Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

Folk powerhouse pair The Small Glories are Cara Luft & JD Edwards, a dynamic duo planted on the Canadian prairies. They are a study in contrasts; Cara, all earth mother on her 21-speed bike, environmentally friendly and wholesome, ebullient and engaging; and burly JD, in scruffy beard, ball cap, t-shirt and jean jacket, slightly intimidating (until you meet him). At first glance few would peg them for a highly creative musical partnership. Yet these two veteran singer/songwriters have teamed up and are building a buzz around their tight harmonies, authenticity and visceral performances.

Luft is a Juno Award winner and co-founder of the folk trio The Wailin' Jennys. She has earned her rep as a gutsy live performer and insightfully honest songwriter, with serious skills on the guitar and clawhammer banjo. No Depression calls her songwriting “redemptive, earthy and rooted in realism” and the Globe and Mail says she “sings like an angel named Joni or Alanis…” Edwards is a riveting live performer and prolific songwriter, a soulful singer blessed with one of the most versatile and powerful voices in Canada. Both are musical road warriors who have racked up many miles on both sides of the Atlantic.

“JD put his stamp on my songs and I put my stamp on his,” says Cara. “Then there are traditionals and covers that we melded together.” As for JD, “Cara brings a lot of great arranging to my music and more spirituality, along with a lot more of a folk influence. I think she also brings a lot of love to my music. It’s always important for artists to put themselves in awkward positions to challenge themselves, to explore themselves. That’s where the real art comes from, from figuring out how to come out of those situations, pushing yourself into a different realm of creativity and coming out of it empowered and excited. That’s what we’re doing.”

Make no mistake, The Small Glories is no one-off flash in the pan. “We could easily continue going our own separate ways as artists and be fine,” Cara acknowledges, “but doing this together right now is far better. It’s all about being fulfilled in life and I’m very happy with this combination. It’s truly a partnership of equals. There’s something about the blending of our voices and the music that we make together that’s like nothing else I’ve done, and I want to keep doing it. I’m excited about what the future holds for us as a duo.”

Thrown together purely by accident for an anniversary show at Winnipeg's West End Cultural Centre, The Small Glories is a partnership that could almost make you believe in fate. The Winnipeg Free Press asks, "can two singer-songwriters be better than one? Yes, emphatically, yes, if the two in question are Cara Luft and JD Edwards... It’s our loss they didn’t [join forces] sooner... It’s magic.” Together as The Small Glories, Luft and Edwards are a tour de force, a case of 1 1 = 3.

"[Luft's] amiable vocals and simplistic, lush instrumentation follow that of the long honored folk tradition with a modern twist. Lyrically [she] is like fresh linen on a Brooklyn clothesline. Her writing [is] redemptive, earthy and rooted in realism…. Darlingford conjures visions of blooming flowers in an apocalyptic wasteland, gold flaked tumbleweeds on the Trans-Canadian highway at dawn and a glimpse into the fractured and glowing soul of a talented writer and performer." - No Depression

“Co-founder of the vocal trio The Wailin' Jennys, The Light Fantastic has a more rock-and-roll bent. But even with a more hard-edged veneer the basic sweetness of Luft's songs shines through. Original compositions are spiced with Celtic and Anglo/Canadian inflections that harken to her folk roots. If you liked the Jennys' first two releases, you'll love this.” - Vintage Guitar Magazine


“Yes, Luft is a Wailin’ Jennys founder but so much more too, head and shoulders above most. Think Julie Miller meets Gillian Welch on a lot of this, with an occasional bit of Linda Thompson tossed in.” - The Province

"It can’t be done, so don’t even try to turn away from the affecting insistence of Canada’s Luft who sings like an angel named Joni or Alanis..." - The Globe & Mail


Evie Ladin

(pronounced EEvee LAYdin)

The polyrhythmic heat of Evie Ladin’s clawhammer banjo, resonant voice, real stories and rhythmic dance have been heard from A Prairie Home Companion to Celtic Connections, Lincoln Center to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Known as a driving force behind San Francisco’s Stairwell Sisters, Evie’s solo debut Float Downstream (2010), co-produced by Mike Marshall and Keith Terry, was quickly followed by Evie Ladin Band (2012), which won Americana Album of the Year by the Independent Music Awards Vox Pop Vote. The 2016 release of JUMP THE FIRE showcases the ELB evolving into a tight trio, with mature, playful, driving songs, and a 4-dimensional live show.

Banjo player, step-dancer, singer, songwriter and square-dance caller, Evie grew up in a trad folk scene up and down the Eastern Seaboard of the US. Her family home was always open to musicians and dancers traveling through, her family vacations at festivals and music camps. Starting banjo at 8, clogging since 5, Evie is fluid in traditional Appalachian arts, even as she brings an urban edge and contemporary vision to her own stories, deep interpretations of old songs, contemporary percussive dance. Folk music in her family life, early urban hip hop in her teen life, diving deep into the African side of old-time country music and dance…Music, dance and song became inseparable forms as they are in traditional cultures. Evie’s inventive performances, recordings and teaching connect those dots in captivating, visually musical ways.

Based in Oakland, CA, Evie tours solo, duo with Keith Terry, and trio, with Erik Pearson rounding out the Evie Ladin Band. She also tours with Keith Terry & Crosspulse, and helped cultivate the thriving International Body Music scene, performing rhythm-based multi-cultural music & dance works, reconnecting Appalachian music with other African-Diaspora traditions in the world music fabric. She directs an all-gal moving choir, MoToR/dance. Folk music, percussive dance, old-time traditional, singer-songwriter, world fusion – in every outlet, Evie is a demonstrative, engaging live performer.

Firm believer that arts integrated in everyday life makes for healthy people and communities, Evie is a seasoned educator. On tour and at home, Evie leads workshops and lecture/demonstrations from elementary through professional level in old-time harmony singing, clawhammer banjo, percussive and vernacular dance styles, and she calls super-fun rowdy square dances.