Whether touring Australia or ice fishing in Yellowknife, life is an adventure for Edmonton based singer/songwriter Ann Vriend.
“That’s probably not a lie,” said Vriend from Yellowknife where she is beginning the Canadian tour for her fourth CD “Love and Other Messes.”
She visits the Tongue N
Groove, April 29.
“I just came back from Australia a couple weeks ago. I was in the Southern hemisphere, and now I’m 500 km from the Arctic Circle,” Vriend observed, getting ready to go ice fishing for the first time.
“I’ve never been ice fishing before. So it’s an adventure. The first show in Yellowknife was sold out, so I’m hoping the tour will continue to be a success that way,” she continued.
She has toured Australia during each of the past five years and is starting to get a good following there.
“It’s a lot like Canada. It’s a big, new country, with a lot of space. And the festival season there is when it is winter here, so it is a nice place to go in the winter when you are from Edmonton,” she said.
Because Lethbridge is near the beginning of the official Canadian release tour, she will be playing a lot of the new CD.
“I’ve been there quite a lot, quite a few times. It’s a CD release tour and it’s a national tour, so I’ll be playing a lot of the songs from the new album,” she said.
She was going to be bringing her bassist on to Lethbridge , but he couldn’t make it, so she will just be performing a solo show.
“I’ll be bringing my drummer on most of the tour, but it is expensive to bring the whole band along,” she observed.
“All of the CDs are different. I’m hard pressed to describe my music. But it is a mix of Americana and soul music with some solo blues. So it is the part where all of them meet. I’m really impressed with all of the records. This one is more organic and recorded live off the floor, so it has that retro Americana feel,” she said.
One of the songs, ‘Long Distance Call,’ is a duet with Winnipeg songwriter Matt Epp.
“We’ve collaborated on a lot of different things. He’s on the new record. He’s a good friend,” she said.
She is looking forward to returning to Lethbridge.
“I haven’t played there since the fall. It’s a beautiful part of the country, driving through those coulees. And I have a lot of friends and fans there, thanks to Matt. So I’m excited to come and play there.
Ann Vriend plays the Tongue N Groove, April 29. There is a $10 cover for the show which begins at 8 p.m.
