
LITTLE
MISS HIGGINS: A TINY BUNDLE OF COUNTRY BLUES POWER
“Little Miss Higgins is a fresh and welcome addition
to the Canadian blues scene. I love her selection of material,
old school vintage sound and her enthusiasm. She has the
respect of and holds her own with veterans twice her age.”
Holger Petersen, record producer, radio broadcaster, and
owner of Stony Plain Records
Our
newest management/publishing signing Little Miss Higgins
is having a spectacular 2008.
The
five foot two singer/guitarist--—who hails from Nokomis,
Saskatchewan, a Canadian prairie town (population: 400)
between Saskatoon and Regina---won the Favourite Blues Artist/Group
or Duo of the Year category at the 8th Annual Indies Awards
held in Toronto March 8th during Canadian Music Week.
Little
Miss Jolene Higgins’ country blues album “Junction
City” has been nominated in the Blues Album of the
Year category for the 2008 Juno Awards to be held in Calgary,
Alberta April 5-6.
Meanwhile,
Little Miss has just signed with LiveTour Artists in Toronto
for representation in Canada. This summer she will be appearing
at a number of Canadian festivals including Edmonton Folk
Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Montreal JazzFest, and
StanFest.
For
further details check Little Miss’ website: http://www.littlemisshiggins.com
Toronto-based
Exclaim! magazine recently touted Little Miss as an artist
to watch in 2008. “Look for Miss Higgins to be a big
hit on this coming summer’s festival circuit,”
wrote Jason Schneider.
Catch
a YouTube performance of Little Miss with Chris Whiteley
on trumpet at the recent Maple Blues Awards in Toronto.
Though informally filmed, the quality is surprisingly good.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zKIVRxULqHw&feature=related
UK
PRODUCER KEN NELSON WORKING WITH ALANA LEVANDOSKI IN KELWOOD,
MANITOBA & LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND
Sessions
have been completed in Kelwood, Manitoba for Alana Levandoski's
long-awaited second album.
The
Canadian singer/songwriter was recording with famed UK producer
Ken Nelson in Kelwood at a local church. Alana now starts
final sessions for her album at the world-class Parr Street
Studios in Liverpool, England on Apr. 1.
After
several years working on demos and independent artists such
as the Hellfire Sermons and Ruthless Rap Assassins, Nelson
achieved success with Gomez, and world-wide success with
the first Coldplay recording. He did a further two albums
with the band.
He
has also worked with Badly Drawn Boy, Howling Bells, The
Charlatans, Echo & The Bunnymen, Kings Of Convenience,
Orange Lights, Ray LaMontagne, Feeder, Skin, Snow Patrol,
Polly Paulusma and Paolo Nutini.
He
has won three US Grammy awards, two Mercury Music Prizes,
and was "Music Week" magazine's 'Producer Of The
Year' in 2003.
Leading
up to her second album, Alana co-wrote with such leading
country and roots-styled American songwriters as Quinn Loggins,
Sam Ashworth, James LeBlanc, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Rachel
Thibodeau, and Gary Nichols. She also co-wrote with Sylvia
Tyson, Colin Cripps, and Simon Wilcox in Canada,
Alana’s
reputation as a significant international singer/songwriter
was initially bolstered by her debut album "Unsettled
Down" released by Rounder Records in Canada in 2005
and in Europe in 2006.
Alana
first performed in the UK and Europe in early 2006 with
Dar Williams, Lynn Miles and Caroline Herring as well with
Jess Klein. She returned to the UK in 2006 opening for the
Elana James Trio, and fellow Canadians Blue Rodeo. She did
a tour of Ireland and England in 2007 with fellow Canadian
Lynn Miles
In
Canada, Alana toured nationally with the Corb Lund Band
as well as did dates with Stephen Fearing, Randy Bachman,
the Arrogant Worms, and Tanya Tucker.
Reviews
of "Unsettled Down" were plentiful. Alana was
profiled in numerous European publications, including Maverick
and in such Canadian magazines Canadian as Maclean's and
Penguin Eggs as well as the street papers, the Georgia Strait
in Vancouver, and Now magazine in Toronto.