Carmel Mikol CD Release, with Kim Wempe and Norma MacDonald

Folk songbird Carmel Mikol holds two homes in her heart. "I'm kind of a half-and-half, but to me Cape Breton is my absolute---I come here and it's my home, and I can completely relax," she says. "Halifax is where I have fun and do more of the business side of music...but Cape Breton's kind of like my comfy place." Returning to her comfy place to write is evidently working for her, as the first thing Mikol's excited voice says over the phone is that the title track from her new record, In My Bones, won the folk category of the Great American Song contest, and she's winding down from a packed weekend of showcases at the ECMAs. Mikol's celebrating her CD release in Halifax first as it's been her home base for the past two years, then she'll head to Cape Breton to perform for her community. –Holly Gordon