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FYI

Begonia: Heaven

Restrained but expressive vocals match reflective lyrics.

Begonia: Heaven

By Kerry Doole

Begonia - Heaven (Rex Baby Records): Much-lauded Winnipeg singer/songwriter Begonia (Alexa Dirks) recently announced her North American tour plans for 2022, along with the release of a new single, Heaven.


In a label press release, she explained that the track that finds beauty in the unknown. “When I was a kid I thought I knew a lot about everything. I was taught to believe that there was always a right or wrong and beyond that, that there was a heaven and hell waiting for us after we die and we just had to live our lives accordingly to end up in either place. I had a lot of fear of screwing up and a lot of fear of the unknown.

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"As I've grown, all of those binary ways of thinking have more or less been shattered. I've come to understand that I'll always be searching and that there's a lot of beauty to that. I still think about what happens after we die but I feel more curious about it than I feel afraid or certain of it. I think this song speaks to that doubt and curiosity: thoughts I used to struggle with but now fully embrace.”

Heaven is accompanied by a video from director Gwen Truntau and videographer Mike Maryniuk. “We filmed the video in rural Manitoba on the same property where we wrote the song years earlier,” says Dirks. “I had asked Gwen to meet with me to talk about video ideas and I had mentioned that I wanted to be in the back of a truck. She said ‘why don't we make the back of the truck your bedroom?’ and then we just kept riffing from there. The property we filmed on had so much space to work with and sweet animals to film. I truly hope there are regal donkeys and fluffy chickens in the afterlife. "

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The cut is co-written with regular collaborators Matt Schellenberg and Matt Peters of Royal Canoe (Begonia handles the lyrics). Given that her voice has tornado-like power, the vocal performance is restrained, as befits the introspective lyrics, while keyboards feature strongly in the production.

Begonia is a favourite on both CBC and NPR, and this could slot easily into their playlists. 

Her 2019 debut full-length LP, Fear, was nominated for a 2021 Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album Of The Year and was longlisted for The Polaris Music Prize.  Fear also spent 10 straight weeks as the #1 album in Canada on Earshot’s Top 50 chart. 

Begonia is headlining shows in the US from March 2 to March 20, then supports Shakey Graves on a Canadian tour, May 2 to May 13. Check the itinerary here.

Links

Website

Facebook

Instagram 

Publicity: Ken Beattie, Killbeat

Management - Mighty Cypress, Stu Anderson

Booking (Canada) - Paquin Artists Agency, Todd Jordan

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Dan Hill
Courtesy Photo

Dan Hill

Awards

Canadian Music Hall of Fame to Induct Dan Hill, Glass Tiger, Ginette Reno and Loreena McKennitt in 2025

They will be joined by 2024 inductee Maestro Fresh Wes at a special ceremony at Studio Bell on May 15. Sum 41 will also be honoured at the 2025 Juno Awards, on March 30, their final televised performance.

The Canadian Music Hall of Fame has announced its full crop of 2025 inductees.

Songwriter Dan Hill, "grande dame of Québec song" Ginette Reno, rock superstars Glass Tiger and singer/songwriter/composer Loreena McKennitt will all join the previously announced Sum 41. That legendary punk and rock band, who are currently on their farewell tour after returning to the top of the Alternative Airplay chart after more than two decades, will celebrate the induction with their final televised performance at the 2025 Juno Awards on March 30 in Vancouver.

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