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ARCHIVES | |
ERIN McCALLUM
Big Voice. Big Sound.
www.erinmccallum.com
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Erin McCallum |
When Erin McCallum first heard Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog”, she sensed something very special. She heard a sound and delivery that she identified with immediately, and continues to channel both in the studio and in live performance.
A relative newcomer to the music scene, McCallum is making great strides employing that basic approach – true to the long-standing roots of Blues – as basis for her own vision of the genre. And people are starting to take notice. Establishing a sound revolving around that voice – a captivating alto tenor – Erin has received well deserved recognition with two 2011 Maple Blues Award nominations:
- “Female Vocalist of the Year”
- “New Artist / Group of the Year”
Erin and her band have also been nominated twice been for an Ontario Independent Music Award, ("Best Blues Band").
It’s been only four short years since Erin McCallum released her fine first CD 5 a.m. Blues. If there’s a score card in play, the marked growth and progression of her latest offering, Common Ground, builds on the strengths of both this initial release as well as her second effort Feel This. The process through all three of her albums remains the same: McCallum writing, arranging, and producing strong material, and Erin’s powerful vocals taking centre stage. But the similarities end there.
Common Ground finds the band playing as a unit larger than its individual parts while providing ample support for the urgency of McCallum’s vocals. Collectively, they’ve found a groove, and Erin’s vocals are becoming identifiable as hers alone. And while the band is hitting its stride in the studio, all translates very well live as evidenced by the response of growing audiences across Ontario.
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