Hello Dan fans!!! It feels like a year has passed since our last blog entry. Our new and improved website is up and running smoothly now thanks to our webmaster Michelle. There’s so much we’ve wanted to share with you…. it’s been a crazy summer so far!

We played the legendary Falcon Ridge Folk Festival for the first time. Sheila and I brought our rubber boots and raincoats which came in handy on Friday night. Despite the rain, the festival-goers were cheerful and enthusiastic, and we all had a really great time.

We also returned to the Vancouver Island Folk Festival in Comox, B.C. It was a beautiful weekend filled with music, dancing, and incredible costumes. There was plenty of ice cream so I was happy!

Last weekend we played the Canmore Folk Festival in Alberta. I was totally blown away by this intimate and welcoming festival. What a gem! We even had a chance to visit our good friends at The Communitea Cafe to stock up on my favourite tea, Cream Earl Grey. The most memorable part of the weekend, however, was when we came across a black bear in the woods! Sheila swears it was a Grizzly, and it seems to get bigger every time we tell the story…

And here we are today, in sunny Colorado.  Sheila and I just flew in after spending 3 days of bliss at the Edmonton Folk Festival. We shared the stage with some incredible musicians, and were part of some of the best workshops we’ve ever experienced! From the unique and engaging throat singing styles of Celina Kaluk and Tanya Tagaq (who had the best line of the weekend: “We’re from Nunavut…you should google it.” ), to the heart wrenching melodies of Brandi Carlile, it was a truly inspiring weekend of music. We’ve been singing Basia Bulat’s “Heart Of My Own” since we left Edmonton! Check out these two great reviews in the Edmonton Sun and the Edmonton Journal.

We’ll be spending the next four days teaching at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Song School, in Lyons, Colorado, and then we play the main stage on Saturday from 2pm- 3:15pm. The festival site is really spectacular, and we’re having a hard time capturing it in photos. We’ll keep trying though, and we’ll be posting them to Flickr throughout the week.

Until next time,
Amanda