Kathleen Edwards to perform at Showplace in Peterborough on September 21st

An eggshell has the distinction of being one of the most fragile objects on the planet, or the most sturdy, depending how it is held and handled. This sums up the songs and the songwriter of Kathleen Edwards and her fourth LP, Voyageur.

Voyageur (MapleMusic Recordings) was released on January 17, 2012. The very start of the recording process began over two years before that. Despite having three critically acclaimed records to her name, Kathleen knew she wanted to try something different with her next record. The first step was to open her self up to the idea of co-writing.

Her first partner in this endeavor was John Roderick from The Long Winters. Kathleen spent late 2009 and the winter of 2010 sitting at John’s piano in his Seattle apartment. The results from these sessions were then brought back to Toronto, where Kathleen and her bandmates spent countless hours trying out different arrangements and ideas, both in the studio and during an April 2010 weekly residency at the 150-seat club, the Underground, in Toronto’s Drake Hotel.

By September 2010, Kathleen and band went into the studio. Shortly after, Kathleen and band exited the studio. Something wasn’t quite right, but was soon to be.

A month or two earlier she had a chance encounter with a longtime fan of hers, Justin Vernon. Many know Justin better as the Grammy Award winning artist Bon Iver. Kathleen had found her second co-writing partner.

She travelled to Justin’s rural Wisconsin home, and things clicked right away. In her words, “it just became obvious that we were going to produce the record together”. Over the coming months, they tinkered and played with everything, tore down and built back up songs.

The songs on Voyageur speak to the grief, loneliness, shock and confusion that come with endings as well as the hope and irrepressible joy that accompany new beginnings. The stories and songs are told with seductively quiet strength. Helping Kathleen on the record were longtime bandmates Jim Bryson (guitars, keyboard, vocals), Gord Tough (guitars), John Dinsmore (bass), and Lyle Molzan (drums). She also received studio visits from Norah Jones (vocals), Justin Vernon (guitar, keys, bass, vocals), John Roderick, and Afie “Bahamas” Jurvanen (guitar).

Edwards and her band have played songs from Voyageur across Canada, the U.S., and Europe. They’ve performed on The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Tunes from Voyageur have been aired on U.S. shows like One Tree Hill and Grey’s Anatomy. During the summer, Edwards and her band have played at festivals from Bonnaroo to Osheaga to Squamish. And now, Kathleen Edwards returns to Peterborough for the first time since her Asking For Flowers Tour in 2008.

Music video for “Change The Sheets” from Voyageur