raven have reached over 650,000 streams, been added to the prestigious “Folk & Friends” playlist on Spotify, and earned showcases and award nominations at the East Coast Music Awards. They’ve performed at the 2019 AmericanaFest in Nashville, been featured regularly on Stingray’s Folk Roots channel, charted on the Canadian Country top 100 and received multiple sync placements, including the CityTV drama “The Wedding Planners”.

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Music Newfoundland & Labrador’s 2019 Group of the Year have embarked on a whopping five tours of Eastern Canada, mapped out a Home Routes trek of Western Canada and performed at the legendary Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival.

Quote the Raven marry smooth vocal harmonies with an, at times, haunting aesthetic that both bewitches and allures the listener. They draw influence from the likes of Joy Williams (Civil Wars), Brandi Carlile, and The Milk Carton Kids. The pair entertain audiences with their quirky, quick wit dynamic that glimpses into the daily lives of touring musicians.

Stay tuned for our interview and album deep dive with Quote the Raven in the coming weeks!

*press release and photos courtesy of Quote the Raven

Frederick Robert Brokenshire, age 69, passed away peacefully in St. John’s on October 27, 2021.  Fred leaves to mourn daughter Jane (Ryan MacKay), and sons Burke (Chantal Tamlyn) and Murray. Also 4 grandchildren, Gwendolyn, Cale, Hazel and Frederick and brothers Jim, Howard (Cindy) and Earle (Toni) and nieces Hannah and Catherine. Fred was predeceased by parents Jim and Gwen (Earle).

In 1972 at age 19, Fred founded Fred’s Records and energetically promoted Newfoundland music worldwide through his Duckworth Distribution, Atlantica, and Latitude music companies. He was a founding member of the Music Industry Association of Newfoundland, later Music NL, and the East Coast Music Awards. He supported the careers of many local artists and managed The Irish Descendants. Fred brought many live concerts to the St. John’s stage, from John Prine to The Chieftains and was an active member of the Juno Awards Committee. Throughout the 1980’s he was also an innovative producer and presenter with CBC Radio.

An avid sailor, he weathered a hurricane crossing the Atlantic to St. John’s from Gibraltar. Fred explored his energetic curiosity collecting Newfoundland art, discovering the world’s wine regions with friends, and establishing the popular restaurant Django’s. He learned to fly, travelled the world, loved skiing, camping and a good ‘boil-up’.

Often described as a positive ‘force of nature’, his enthusiasm for life was inspiring. He was also kind, thoughtful and hugely generous with his time and the interest he took in those around him. Most importantly, he was a dedicated father who loved and cherished his children and grandchildren.

The family extends heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the dedicated caregivers of Pleasant View Towers for their sensitive and compassionate care.

Cremation has taken place.  Visitation will be held at Carnell’s Funeral Home, 329 Freshwater Road, on Thursday, October 28 from 7 – 9 pm and on Friday, October 29 from 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm.  The Funeral Service will be by invitation only and will take place at The Carnell Memorial Chapel, on Saturday, October 30, at 2:00 pm.  For those wishing to view the service, it will be livestreamed.  The link to the service will be posted on the Carnell’s website.  Please respect social distancing and follow all COVID 19 public health protocols.  The family encourages anyone who would like to share stories of Fred, to do so in the condolence section of the obituary.  Donations in his memory may be made to www.musicnl.ca.

The one and only Colleen Power is has dropped the last video from her collection Tales From Downtown West.

Power, an award-winning Newfoundland & Labrador based singer/songwriter Colleen Power has released the music video for ‘Broken Mirror’, hot on the heels of a  a 2021 MusicNL nomination for Folk/Roots Artist of the Year for the album.

“MusicNL are pleased to present Music Celebration Week 2021 happening November 15-21, 2021,” MusicNL shared on their website.

“The week will be full of award presentations and showcases to recognize the diverse musical talent and music industry dedication in Newfoundland & Labrador. Click on the links below to learn more and keep an eye on our socials and newsletter as the full schedule for Music Celebration Week 2021 will be unveiled soon!”

Congratulations to the entire slate of nominees, which you can view below!

Album of the Year
Presented by FACTOR

Carolina East – Soaked in Whiskey
Duane Andrews – Singles
Justin Fancy – Sure Beats a Good Time
Kelly McMichael – Waves
Ofra Harnoy – On the Rock
Sherman Downey – New Beautiful

Alternative Artist/Group of the Year

Adam Baxter
Cara Lee Coleman
Clare Follett
Goodbye Apollo
Jay Heart
Jenny Naish

Celtic/Traditional Artist/Group of the Year
Presented by O’Reilly’s Irish Newfoundland Pub

