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‘Spellbinding performer’ brings smoky vocals to Vernon

Frazey Ford, former lead of The Be Good Tanyas, frees herself from folk-writing format

Her music may not fit the confines of one specific genre, but one thing is certain: when Frazey Ford brings her blend of smooth jazz and smoky soul to the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre (VDPAC) April 20, the audience will be transported to a world where it’s safe to move freely and look inwards.

Based in Vancouver, the former lead singer and guitarist of The Be Good Tanyas, Ford blends folk, soul and psychedelia as her third album, U Kin B the Sun, flows through a mesmerizing world of soft beats and ‘70s funk sure to get audiences moving.

“There are certain songs that just appear and there’s no art to it,” said Ford. “To me, those songs have some kind of spiritual quality—sometimes I feel like they’re these different voices that you’re able to channel. There really was something magical about the improvisational aspect and how that shaped the album and such a joy in the experience of really revelling in what we were all creating together.”

The album’s lead single, Azad, evokes images of Ford’s early childhood on a commune in western Canada as the daughter of American draft dodgers. The bright song is full of courage and natural beauty as it draws from the love between siblings banding together through difficult situations.

“I used to speak more in metaphors, but this album came out in a much more raw and direct way,” said Ford. “I’d say that’s a result of being more in my body and more in touch with the wholeness of anger, with taking up space and having boundaries. On this record, I freed myself from the folk-writing format, and it’s been a whole different exploration for me.”

VDPAC artistic director Erin Kennedy calls Ford a “spellbinding performer” whose unique sound “lets us escape and leave our day behind us as we’re enveloped in her beautiful music and storytelling.”

To check out the Wednesday, April 20 show, visit ticketseller.ca or call 250-549-SHOW(7469).

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Frazey Ford performs in Vernon April 20. (Alana Paterson photo)


Jennifer Smith

About the Author: Jennifer Smith

Vernon has always been my home, and I've been working at The Morning Star since 2004.
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