The death of loved ones has put a new perspective on life for a Juno-winning folk musician from the Maritimes.
“I lost a lot of really close friends over the last couple of years, which has actually been cathartic and has made me appreciate the people around me in the moment, as opposed to taking things for granted,” said singer/songwriter Catherine MacLellan. “I used to dwell a lot on the losing side of things. There’s just been a feeling of more positive energy moving forward and not dwelling so much. This is a renewed sense of life.”
MacLellan’s new outlook propelled her further into the music spotlight after her 2015 album The Raven’s Son was named Juno Roots Solo Album of the Year and CMFA Contemporary Album of the Year. That same year the Prince Edward Island singer was named CMFA Songwriter of the Year and won three music awards in her province.
“There’s been a big change in my writing,” she said. “I’ve taken the last couple of years to stick closer to home and do a lot of thinking and writing. The creative process has been changing for me. There’s a bit more energy behind the songs and maybe a bit more optimism.”
MacLellan chalks it up to feeling happier in recent years.
“I don’t know if it’s just a maturing kind of thing,” she said. “Life is a little bit more stable. My partner in life is my producer as well. We’ve been together for five years. My daughter is 11 now. I don’t think life is ever easy, but it’s been a lot nicer these days.”
MacLellan is bringing her songs of love, life and death west with eight performances in two weeks, including at the Rotary Performing Arts Centre in Okotoks Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
“I try to get out once a year to Alberta and surrounding areas,” she said. “This is my annual winter trek.”
MacLellan will share some old favourites as well as songs she’s been working on in recent months.
“I hope that people find a bit of themselves in the songs,” she said. “I tend to write mostly personal experiences, but I find that they tend to translate into we all go through the same things in life so I guess people find a bit of themselves in it. When I head out on the road it’s because I want to connect with people and hear their stories and share mine, too.”
The performances are an opportunity for MacLellan’s listeners to join her journey as she puts life and death into perspective.
“The songs that I wrote for the friends who passed it was more of a thank you,” she said. “In particular, there is one song that’s a thank you to a friend who had been so much to me and given me so much.”
MacLellan has been performing professionally almost 20 years and grew up surrounded by music.
Her father, the late Gene MacLellan, was a folk and pop singer/songwriter known for his popular hits Snowbird and Put Your Hand in the Hand.
“My dad was a musician, songwriter,” she said. “My brother, sister and I all played piano and guitar. My dad was a great teacher. I learned a lot through listening to his music as a kid and watching his process.”
When MacLellan lost her father at the age of 14, playing music became a sense of therapy.
“I used writing as a tool to be able to communicate how I was feeling,” she said. “It’s really been a good friend to me all of these years.”
MacLellan began performing for people as a teenager and her professional music career launched in 2000. Her debut album in 2004 earned immediate critical acclaim and she became a fixture in the top of Canada’s roots music charts.
“I think that one of the things that I love about writing music in particular and performing, too, is it’s a really intense focus which allows me to really be present and I love that feeling,” she said.
Guitar player and vocalist Tim Leacock will join her on stage in Okotoks.
The show will be opened by singer/songwriter Brettyn Rose. The 15-year-old released her album Walking With No Shoes last year, a soulful collection of songs with a pop and folk edge.
Tickets cost $22.50 and can be purchased at the Okotoks Art Gallery, by calling 403-938-3204 or online at okotoksculture.ca