Fine Lads
Kitchinparti
Maria Cherwick
Rugged Shores
Vicki Doyle

Classical Artist/Group of the Year
Presented by MUN School of Music

Ben Diamond
Ofra Harnoy

Country Artist/Group of the Year
Presented by Due South Promotions

Carolina East
Chris Ryan
Dolly Dunn

Electronic Artist/Group of the Year

Alex Byrne
Jay Mach
Virginia Fudge
Wite Rino

Folk/Roots Artist/Group of the Year
Presented by The Citadel House

Colleen Power
David Picco
Nico Paulo
Quote the Raven
Rosemary Lawton
The Dandelion Few

Global Music Artist/Group of the Year
Presented by McInnes Cooper

Ana & Eric
Ana Luisa Ramos
Eric Taylor Escudero
Jay Heart
King Sway
Ofra Harnoy

Group of the Year
Presented by Yamaha

Ana & Eric
Fine Lads
Kitchinparti
Quote the Raven
The Dandelion Few
With Violet

Indigenous Artist/Group of the Year
Presented by First Light

Carolina East
Jason Benoit
Lorna Lovell

Instrumental Artist/Group of the Year

Duane Andrews
Eric Taylor Escudero

Jazz/Blues Artist/Group of the Year
Presented by Coast 101.1 FM

Ana Luisa Ramos
Scott Downey

Music Video of the Year
Presented by Up Sky Down Films

Adrian House – Short Back & Sides (Animator: Mike Feehan)
Ian Foster & Nancy Hynes – Voyager (Animator: Andrew Winter)
Kellie Loder – Molded Like a Monster (Director: Ashlea Wessel)
King Sway – Winter (2 AM) (Director: Shaalan)
Mallory Johnson & Twin Kennedy – Wise Woman (Director: Cecil Johnson)
Winnie Churchill – Dumb High (Director: Troy Maher)

Pop Artist/Group of the Year
Presented by DC Design House Inc.

James Daly
Janer
Jayne Batstone
Rachel Cousins
With Violet

Rap/Hip-Hop Artist/Group of the Year
Presented by HipHop NL

Albert Dalton
Hippy Junior
JYAY X Decay
King Sway
Reggie Morales
Winnie Churchill

Rising Star of the Year
Presented by MDIIO

Ana & Eric
James Daly
Jay Heart
Kitchinparti
Matthew Hender
Nico Paulo

Rock Artist/Group of the Year
Presented by Bannerman Brewing Company

Adam Staple
Dan Glover
Gene Phillips
Kelly McMichael
Matthew Hender
Scott Gilbert

Side Musician of the Year

Dan George
James Daly
Maria Cherwick
Nick Earle
Rowan Sherlock
Rozalind MacPhail

Solo Artist of the Year
Presented by Cox & Palmer

Duane Andrews
Justin Fancy
Kelly McMichael
Ofra Harnoy
Rachel Cousins
Rosemary Lawton

Ron Hynes Songwriter of the Year
Presented by SOCAN

Kellie Loder
Kelly McMichael
Mallory Johnson
Peter Daniel Newman
Jordan Coaker & Kirsten Rodden-Clarke (Quote the Raven)
Virginia Fudge

Fans’ Choice Entertainer of the Year
Presented by The Telegram

Carolina East
Clare Follett
Jason Benoit
Justin Fancy
Kellie Loder
Kelly McMichael
Mallory Johnson
Quote the Raven
Rachel Cousins
Rube & Rake
Rum Ragged
Sherman Downey

Industry Awards

Event of the Year
Presented by Canadian AV Inc.

Happy @ Home – VOCM Cares Virtual Happy Tree Concert
HipHopShopNL Presents: The Rock House Summer Bash Pt2
Opera on the Avalon Presents: Summer Pops
Rotary Arts Centre’s (Almost) NOVID-21 Summer Music Festival
Saturday Shed Sessions
Spirit Song Festival

Graphic Artist of the Year
Presented by Pattison Outdoor

Aaron Bishop
Krista Power
Mia Penney
Michaela Benoit

Industry Professional of the Year
Presented by CNA

Cecil Johnson
Mary Beth Waldram
Mike McDonald
Natasha Blackwood
Nigel Jenkins
Roger Lockyer

Media Person of the Year
Presented by Ray Agency

Amy Joy
Bryan Tobin
Chris Batstone
Greg Smith
Jake Thompson
Zach Snow

Music Educator of the Year
Presented by Long & McQuade

Adam Baxter
Brett Vey
Christine Carter
Joshua Parsons
Rowan Sherlock

Outstanding Company of the Year
Presented by Noseworthy Chapman

618 Entertainment Inc.
Atlantic Music
First Light
Laughing Heart Music
Tuckamore Productions
VOCM

Venue of the Year
Presented by George Street Association

The Bella Vista
First Light Centre for Performance & Creativity
The Gate
Rotary Arts Centre
The Ship Pub

Volunteer of the Year

Alick Tsui & Christopher Deacon
David Smallwood
Greg Smith
Linda Hickey
Joshua Roberts
Zach Snow