“Songs with a fascinating and spare, almost childlike tone that revolves around uplifting stories and organic imagery.”
— Edmonton Journal
After honing her banjo chops beside a campfire in the Yukon and exploring a career in horse-logging, Kim Barlow embarked on an eccentric musical career that has taken her from Inuvik to the UK; and from Yackandandah, Australia, to Cape Spear, Newfoundland. She has recorded four CDs of her own, and also performs with Annie Lou, an all-girl hillbilly band, and Spring Breakup, a duo she started with Mathias Kom of The Burning Hell. She’s a two-time Juno nominee; with her second CD, Gingerbread, and most recently with Annie Lou, for their 2010 self-titled releases.
Kim’s News
January, looking back and looking ahead
My apologies for the prolonged lack of posts and updates. This is what has been happening: I did a tour in Germany and Switzerland in December with Mathias Kom; our duo Spring Breakup and Susie Asado shared a bill for 15 lovely shows. Susie Asado is brilliant and inspiring. Visit her at www.susieasado.com.
We enjoyed visiting Christmas markets and sampling the glüwein along the way. We found the audiences warm and welcoming, and the venues sweet. Thank you, everyone who made it so good!
One of the cutest places we played was in Trögen, CH. Our new friend Angela posted some videos. This is us playing a tune made famous by Frank and Nancy Sinatra:
We hope to make it back there in the summer – will post as plans develop.
Currently I’m in Toronto, recording the new Annie Lou record with Anne Louise Genest. It’s sounding pretty hot, in an oldtimey way! Should be out in the world by April, when we will be back in Ontario for a Home Routes tour of house concerts.
This stay in TO has been mind-expanding and has gotten me fired up for projects back home. Which brings me to this...
Summer plans
Summer is coming. This seems hard to believe right now, as the snow has been falling steadily all morning. Annie Lou’s summer tour dates are up, and this is heartening. Looking forward to sun and heat and those strange and wonderful festival moments when unlikely combinations of musicians share a stage and perform never-to-be-repeated versions of, say, “I Shall Be Released” on banjo and celtic harp and thumb piano and three basses; that sort of thing.
Coming up on Thursday, June 9, a double bill here in Whitehorse at the Old Firehall will feature new material by Kyle Cashen and his band Local Animals, and me, with Helene Beaulieu, playing some of my new compositions for two guitars or guitar and banjo. These pieces will be interspersed with the debut performance of a wee band of five gals who call ourselves molecule. We like to sing - our own songs, other peoples’ songs; mostly in unison and octaves with here and there a harmony line but not too much of that, and we are looking forward to bringing our pleasing and minimalist arrangements to the stage.
Listen to tracks and order online
Are you wondering about Wilderness Tips? Want to sample Saplings? Got Gingerbread in your head? Great news! You can now listen to any track from Kim’s solo albums: Just go and browse the Solo Albums page.
Even in this era of digital downloads, the good old-fashioned CD still has its advantages! Kim’s solo albums as well as the Spring Breakup and Annie Lou albums can now be ordered directly from Kim on this site. Payments are securely processed by PayPal and CDs are normally shipped within 24 hours.
Extra! Spring Breakup t-shirts are now available!
A new instrumental project
With the Spring Breakup “It’s Not Me, It’s You” Special Valentine’s CD Release Tour over, and Annie Lou’s summer of fun, sun and folk festivals a few months off, I have some time to start working on my next project, a collection of instrumental compositions for guitar and banjo. This is a departure from the lyrical music I have been writing for the last ten years, but also a return to my roots in classical guitar. So far I’ve completed a seven-piece suite for guitar in drop-D tuning using my amplified beat up old archtop, and it’s exhilarating to discover the themes that are slowly emerging from the music.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Writing from the ferry to Nanaimo, City of Romance, where Mathias and I are going to play a special Valentine’s Day show at the Port Theatre. We’re in the middle of our Spring Breakup CD release tour, for our new collection of breakup songs, “It’s Not You, It’s Me”. It’s been a grand adventure so far, as to be expected when touring in Canada in February. The shows have been fun, and in Terrace, BC, the organizers celebrated with a chocolate fountain in the lobby, heart-shaped cookies and other treats named after our songs.
Despite some travel snafus caused by impassible snowstorms in B.C. we made it to Whitehorse in time for a special Hockey Day in Canada concert with Dave Bidini, Canada’s hockey-rock hero, and his fantastic BidiniBand. The show featured Mathias, myself, John K. Samson, Geoff Berner, Sarah Harmer, Buck 65, and CR Avery. It was an amazing night and a real treat to be on stage with a bunch of my favourite musicians playing some great songs about hockey. Ron McLean hosted along with other Hockey Night in Canada regulars with guest appearances by hockey greats including Lanny McDonald (handsome moustache!), Wendel Clark, and Trevor Linden. After John K. Samson sang about his online petition to induct Reggie Leach into the Hockey Hall of Fame, we were surprised and charmed when Reggie emerged from the audience and met John for the first time on stage.
Spring Breakup Valentine’s Tour 2011
Mathias Kom and I are about to embark on an epic tour, taking us from Golden, BC to Dawson City to the Maritimes. Our new CD, “It’s Not You, It’s Me”, is complete, and we’re celebrating. This CD is the manifestation of many stories and ideas we collected while touring in 2008/9, followed by three weeks in Berlin last September turning them into songs, which we then recorded at the House of Miracles in London, ON. Some of the songs are sad, some are absurd, some have a really nice calypso rhythm, and they all have banjo and ukulele – you can’t go wrong! We’d love to see you out there on the wild winter road. Tour dates and details are mostly final but still unfolding, so check back.
Kim
Wise and Weathered
Waiting in the Edmonton airport, on my way home after 12 days touring, enjoying some time alone in the crowd. The Wise & Weathered tour, with Catherine MacLellan and Raghu Lokanathan, was sweet, and we felt that we grew into the name as we racked up the winter miles. We started the tour with a sold-out show in Whitehorse and continued to have good turn-outs and enthusiastic encores all along the way. Seems it was a balanced combination of funny, odd and beautiful music. We hunkered down in my cabin in Whitehorse for a few days before the tour began, to work up each other’s tunes, and we spontaneously composed a few instrumentals as well. This collaborative style of touring is interesting; sharing the stage with other songwriters I admire, and pushing ourselves as accompanists while we step back and let one another take the lead. Raghu has a calm grace and humility about him that makes songs like “I’m a Fucking Genius” all the more hilarious. Catherine sings like a goddess and makes you feel like really, everything will be all right. I launched some of my new songs into the world, and it’s gratifying to have them well received and to let them do their work; heartening and hopeful missives.
Saplings, my newest CD, is ready!
It’s ready - Saplings is a new collection of songs I’ve been working on over the past year, some with Jean Martin at Barnyard Records in Toronto, and some with Bob Hamilton at Old Crow Recording here in Whitehorse. I'm really happy with it. These are songs to cheer and encourage, also containing explorations of the natural world and the other-worldly. Bryden Baird contributed some lovely horn parts, and Melisa Devost sings and plays sweet uke, and on three songs, Justin Haynes and Ryan Driver add their wonders and charm.
Saplings will be available on-line soon, and off-stage, during my upcoming tour with Raghu Lokanathan and Catherine MacLellan. See you soon!
Kim
Always interested to hear from you! Contact me.
New website
I am slowly getting my new website up and running. Over the next few weeks you'll see a lot of changes and improvements. Please excuse the rough edges!