For a musician with talent and integrity these are the best of times.

 

Barriers between artist and audience that have existed for decades are now crumbled like the Berlin Wall. Allison Crowe is making the most of new freedoms. The much-loved singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is reaching millions globally via the internet as well as live touring.

 

At home in Nanaimo, British Columbia and Corner Brook, Newfoundland, (spanning the breadth of Canada - from Atlantic to Pacific shores), Indiecan Radio host Joe Chisholm comments that Allison Crowe is the “most Canadian Canadian I’ve ever met.”

 

Last night, Canuck bard Leonard Cohen is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A legendary poet, writer, songwriter, and musician, Cohen is enjoying ever-broader public appreciation - his music reaching a mainstream audience last week on American Idol (when a contestant, Jason Castro, performed a shortened rendition of “Hallelujah”.)

 

At the same time, Allison Crowe’s most popular performance of Cohen’s glorious modern standard, “Hallelujah”, has an audience of over one million on YouTube - placing her version of the song in the top handful, and, as one of the most ‘favorited’ videos of all time in Canada - in the company of Aretha Franklin’s “I Say a Little Prayer”, Janis Joplin’s “Try” (live at Woodstock), Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way”, Led Zeppelin’s “Over the Hills and Far Away”, and, among today’s acts, Michael Buble’s ‘official’ version of “Home”.

 

Known for singular interpretations of Cohen, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles and others, thanks also to cultural and techonological revolutions, Allison Crowe’s original songs, as well as finding their massive audience, are, themselves, being covered. A distinctive and vital songwriter, Crowe’s unique songbook finds her anthemic meditation on peace and war, “Whether I’m Wrong”, and her spiky kiss-off “Skeletons and Spirits”, being interpreted by such diverse performers as up-and-coming singer-songwriters in the Netherlands to a community choir in Valencia, California. “Disease”, a song of social commentary, is being contributed, in all its raging glory, to the cause of “Music Inspires Health”, an Atlanta, Georgia-based initiative that’s enlisted Crowe, alongside Dave Brubeck, Ari Hest and others, to address a range of health issues in a musical context.

 

During 2008, exciting live, Allison Crowe is slated to travel over 90,000 kilometres for concerts in her home-towns of Nanaimo and Corner Brook, as well as shows in New York City, Boston/Cambridge, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Paris, Liverpool, Vienna, Prague, and multiple dates in Scotland, Germany, Scandinavia and other locations.

 

This past weekend, Crowe joined a cavalcade of talent in White Rock, B.C. for a rocking celebration of the 20^th Anniversary of Larry Anschell’s Turtle Recording Studios - an SPCA-fundraiser. Upcoming concert dates this month include: March 15 at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons, B.C. - with special guest Skye Wallace; and, March 22 at ArtSpring Theatre, Salt Spring Island, B.C. - with musical guests Aaron Trory and Rachel Saunders (also in aid of the local SPCA). Details of these and all concerts and other Allison Crowe music news can be found @ http://www.allisoncrowe.com

As the music industry’s evolution finds form in this digital age, wherever the playing field is level, Canadian musician Allison Crowe continues to excel and build audiences.

 

On Last.fm, the world’s largest world's largest social music platform, (over 15 million active users based in more than 200 countries), Crowe wrapped up the recent holiday season with her “Tidings” CD tagged the #2 Christmas album. Bright Eyes’ “A Christmas Album” was #1. Rounding out the top five were “The Sinatra Christmas Album” by Frank Sinatra (#3), Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” (#4), and The Vince Guaraldi Trio’s timeless “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (#5). Two other well-known Canadian acts, both Nettwerk recording artists, made it into the top 25 at Last.fm over the holiday season: Barenaked Ladies’ “Barenaked for the Holidays” was 8^th, and Sarah McLachlan’s “Wintersong” was 22^nd among top Christmas albums on the site.

 

In the video realm, as well as audio, Allison Crowe’s music is reaching fans in numbers remarkable for any artist - and spectacular for an independent with a promotional budget of zero dollars. On YouTube, the world’s largest video platform, Crowe’s performance of Leonard Cohen’s magnificent “Hallelujah” has been viewed more 900,000 times. This places her interpretation in the select company of Cohen himself, and mega-marketed versions by Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright. Hallelujah videos by other major label-funded acts attract smaller audiences - Imogen Heap and Sheryl Crow each drawing 200,000+ views, and kd lang’s most-watched performance topping 150,000 views. Brandi Carlile’s multiple performance vids have a cumulative viewership of 25,000.

 

Anacronyms blog notes: “This song has somehow become Crowe's signature, if a singer who defies description as stubbornly as she does has a signature... Cohen's original version is a spoken poem, all of the meaning contained in the words. Crowe's version is a living thing, a meditation and a celebration and a benediction."

