With an electrifying voice and lyrics like silver arrowheads, Basia Bulat has become one of Canada’s most conspicuous talents. Juno nominated and shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize, she often appears solo in gigantic halls, winning over crowds with an autoharp or charango, stomping feet and two mighty lungs. Her massive talent has also been recognized at scale: her songs have been adapted for major performances with symphony orchestras, and she’s been tapped for prestigious tributes to Leonard Cohen and The Band.

Since releasing her debut in 2007, she has shared a stage with artists including Arcade Fire, The National, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Daniel Lanois, St Vincent, Sufjan Stevens, Destroyer and Andrew Bird. Bulat was born in Toronto and grew up listening to her mother’s piano students, Sam Cooke and Stax on the oldies station. In early 2016 she released, Good Advice, produced by Jim James of My Morning Jacket.

__

A classically trained singer from the Ottawa Valley who spent a third of her life in Halifax’s eclectic music scene, Kelly Sloan’s sound is a marriage of soaring melodies and raw edginess. Her music draws on diverse styles, delivered with subtle but confident vocals and songwriting. She has just released her third studio album BIG DEAL, which was co-produced by Kelly and by singer-songwriter Mike O’Neill (The Inbreds). This ten-song collection rolls out a variety of sounds from stripped-down folk to 60s French pop to soul to indie rock to space-country but all maintain a cohesiveness, that continues to define Kelly as a unique songwriter with a style all her own.

Basia Bulat is performing at the Almonte Old Town Hall with Kelly Sloan on Friday September 16th at 7:30PM.