For a band that formed from an impromptu show in a guitar shop set up by a friend a decade ago, big things have come to The Wailin’ Jennys.
In that time, they’ve won a Juno, played every folk, roots, or bluegrass festival you could name, and are on their third alto singer. (Not that there are rock egos clashing in the Jennys: the departures of former altos Cara Luft and Anabelle Chovstek were amiable.)
That alto spot is now filled by honourary Canadian Heather Masse, a Maine-born New Yorker, now singing along side Winnipeggers and fellow wailers Nicky Mehta and Ruth Moody.
All three Jennys write and sing their own music and lyrics, while the other two sing backup and play instruments; it leads to a great diversity in their music.
“We all have different backgrounds and influences, styles and genres,” says Moody.
Moody explains that Mehta grew up listening to a lot of ‘70s music, while her and Masse are classically trained. “Heather was trained at the New England Conservatory of Jazz, and brings that to the table. I love more traditional music; old time and bluegrass.”
This variety of styles certainly shows on the album Bright Morning Stars, released by the Wailin’ Jennys earlier this year.
“Storm Coming,” one of the songs on the album, is a plodding monster of a pop-gospel number, leading straight into the next song, “Mona Louise,” a dour country tune in the vein of Patsy Cline.
But through the music it’s clear that there’s a driving theme of the realities of adulthood, and the hopeful and joyful struggle which it can entail.
“‘Cherry Blossom Love’ and ‘All the Stars’ are definitely an exploration of the darker or more complicated side of love or life, and we’ve always been drawn to that,” says Moody. “There’s a hopefulness there, but also the idea that it’s not simple and that there are a lot of different sides to things.”
Even though they’re taking a year-long-ish hiatus soon (Mehta has twin toddlers), we shouldn’t expect the Wailin’ Jennys to get desk jobs.
“I sometimes wonder what else I might do, but I actually haven’t come up with anything else yet,” says Moody. “Which is kind of scary because being a musician is not the most stable career path you can choose. But I’m going to do it until it doesn’t feel right. I just love making music.”
The Wailin’ Jennys
September 18, Alix Goolden Hall