Oct/ 2011
This month:
Playing a couple of fun country tunes at Naco in Toronto as part of Laura Repo’s monthly residency on Thurs. Oct. 27th. I’ll be debuting a brand new song I recently wrote with Ron Sexsmith.
I’ll also be playing a set at the Drake Hotel on Oct 23rd as part of the PNC Fundraiser, raising money to help out the disadvantaged in the Parkdale area.
Years ago I played my very first show of original material at the Freetimes Cafe in Toronto. Next month the Freetimes celebrate their 30th anniversary, and on Sat. Nov. 19th I’m excited to be playing a solo show as part of that, sharing the evening with Chris Rawlings.
And finally… London calling. A tour of the UK in the works!
July/ 2011
Join me at the Big on Bloor Festival in Toronto on July 23rd – we’ll be hitting the stage at 8pm.
Later this month I head out to the Maritimes for some R & R, and ocean! Those of you in the Halifax area can catch me at the Celtic Corner on August 4th.
May/ 2011
Spring! Time to change it up. Join me this month on May 18th for the last show of my long and happy residency at the Tranzac Club in Toronto, with special guests The Prince Brothers.
March/ 2011
Spring… almost… here! I’ve been hunkering down with my synthesizer and my kalimba, working away on new music. Getting back into the creative process has been my focus of late, and I’m loving it. My goal is to have a brand new set of songs ready to record later this year.
I’ve also been grabbing any chance I can get to work with others. Recent collaborations have included writing a song with Ron Sexsmith (entitled “You’d Never Say”), working on music with The Prince Brothers and contributing vocals to their latest single “Winter”. I also continue to work with the Echo Women’s Choir on one of my arrangements. Here is a live recording of my solo performance of “Don’t Worry” at their December concert in the hall of the beautiful Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto.
In the live show department, I’ve been very fortunate to have drummer/ percussionist Cheryl Reid join us. You can catch her in action this month along with the rest of us – including guest vocalist Linda Maruta – on March 16th at the Tranzac Club in Toronto.
January/ 2011
Ah, 2011. Finally! The year has come to realize my dream – the formation of a ukulele super-group. A trio of ukulele nerds the likes of which have never been in Toronto.
Melanie Doane, Cheryl Reid and yours truly, have been practising up our instrumentals and three-part singin’, and we got some real olde tyme shit to lay on you. Don’t blame us, blame the system. We’re all just a product of the school music program in the Maritimes. We’ll be making our debut on Jan. 19th at the Tranzac – deets here.
Also coming up this month, an appearance at The Press Club with The James Clark Institute on Jan 28th.
December 1/ 10
Coming up this month:
Sun. Dec 12th – Echo Women’s Choir Winter Concert. I’ll be singing with the choir and performing a solo number, and the choir will be performing two of my arrangements – really looking forward to this! Sunday, Dec. 12th in Toronto at the Church of the Holy Trinity. Starts at 7:30 pm, and tickets are $15 at the door.
Wed. Dec 15 - The Jennifer LFO X-mas show! Takes place at the Tranzac Club and will feature the Prince Brothers and special surprise guests. Starts early at 7:30pm so you can come out for some musical Christmas cheer and still have time to hit the party circuit.
Sat. Dec 18th – The Christmas Show Benefit at the Rivoli, hosted by Mia Sheard. I’ll be performing with Kate Rogers. Other guests will include Andrew Cash, Selina Martin, Dave Bidini, Alan Park and more. Always a great event, and the proceeds go to the Daily Bread Food Bank & relief for Pakistan. Doors at 8pm – tickets $18
Have a fantastic holiday y’all!
Sept 29/10
So lately I’ve been wondering: “what would it be like to hear 80 voices singing my songs in four part harmony?”. I’m about to find out – The Echo Women’s Choir of Toronto has invited me to arrange two of my songs as part of their next semi-annual concert. Arranging my music for choir has been a really great challenge and I look forward to performing with this amazing group on Dec. 12th – I’ll keep you posted as the date approaches.
Good things come in pairs – I recently sang on the new Prince Brothers single “In Pairs”. Listen and see the video here.
I leave you now with a blast from the past. I recently went to a ukulele workshop held by James Hill who is the best uke player IN THE WORLD and the creator of a new ukulele music teaching program. I’ve been a ukulele-head most of my life – starting in grade 5 when I joined the school uke band. So I’m brushing up on it now and feeling inspired. Maybe I’ll write some new uke tunes. Here’s one I recorded a-waaaaay back…
Catch me this month at the Tranzac Club on Thurs. October 21st.
July 5/10
Summer Alright! Here’s some stuff I’ve been up to:
In June I played the North By Northeast Music Festival in Toronto – always fun to be a part of. I also played NOT NXNE on the same night – my own upstart music festival – and it was a smashing success if I don’t say so myself. I had my bases covered and good times were had by all…
So I’m gettin into rap now y’all – I recently sang on an upcoming release by b*BOSS, which will be coming out this fall. You can check them out here – http://www.myspace.com/thisisbboss (“You Kill Me” – I’m the she-voice singing those sultry choruses)
In other entertainment news, I acted in a short mockumentary film called “Chere”, which was recently nominated for three (3!) Canadian Comedy Awards. Directed by Brian Smith. Voila! http://www.nsi-canada.ca/ch_re.aspx
Catch me this month at the Tranzac Club in Toronto on Thurs. July 15th.
