The Festival is pleased to announce the addition of Basia Bulat to our 2008 line-up.
Basia Bulat is a singer-songwriter hailing from Toronto, Ontario. Her debut CD Oh, My Darling has been gathering acclaim across North America since inking a deal with Hayden’s Hardwood Records and touring with Final Fantasy last fall. “She’s a natural,” says William “Skinny” Tenn, Hayden’s manager and business partner at Hardwood. “And like a lot of Canadian musicians, she’s got that work ethic that goes back to Joni Mitchell and Neil Young and Leonard Cohen, where more than anything, it’s about being an honest songwriter.”
Oh, My Darling is graceful & joyous, showcasing “Bulat’s soothing, throaty voice and her dead-on aptitude for poignant, classic songwriting” (Spin Magazine). There are strings, yes, and acoustic guitar, but also a frantic drum-kit gallop; the influence of the spirits of wild Jeff Magnum, big-voiced Odetta, Emily Dickinson and all those boisterous soul-music singles. It’s this spark that sets Basia Bulat apart from the raft of typical singer-songwriters.
Since her CD release, Basia and her band have toured central Canada and Europe, sharing stages with the likes of the Great Lake Swimmers, Julie Doiron, Sondre Lerche, and The Veils, leaving a trail of new fans and happy critics along the way. Oh, My Darling is a pet project no longer, but Basia’s original ambitions are unchanged: “I love songs that I can sing along to,” Basia says, and then she corrects herself, balling her hand into a fist. “No, songs that you want to sing along to.”
I saw Basia a few weeks ago in Peterborough! She is absolutely amazing, and will be sure to swoon you all this July! Hopefully you all love her as much as I… I can’t wait for Folk Fest 08!