Canadian Folk Music Awards and Christmas Tour Leg One

What a night it was last night at the Canadian Folk Music Awards in Ottawa. But before that, let me recap.

What a weekend it has been. It started in Sudbury on Wednesday when we arrived at the Laughing Buddha to set up our very first Christmas show of the season. We sat down to eat a delicious dinner, sip on a delicious glass or bottle of fine beer and proceed to prepare for the show.

With the help of Paul Loewenberg and Ross Kelly and all the people at the Northern Lights festival – the show was a smash hit. During quiet moments in “Silent Night” we were accompanied by the humourous loud purring of a “Christmassy” motorcycle.

During our encore, as we settled into the lilting melody of “Laundry” the train directly south of us, passed for three quarters of the song, which added a kind of outdoorsy feel to the whole tune. The sets were great and it was exciting to finally dive into the season that we’ve been celebrating since we began this record in May this year.

We stayed afterwards for a drink with Paul and then drove out to our new friends’ and hosts that evening… the Lickleys.

I think what a lot of people don’t know about this traveling life, is how generous families and strangers are right across the country. It’s people like the Lickleys or the Stewarts in Calgary/Vancouver/Kelowna, or Caroline’s cousins in Ottawa this weekend, Bryan and Shereen, who open their homes to us on the road, that make life on the road feel less lonely and more full of friends.

The next morning, Megan Lickley and her Dad, Dave (these are Allison Lickley’s sister and papa) sat us down at the breakfast table and served us a home-cooked egg and biscuit meal. Megan made the BEST scrambled eggs I’ve ever eaten, and the biscuits were so fresh and healthy, we nearly decided to cancel the tour and stay put. We now own the recipe and are thinking the Good Lovelies should publish a cook book with all the fine recipes we’ve collected while on tour. One day…

From Sudbury, we sauntered off to Sault Ste, Marie – which holds a special place in our hearts. Over and over, people from the Soo amaze and humble us. We see familiar faces, we see new faces and the gang at Loplops is a team of friends and music supporters we love to visit.

We played with the Sunparlour Players that night and exchanged road stories at the merch table and talked about the unique dynamics that come from being in a trio. I could see, too, that those boys had it going on in the music department. The show was stellar, and the red pepper jelly preserves they sold in little jars at the back was a nice homey touch. And who woulda thunk that preserves would fly off the counter at a bar in Sault Ste. Marie – but man did they ever.

From the Soo, after a brief sleep at our hotel, we carried on to Nipissing Village. On this first leg of the Christmas tour, we made sure the drives we had each day were less than six hours. This would be the longest drive for us, and would include many stops and many, many hours of Christmas music in the car. Not our Christmas music, no – we found a Satellite radio
station called “40s on 4” that is playing all Christmas music all the time… it’s AWESOME – and every few hours you’ll start hearing repeats of Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, the Mills brothers and Doris Day.

A few hours into the drive we stopped at a convenience store for one of many bathroom breaks to come, and this is where we met the cutest little dog and her owners who let us hug and snuggle with her.

With Christmas music from the 1940s pumping through our oversized gas-guzzling rental car, and the image of a cute dog in a sweater in our heads, we headed to Nipissing Village, so excited to see Sherry and Yan again, and so pumped to visit this village with some of music’s best supporters, some of Ontario’s cleanest air, and an area with no WiFi or cell reception.

Before we knew it, we had set up the room, Yan and his dad built a kick-ass stage that day and set it up in the corner of the room. The stage was key to creating a moody stage presence in an otherwise, well-lit community centre.

We decorated the mic stands with lights and dimmed the room lighting. We set up sixty chairs, and it turns out we needed another 30 some odd chairs! Lucky for us, the Nipissing Community Centre is equipped and every seat in the house was filled.
The show was fun, Christmassy, silly, Good Lovelies like… a real treat for us and the crowd seemed pretty pumped too.

The night took us back to Piebird for a sleepover, while Sue visited with her dear friends Laura and Andrew, who are expecting their first baby NEXT WEEK! We hung out with some goats, had a tea party over breakfast (with Royal Albert China – I mean, who else does this? I love Piebird!) and then left for the last part of our trip – a visit to Ottawa to attend the Canadian Folk Music Award Gala on Saturday night.

After a much needed shower, and hilariously enough pizza and beer for dinner, the Good Lovelies took their pew on the right side of the church. The room was filled with the folk communities hard-hitters, players and buds. The room was so full of love, the performers – incredible and the awards themselves seamless and stunning.

To boot, when our award was being announced, I will admittedly say my heart was pounding with the kind of excitement I don’t always get now as an adult. Beside me, Caroline and Sue were beaming ear to ear, ready to hear anyone of the five, fine musicians’ names in our category be named aloud … and we waited anxiously to hear the words: the words: “And the award for New/Emerging Artist is.”

My heart pounded so hard that when “Good Lovelies” was said next, I nearly didn’t stand up for fear that I had no blood left in my legs. I followed Sue and Caroline to the front, Sue walking excitedly, Caroline hopping down the aisle, nearly knocking Sue over in the process. We body slammed after leaving the stage so as not to embarrass ourselves too much on stage.
It was surreal. It was wonderful and having such an honour bestowed upon us, nearly 3 years old as a band is something we won’t soon forget.

Thank you everybody. I’m so happy, I have to go leap around the city.