April 28/10
Well, the 2010 Juno Awards in St. John’s rose from the mists ever so briefly and then disappeared under the threat of volcanic ash. How dramatic is that? They were certainly the big highlight of my month. I attended with Michael Phillip Wojewoda who was nominated for Best Producer for Songs From the Alien Beacon. Big thanks to all of you who lent your support and cheered us on.
Got to see some great performances out on George St, watched some waves, and stepped onto the red carpet out of a school bus (way cooler than a limo, don’t ya think?). I wish I had a photo of that for you but I was too busy trying to unhook my heel from the hem of my dress.(!) Had a great time, regardless of the fact Michael didn’t win in his category. (Bob Rock did, which is alright – he seems like a pretty good guy, at least from what you can tell in the Metallica documentary.)
So! Back in Toronto now, with a couple of shows for you this month -
Sat. May 1st at The Press Club as part of “Girls Girls Girls!” hosted by Melanie Peterson.
Wed. May 12th at the Tranzac Club with one of my fave bands, The Prince Brothers.
See you out there!
March 3/10
JUNO NOMINATION! Michael Phillip Wojewoda is up for the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award for his work on Songs From the Alien Beacon. He’s been nominated for two tracks: “The Key (Different Than I Used To Be)” and “Palm Trees”. Way to go Mpw! You can listen to both tracks HERE.
Brand new video!
Sign up for the mailing list HERE and get a free download of “The Key”.
January 6/10
Happy 2010 everyone! I hope it brings lots of good things. I’m looking forward to a year full of music-making and other fun stuff.
You can check out us out playing a tune live at the Cameron House in Toronto last month HERE.
A spring tour is in the works! This month you can see us at the Tranzac in Toronto on Jan. 21st with The Prince Brothers. details here
November 26/09
Well, t’is almost the season, and things are getting busy around here. First off, I’m pleased to announce that I just published a new “songblog”. Here you can read some of my thoughts, production tidbits, and the general inside scoop behind my new album, Songs From the Alien Beacon. Read on!
Songs From the Alien Beacon Songblog
Kate Rogers and I have had a bit of a thing going these last couple months – she’s kindly invited me to perform at some of her Fall Residency shows at the Tranzac in Toronto. Now as the season winds down, we’re hoping to go out in style. On Dec. 11th, at the Kate Rogers Band X-mas extavaganza, she and I will be performing a co-written christmas song on ukuleles. At least that’s the plan! We both got this thing for the uke. Kate if you’re reading this, we need to get together. Stat!
I’m also very excited to be performing at Mia Sheard’s X-mas Benefit Concert at the Rivoli in Toronto on Dec. 18th, along with Hawksley Workman, Luke Doucet, Melissa McClelland, Dave Bidini and others. Proceeds go to the Daily Food Bank and the Stephen Lewis Foundation. doors are at 8pm, tix are $18. More info available at www.mouthpartsandwings.ca
October 20/ 09
Woah – October? How’d that happen. My band and I have been SO busy squirelling away nuts for winter. Allow me to introduce them to you -
Michael Phillip Wojewoda (of Rheostatics fame) plays drums, Chris Stringer (who is producing every indie band in Canada as we speak) plays his very own bass that he built himself, and Rob MacDonald (also in one of my fave bands, Dirt Farmer) rocks the guitar as well as one or two of the 46 synthesizers he owns.
If you’re in Toronto this week you can join us at The Gladstone Melody Bar on Oct. 29th for “Thursday Night Confidential”, their new music series. We’ll be performing songs from my new cd. Also featuring Young Doctors in Love. Deets below under “upcoming shows”…
August 20/ 09
Back from a successful cd release tour, Jen has completed recording a couple new song demos with producer Chris Stringer, and is gearing up to head back out on the road this fall. New tour dates to be announced soon.
July 16/ 09
Watch the “Songs From the Alien Beacon” cd release show live from the Supermarket in Toronto! Tune in here tonight (July 16th) at 10:10pm EST and link below.
Come watch my SyncLive.com show at 10:10 PM on 7/16/2009
July 7/09
Jennifer will be making an appearance on CFRB 1010 AM radio in Toronto – tune in Sunday July 12 for Rock Talk between 6 and 7 pm. She’ll be performing live and chatting with hosts Blair Packham & Bob Reid
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Two of Jennifer’s songs will be featured in the short film “The Disconnection of Cyrus Bent” – “Guts” (Songs From the Alien Beacon), and “Dumb Down” (Fit For Mars). The film is slated for the Toronto International Film Festival and also features music by The Dunes, Elliot Brood, and The People Of Canada.The Key
