Surviving the East Coast Music Association weekend

Notes from the Road
by Catherine MacLellan

I have now survived yet another ECMA week, although I must say that now that the conference is held in April, it is much easier to survive. I remember when it was held in the dead of winter, always (somehow) the coldest weekend of the year. We would all be tramping through giant snowbanks with arm-fulls
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Notes from the Road
by Catherine MacLellan

I boarded the plane to Calgary for the shortest of tours, two shows in Alberta, not really wanting to leave PEI on that beautiful spring day. I rearranged my iPod with only my favourite records and started playing them beginning to end.

At the very start of this list is Halifax's Acres and Acres and their album All Nations. It has been out for a couple
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Notes from the Road
by Catherine MacLellan

After a nice, long break at home, I found myself back out on the road with my guitarist Chris Gauthier, heading down that long stretch of pavement from PEI to Ontario. As a child, my family would take this trip several times a year, going home every summer to the peace and quiet of our Island and my grandparents log home. I remember always being asleep
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Notes from the Road
by Catherine MacLellan

It has now been 17 years since my father, Gene MacLellan, passed away. I was just a kid, 14 years old, watching my dad fall further and further into the turmoil of mental illness at a time when people were still not really talking about that. Now, having been alive longer without my father than with him, I feel like it’s time to truly celebrate his life
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Notes from the Road
by Catherine MacLellan

After an exhausting but rewarding trip to England, I’ve been back home on the Island for a few weeks now, doing the holiday meet-and-greet and all the things that go with that. Holiday shows abound and winter has officially arrived.

I’ve been thinking about writing a survival guide for those of us who live year round in PEI. It’s not the same as the
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Notes from the Road
by Catherine MacLellan

Cream tea, Cornish pasties, blood pudding, Devonshire cheeses, bangers and mash… We have been on the hunt for British culinary specialties and eating them often in their land of origin. On every other trip to England, I’ve been mostly disappointed with my food choices so this time I decided we would eat as much and as well as possible. So far, I have
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Notes from the Road
by Catherine MacLellan

Somehow, everywhere I go, there are Maritimers in abundance. From England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales to B.C., Washington, Oregon and California. I’ve been in venues after the show talking to people, playing the “Who’s yer father” game, when it turns out that they are related to my Rustico guitar player, Chris Gauthier. Several times this has
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Notes From The Road
by Catherine MacLellan

It’s been a crazy summer and it certainly seems to be over as I write this. The wind is blowing, the trees are bending and the heat of the sun isn’t enough to keep me from lighting the wood stove.

I’m about to take off again into the wild world, this time to Oregon, Washington State and Alberta. My new record is keeping me busy with new gigs and radio
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Notes from the Road
by Catherine MacLellan

Well, summer is upon us now. I can really tell that summer is here because of all the visitors that are landing at my house, taking me to the beach and going for massive seafood feasts. It is a season of indulgence, hectic social calendars and one of the few times when all of us musician are busy working.

I just got back from New Orleans where I played
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Notes from the Road
by Catherine MacLellan

Three years after first being asked to play the Strawberry Music Festival in northern California, I finally was able to go. I had been anticipating this festival for so long it had become built up in my expectations, and, as an Ansel Adams fan, I was thrilled to be playing in Yosemite National Park that he loved and photographed so much.

Chris and I
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Notes from the Road
by Catherine MacLellan

As I write this, I am trying to ignore the endless gray and wet weather outside, and just get on with life. Apparently, there are endless things I can do inside. Like taxes, songwriting, cleaning and garden research. For the moment, I will put all that aside while I play a few shows with the legendary songwriter Ron Hynes.

Last night we played Truro
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Notes from the Road
by Catherine MacLellan

Manitoba, a province that goes on forever. Bordering on North Dakota and Minnesota in the south, the northern end reaching Hudson Bay and Nunavut, and in between, the land of a million lakes, flooding rivers, modest mountains and endless prairie sky.

As Chris and I were landing in Winnipeg, we looked down upon the city and the big fields stretching out
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