Two Pre-eminent Canadian Songwriters to Perform at Summerfolk
David Francey & Ron Hynes
David Francey has won three Juno awards and the former construction worker turned successful folk singer and songwriter has garnered critical acclaim for his ‘new’ profession. Poetic perception and a keen eye for the heart of the matter are trademarks of the man and his music earning him a reputation as one of Canada's most revered folk poets and singers.
David Francey & Ron Hynes
David Francey has won three Juno awards and the former construction worker turned successful folk singer and songwriter has garnered critical acclaim for his ‘new’ profession. Poetic perception and a keen eye for the heart of the matter are trademarks of the man and his music earning him a reputation as one of Canada's most revered folk poets and singers.
Francey was born in 1954 in Ayrshire, Scotland, where as a paper boy he got his first taste of the working life. He learned to read at an early age, and by eleven, was devouring the newspapers he delivered. This helped establish his interest in politics and world events while developing the social conscience that forms the backdrop of his songs.
He was twelve when his family immigrated to Toronto. He says he can trace his love of the land, the history, and the people of his adopted country to weekend family drives exploring southern Ontario. Music played a large part in these family outings. They sang traditional Scottish tunes as they drove through the Canadian countryside. Dad and sister Muriel sang melody, while mother and David sang harmonies.
His attachment to Canada grew with travel. He hitch-hiked across the country three times. This attachment surfaces in his songs of rail lines, farms and the St. Lawrence Seaway. He grew to understand the people while working in Toronto train yards, the Yukon bush and as a carpenter in the Eastern Townships. These experiences coloured his first CD Torn Screen Door with songs like Hard Steel Mill, Gypsy Boys and Working Poor.
Even after releasing this CD in 1999, Francey continued to work in construction until his second album Far End of Summer was named Best Roots and Traditional Album at the 2002 Juno Awards - a surprise win which prompted him to make the switch to music full time.
“I said maybe we should be doing music because we just won a Juno for crying out loud,” said Francey at the time. “So it was a leap of faith in a sense, but to tell you the truth, I thought the timing was right to try it. And I guess it’s worked out the right way.”
While he admitted he missed the work and the friends he made while on the job, crafting songs was far less taxing on the body. “When I was getting up on stage and maybe feeling sorry for myself for being on the road, I’d be thinking - well, I’m not getting up in the morning and doing a couple of roofs or wheeling cement all day. So everything for me was a treat. The things I got to do and the people I got to meet, they were something to look forward to every day.”
With an ever increasing tour schedule, David continued recording and won 2 more Junos. One for his Skating Rink CD in 2004 and Right of Passage in 2008. His latest release Late Edition is his ninth recording project.
In concert David Francey is a singer and a storyteller who can establish, in moments, a personal rapport with his audience. He tours with New Hampshire multi-instrumentalist Craig Werth. Francey’s wry humour and astute observations combined with an openhearted singing style have earned him a loyal following. His often long-winded introductions are a legendary and integral part of his show, charmingly setting the up the songs that tell honest stories of real people and real places.
David lives with his wife, artist Beth Girdler and their three children Amy, Julia and Colin, in the Lanark Highlands of eastern Ontario.
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One of Canada’s premier singer-songwriters, Ron Hynes has created beautifully crafted songs for more than 35 years.
Freq
uently referred to as the ‘man of a thousand songs’, Ron is perhaps best known for penning the folk classic Sonny’s Dream. His songs have been covered by dozens of artists worldwide, including Emmylou Harris, Mary Black, Denny Doherty, Murray McLauchlan, Valdy, John McDermott, Prairie Oyster, The Good Brothers, and many more.Hynes was born in St. John’s in December 1950, and raised in Ferryland on the southern shore of the Avalon Peninsula. He began as a singer-songwriter on the coffee house circuit in the early seventies, firstly in the Maritimes and then working out of Toronto. By 1975 he was back in Newfoundland, writing music and lyrics for stage productions.
He was part of a CBC television production called The Root Cellar. This series gave birth to the Wonderful Grand Band, which became one of Newfoundland's most popular acts. Combining traditional and original songs, fresh musical ideas and comic interludes, the band spent six years touring together.
By 1992, Hynes had compiled a catalogue of several hundred songs and earned a reputation as one of Canada's finest composers of folk and country music. His songs had became part of the fabric of Newfoundland culture.
Ron Hynes is a man who is not without his demons. He is the first to admit there were times when he was not at his best. But he has gone through treatment for addictions and a 2006 self-titled CD deals with these struggles. He communicates his personal suffering with painful honesty in songs like Dry and My Name is Nobody. Baring his soul, this intimate album showcases the skill of his songwriting, albeit with content that is somewhat dark. For me, this was the record that showed Ron Hynes was back, facing his demons head-on and crafting songs of truth and clarity.
His latest release Stealing Genius is his eighth solo recording, and his third project with award-winning producer Paul Mills. Inspired by works from some of his favourite Newfoundland authors and poets, these songs not only echo a life in that province but resonate with people everywhere.
Stealing Genius comes hot on the heels of the feature-length documentary film The Man Of A Thousand Songs in which Hynes is both subject and star, telling his own difficult story in three different narrative voices - the person, the persona and the myth. The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival to sold out audiences and critical praise.
Nominated for a bevy of awards, Ron Hynes is a six-time East Coast Music Award winner. He was recipient of the 2008 SOCAN National Achievement Award for his songwriting success and he holds an Honorary PhD from Memorial University for his contributions to the cultural life of his beloved Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Hynes songbook, The Songs of Ron Hynes Vol 1 is a collection of 26 pieces transcribed for guitar and voice. It includes such masterpieces as Sonny’s Dream, St. John’s Waltz, Leaving on the Evening Tide and Godspeed; songs that transcend their Newfoundland origins and have been absorbed into the folk repertoire.
“I can’t read music all that well” he confesses. “Reading and writing music is too exacting for someone like me. I just write a lyric and wait till it starts singing back at me. I like the idea that these songs are now available in libraries and schools - new Newfoundland songs for people to learn. These songs are who I am - part of a community of farmers and fishermen living on the edge of the world”.
