Multiple Canadian Folk Music Award nominee Andrea Ramolo travels east from Toronto to Halifax for a show at The Carleton on Sunday, March 13th. Opening the show is our own Kristen Martell! Show time is 7 PM and tickets are only $15 + HST.
Andrea Ramolo is a multiple Canadian Folk Music Award nominee and has been recording and touring her music since 2008. Born in Toronto to Italian immigrants, Andrea began her artistic life as a dancer and actress. In 2003 she picked up the guitar, later producing two albums Thank You For The Ride and The Shadows and the Cracks. The latter earned her a nomination at the Canadian Folk Music Awards for Emerging Artist of the Year.
She then formed Scarlett Jane with Cindy Doire and spent five years extensively touring behind two albums, 2012’s Stranger and 2015’s eponymous offering, earning accolades from press and fellow musicians across the country and two more CFMA nominations. Following that, Ramolo contributed to projects by Lee Harvey Osmond (where she crossed paths with Michael Timmins from Cowboy Junkies), leading to the creation of NUDA (Italian for naked). The album emerged out of a deep depression following a romantic breakup and a shift in her artistic path; but brought about a hugely positive metamorphosis, personally and creatively. The alternative folk album is album is cool, dark, understated and melancholy. Her next record, Homage, stands as an important next step in her journey. The album honours songs by the late and great Leonard Cohen once again produced by Timmins and earned her a 2020 Canadian Folk Music Award Nomination for Contemporary Singer of the Year. Andrea’s newest work Quarantine Dream produced by Sarah MacDougall is her favourite production yet. Completely scripted and recorded during the pandemic, it’s truly a reflection of this time in history and the dreams that kept her awake at night or helped her survive. The production is predominantly led by women with guest appearances by Kinnie Starr, Madison Violet, and Kathryn Calder.
Andrea has had the pleasure of singing alongside Gordon Lightfoot, Andy Maize, Ron Sexsmith, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Adam Cohen and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and more. She continues to tour the Canadian festival circuit and overseas in Europe and performs in both English and Italian.
Kristen Martell is a bilingual folk/pop artist hailing from Nova Scotia. Reminiscent of Sarah McLachlan with hints of Jewel, her earthy introspective songs have the warmth of a golden sunset. Her intricate guitar picking and emotive piano ballads embrace life’s challenges and quiet moments of beauty. Gentle arrangements, haunting harmonies and insightful messages make her the perfect soundtrack to ease your melancholy. With multiple East Coast Music Association (ECMA) and Music Nova Scotia award nominations since her return to music in 2020, she is making a name for herself in the East Coast music scene and beyond. Her 2022 album Every Season is her most confident, self-assured and emotionally compelling work to date. It was nominated for the 2023 ECMA ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Folk Recording of the Year’. It also ranked #6 on the Earshot National Folk/Roots/Blues radio charts in early 2023 and was named one of Great Dark Wonder’s best albums of 2022. She is a 2x semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition and tours extensively in Eastern Canada and Ontario, connecting with audiences large and small with her intimate and moving stories. Kristen is currently working on a Francophone project to honour her Acadian heritage, offering a diverse and bilingual performance.