Norma MacDonald plays Corked Wine Bar on Thursday, April 20 at 8pm.
Norma MacDonald’s voice holds sublime contradictions—it’s fluid but piercing, self-assured but full of yearning. Her fourth solo album, Burn the Tapes, is just as complex; her incisive lyrics explore old stories and fresh heartbreaks with startling acuity, all woven into a warm and bright country-folk album.
Recorded over 13 months in rural Upper Musquodoboit, NS (at Phil Sedore’s Mountain Road Studio), it marks MacDonald’s first time taking the reigns as sole producer. Burn the Tapes is at turns scrappy and slick, naive and confident, playful and heavy. From the summertime, old-friend nostalgia of the opening track Company to the quirky, unsettling country-noir of Lighten Up (a duet with former Guthries baritone, Gabe Minnikin), to the dark, orchestral Springsteen homage To Nebraska, Burn the Tapes plays like the soundtrack to long night time drive that’s over too soon.
MacDonald was the first artist to perform as part of Emma Chevarie’s popular Music Runs Through It concert series at Corked Wine Bar that has now been running for nearly two years, offering one of the city’s only ‘listening room’ concert experiences.
“Hard to believe we kicked off our partnership with Corked Wine Bar 19 months ago,” said Chevarie. “Seeing as Norma MacDonald was the first one to take the stage in this music series, we are thrilled to have her return. Her golden voice, musical storytelling and charm are sure to provide an excellent evening for us all.”
Norma MacDonald was born and raised in Cape Breton, and now lives in Halifax, NS. She likes Gram Parsons records, talking to strangers, potato chips, David Lynch movies and swimming in the ocean. When she is not making music, she works as an ER nurse.
Music Runs Through It presents: Norma MacDonald | April 20, 2017 | Corked Wine Bar | Fredericton | 8 p.m. | Tickets ($20) available at Corked Wine Bar and Tony’s Music Box | View Event
Upcoming shows at Corked Wine Bar:
Matthew Byrne – Thursday, May 4
Alfie Zappacosta – Thursday, May 11
Ian Foster – Thursday, June 1
Garrett Mason – Thursday, July 13
Christina Martin – Thursday, August 3
Suzie Vinnick – Wednesday, August 16 & Thursday, August 17
For more information visit musicrunsthroughit.com/music-series