PS – When Sue and I got back to Cobourg today, her parents had put out Congratulations balloons for us on their porch. Sue and I drove down the main street for a minute and noticed people gathering on either side of the main street. Though it occurred to us quickly that the Santa Claus parade was about to start, we drove down King Street in Cobourg just for a second and pretended the parade was for us and that we were a float celebrating our CFMA award – (overtired and silly… the name of our game.)


Xo
Kerri O
for the Good Lovelies

"Under The Mistletoe" AVAILABLE NOW!

Buy in Canada

Buy in US and anywhere else HERE




Along with the new album, our Christmas CD RELEASE Tour begins this week! Get your tickets soon as they are limited!

CHRISTMAS TOUR 2009 – Under the Mistletoe CD RELEASE

Sudbury, ON – The Laughing Buddha – Nov 18
Sault Ste Marie, ON – Loplops w/ the Sunparlour Players – Nov 19
Nipissing Village, ON – Nipissing Village Community Centre – Nov 20
Kingston, ON – The Mansion – Nov 26
Montreal, QC – Le Petit Campus – Nov 27
Wakefield, QC – The Blacksheep Inn – Nov 28
Picton, ON – Acoustic Grill – Nov 29
Port Dover, ON – Grace United Church - Dec 3
Dunnville, ON – Flyer’s Café - Dec 4
Greenbank, ON – Greenbank Centennial Hall - Dec 5
Toronto, ON – Hugh’s Room – Dec 6
Vasey, ON – (Midland) - Vasey United Church - Dec 8
Guelph – Dublin St. United Church - Dec 11
Grafton – Grafton Town Hall - Dec 12
London, ON – Aeolian Hall – Dec 17
Hamilton, ON – Pearl Company - Dec 18
Thornhill, ON – Auerbach House Concert – Dec 19
Stouffville, ON – Lebovic Arts Centre - Dec 23

And then we visit our families and buy them presents!

See our website for more details on the shows and ticket sales: www.goodlovelies.com

Ho ho ho!
Caroline, Kerri & Sue

Christmas is Around The Corner

And the Good Lovelies are here to help you celebrate! On November 16th, you can pick your copy of their upcoming Christmas album "Under the Mistletoe" online and at their shows across Ontario and Quebec.



Check out our Tour Dates for the full listing of our Christmas CD Release Tour.

xo
The Lovelies in Waiting!

First Zombie Prom a Success!!

Thanks to our co-hosts the Human Statues - and the many people who contributed to the evening, the night was a huge success.

Visit our PHOTOS page for the ZOMBIE PROM Photo Gallery. Thanks to everyone for playing a part in such a wicked and fun night.



The Human Statues in Zombie Garb



The Good Lovelies w/ Adam Warner on drums!



The Good Lovelies with Make-Up Artist Mark Smith!

For the complete gallery visit our PHOTOS page...

BlogTO wrote up a great review of the evening. Check out the whole story HERE.

Merry Belated Hallowe'en!!!!

Zombie Prom Spectacular - THURSDAY OCTOBER 29th, 2009

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.lulalounge.ca
info@lula.ca
416-588-0307
Dinner - 7:30
Showtime - 8:30
Tickets: $15 ADV/$18 DOOR - So Get Your Tickets TODAY!

This is Our Pal Hal, From the DUNK, in PEI

Posing with Harlequin Models...

This impromptu photo shoot happened just before our show at Yonge & Dundas Square. It was warm :)

Having Fun in PEI

Someone asked us once if we like touring. I think this voluntary photo shoot at the PEI gift shop near Summerside answers that question.



We HEART this great country of ours, and right now, especially PEI.

xo
The Good Lovelies

Fall Touring with the Good Lovelies

Come one, come all...

Kleinburg, ON - Bindertwine Festival, Sept 12
Guelph, ON - Dublin St. United Church, Sept 18
Cobourg, ON – Harvest Festival, Sept 19
Toronto, ON – Yonge and Dundas Square, Sept 30
Fredericton, NB - Crumbs Café – Oct 2
Mount Stewart, PEI - Trailside Inn & Café, Oct 3
Mount Stewart, PEI - Trailside Inn & Café, Oct 4
Breadalbane, PEI – The Dunk, Oct 5
Charlottetown, PEI – Baba’s Lounge, Oct 6
Sackville, NB - Struts Gallery, Oct 7
Hampton, NB - Vintage Bistro & Lounge, Oct 8
Halifax, NS – The Company House, Oct 9
St. Andrews, NB – The Red Herring, Oct 10
Aylmer, QC - Private House Concert, Oct 16
Ottawa, ON – OCFF, Conference, Oct 17
Parry Sound, ON – Neil Young Tribute, Oct 23
Meaford, ON – Neil Young Tribute, Oct 24
Toronto, ON – Lula Lounge, Oct 29
Hallowe’en Show w/ Human Statues
Barrie, ON – Barrie Folk Festival, Nov 7

The Men Who Gave Us Free Gas Before We Drove Grey Creek Pass

It's taken me a week to post this, but I wanted to say a very public THANK YOU to the kind men who gave us their extra gas before we drove the most treacherous mountain pass we've ever been on in BC. At the landing where these two photos were taken, we met Don - a jazz guitarist who was taking a couple days off in his trailer to play for the birds and wildlife - and Chad and his Papa - whose name I think was Mark (if not, I'm terribly sorry!) who were so kind as to give us their gas and encouraging pats on the back so we had the courage to drive the Grey Creek Pass.

Thanks you gentlemen. We are forever grateful. It was an adventurous and wild ride.

(Don't worry, Mom - we made it!)