 

Allison Crowe’s videos have a collective reach of more than 1.5 million views on YouTube, and her original songs are gaining in worldwide popularity. European interest is growing - with fan-made videos for Crowe’s songs “Immersed” and “Effortless” each scaling the #2 most watched position in January 2008 on Clipfish, Germany’s über-popular video portal. Fellow Canadian Avril Lavigne held the #1 spot.

 

Many in the record business are just getting comfortable with the new environment. Allison Crowe, following the model of Ani DiFranco and Loreena McKennitt, but, adapting her path for the internet age, has already found her place not only via online media, but, through her authentic recording methods and live performances.

 

David Powell, Welsh-based Interactive DVD Architect & Software Engineer writes: "I'm listening to 'Effortless' on (Allison Crowe’s) This Little Bird album with my Pro-Ject headphone amplifier (a new toy) turned up about a quarter more than on most modern records. It sounds fantastic because unlike most modern records it hasn't had the **** compressed out of it to raise the loudness."

 

From live videos and records, unprocessed, to the live stage, entirely natural - 2008 will see Allison Crowe visit Europe twice - for concerts in Scotland, England, Wales, France, Germany, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Austria and, possibly, more. Canada and U.S. concert dates will also be announced.

 

Before returning to the concert forum for her own, solo, shows, Allison Crowe joins troupes in her two Canadian homes, Nanaimo, British Columbia and Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Tonight, February 1, Crowe is part of a multi-disciplinary cast at Nanaimo’s Port Theatre poised to celebrate the Fifth Anniversary of Open Minds Open Windows’ “It Only Takes a Moment” - a fundraising and awareness event for mental health. On Saturday, February 9, she takes to the stage some 7000 kilometres east when, at Corner Brook’s Arts and Culture Centre, Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador presents its annual Valentine’s week fundraiser, “Sexy and Dangerous”. (Speaking of sexy, congrats to Corner Brook on its winning bid to host the ECMAs in 2009!)

 

 

For music and more, please visit http://www.allisoncrowe.com - and come out to experience Allison Crowe live.

Half a million strong: Allison Crowe's music gets back to where we once belonged

Allison Crowe's most recent Scottish expedition has been a smashing
success. Three performances = three standing ovations. Highlights, among
many, of the visit include performing songs of John Lennon for members
of John's family, meeting and dining with the Queen's Master of Music,
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, and his partner Colin Parkinson, and, simply,
sharing the joy and wonder of music and nature with people from Glasgow
and Edinburgh to the Highlands. (Not to forget the haggis stand outside
the Village Hall in Durness - and Sergeant Pepper's Soup Kitchen.)

With more concerts already booked, from May to September 2008, the
mutual love and respect between friends and fans in this most hospitable
land is fast making Scotland a bonnie "home from home" for Crowe, one of
the world's most exciting, and down-to-earth, musicians. Accepting
invitations to the Orkneys and Liverpool, (named the European Capital of
Culture for '08), is also in score for next year.

Allison Crowe's welcomed back to North America by news that Bob Muller,
curator of song covers at JoniMitchell.com, includes her recording of "A
Case of You" in the latest "Joni Covers" volume - with these words:
"Another fine entry in the Joni Covers pantheon for Allison, who first
wowed us with her electrifying take on River. This time 'round she picks
another Blue selection and imbues it with her sensitive singing and
playing. From her 2006 release 'This Little Bird', all of which is as
tasty as this track."

The world of video, along with audio, is embracing with conviction.
YouTube viewership for Crowe's take on Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is
over half-a-million strong (leading still more to her freshly definitive
'Tidings' album version of the song). Promising to become another,
future, reel highlight, makers of what can genuinely be called one of
the most highly anticipated Hollywood movie projects in twenty+ years,
have requested use of two of Allison's recordings for this major motion
picture. (More word on film production to follow, naturally.)

If we got ourselves back to the garden, when rock music was most vital,
Allison Crowe would blow audiences away at the Fillmore, at Monterey, at
Woodstock. Today, she plays for people on the stages of YouTube,
Jamendo, Last.fm (and other online forums where audiences gather to
enjoy her remarkable, and peerless, mix of originals and
interpretations). And, of course, the live experience comes together -
from the just-wrapped John Lennon Northern Lights Festival to her
upcoming Tidings concert series (dates and locations tba) - wherever she
travels.

In a age of commercial trends and calculated retro acts, Allison Crowe
delivers something else entirely as a singer-songwriter - a visceral
expression of freedom. We haven't had that spirit here, well, since
1969.

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