Album Notes

"... an incisive lyricist... songs that deserve a close listen." David Francey
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"There is something in Rosemary Phelan's voice and songs that moves me to tears each time I hear her; even the happy songs. Her voice and words go straight to my heart, and my response to her work is involuntary - I simply surrender." Ian Tamblyn

"Amidst an identity challenged folk music industry desperately enamoured with cuteness, nostalgia, and escapism, Rosemary Phelan reminds us the true folksinger's vocation: to sing out, with love and moral conscience, our happinesses and our sufferings." Jon Brooks

Rosemary Phelan has run the gamut from calling square dances in the hills of northern Vermont to singing Mozart in the halls of the Royal Conservatory. Somewhere between the barn and the recital hall she found the music of her heart.

The grace and losses encountered during a tumultuous, nomadic childhood, time spent eking out a hard-won living in the bush, and her years as a community nurse in the urban core live in Rosemary's songs. She sincerely hopes the goodness she unearthed at the root of it all can be found there, too.

Rosemary performs solo, in a duo with multi-instrumentalist Jason LaPrade, and as a harmony vocalist for fellow artists. She'd like to mention that she wakes up and falls asleep counting her blessings, yet has never made it all the way to the end of the list. She wishes the same for you, with all her heart.

"... let her gorgeous voice wash over you..." Sing Out! magazine
"... the performances cut to the bone..." Bill Garrett, Borealis Records
"... full of heart and soul." Mark Michaelis, Acoustic Harmony
"... a lovely voice... more powerful for being devoid of affectation." The Guelph Mercury


selected highlights

:: Featured on RootsMusicCanada's "Woodshed Sessions" (see "links" page)
:: Folk Alley's "DJ Picks" - #3 in the Top 10 of 2010 (Acoustic Planet)
:: what sings in the blood #1 on the earshot! chart (Nov., 2010)
:: CIUT 2010 Golden Quill Award for Songwriting
:: Feature interview for CBC's "Tapestry"; edition titled "Art and Soul"
(Dec 26, 2010; please see "interviews / press" page for podcast)
:: "REDWING" nominated for the 2010 Colleen Petersen Songwriting Award
:: Canadian Finalist in the 2010 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest
:: "THE TREES" chosen for 2010 Canadian Songwriter's Anthology "Songs of Canada"
:: "A DEEPER WELL" Haiti Benefit at Hugh's Room raises over $4,000 for MSF
:: Shortlisted for the 2009 Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award
:: "FIREFLY Instrumental" chosen for Toronto Transit Commission memorial video
:: SONG OF THE YEAR 2008 Porcupine Award for "Hummingbird" (Avalanche Lily)
:: 2008 - release of full-length album "Wake the Nightingale: Songs for Solace and Sleep"
:: 2007 - release of full-length album, "Avalanche Lily"
:: 2006 – Soundtrack commissioned for the successful U.S.- based play “Chemo Brain”

For reviews and more information, please visit rosemaryphelan.com Thanks!