“I do write a lot about myself, but I love writing story songs,” says folk songwriter Laurenn Marchand, a graduate of music from St. FX and music therapy at Acadia. “Working as a music therapist outside of performance, I have the opportunity to engage with a lot of older people and I love writing songs based around their experiences.” These stories turn into mesmerizing tales that dance across chords, like on her December release, Ghosts in the Garden, produced by her Acadia prof Mark Adams. The five-song EP is full of stories so moving and true, with a voice like east coast artists Mo Kenney, Rose Cousins and Amelia Curran, it’ll give you chills. This summer, she’ll be a new writer at the Gordie Sampson Songcamp (July 15) with shows at The Company House (June 30) and The Carleton (August 4) among other soon-to-be announced dates. “I like to play with tracks,” she says, “and see where they go.”
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NEW MUSIC ISSUE 2016
This article appears in Jun 9-15, 2016.