Sarah Harmer: St. Peter's Day
The pure and intimate voice of the folk-rock star is a tonic in troubled times.
By Kerry Doole
Sarah Harmer: St. Peter's Day (Arts & Crafts):
In these troubled times, the arrival of a new single and video from the much-loved roots singer/songwriter is indeed welcome, and St. Peter's Day is a salve for the troubled soul.
It is the opening song on her current album, acclaimed new album, Are You Gone, a welcome return after a long absence. There's a melancholy feel to it ("The ice out here’s black, Only thing looking back Is my own reflection"), but Harmer's pure and intimate vocals wrap you as warmly as a Hudson's Bay blanket.
The self-directed video takes viewers on a trip to the frozen, real-life St. Peter's Bay, for a cathartic last skate. "I made this with filmmaker Josh Lyon,” says Harmer in a press release. “We hopped a late afternoon ferry to an island in the St Lawrence River and caught a brief window of mild weather and a bit of sun. For me this story takes place in a simpler time when word was sent ‘on the wires of woodsmoke’ and ice was sure to freeze from one shore to another. The pain of ending a relationship is familiar in any era, and the vastness of the landscape in the middle of the river speaks to that timelessness.”
Harmer has performed on The Late Show with David Letterman and Ellen, been nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, garnered nine Juno nominations and two wins, and earned international acclaim for her gently poetic work.
Recently, due to the current global pandemic, Harmer has decided to postpone all of her upcoming tour dates. She issued this statement on the decision:“ After planning our upcoming tour for the past many months it is now clear that the prudent thing to do is to reschedule our spring dates to a time in the hopefully near future when the threat of the COVID-19 virus has passed. My band and I are sooo looking forward to making music for you when we can all come together safely and celebrate. We plan to honour all of the tickets at rescheduled shows. Signing off in solidarity with all the organizers out there who want to do what’s best to look after each other and our healthcare workers right now. Please take care and see you before long.”
Links
Publicity: Ken Beattie, Killbeat
