Frazey Ford (British Columbia)

While you may know Frazey Ford’s name best as a member of the hip and awesome Be Good Tanyas, if you follow music at all, you know she is also now an accomplished solo artist. The Tanyas’ music landed solidly in a blend of old-timey, country, and folk. Since striking out on her own, though, Ford’s musical palate has expanded or, better, become more focused.

There’s always been something soulful teeming underneath the honey-dipped tremulous restraint in Ford’s vocals on her Be Good Tanyas records, as well as her solo debut Obadiah (2010). With the release of her latest, Indian Ocean, the familiar old-timey rustic harmonies have bloomed, transported into a full-throated ebullience that takes us down to where the rivers run deep. Ford has placed her ear to the earth and tapped into the lush, emotional tradition of soul to give voice to her own stories.

Recorded in Memphis with collaborators that spanned the continent, old friends and new, including Al Green’s iconic band The Hi Rhythm Section, the recording reflects Ford’s passion, her depth, her self-possession. It’s an album about pain and dealing with tough truths but also about trust, love contrition and being bold. Since its release last October, it has made it to numerous “Best of 2014” album lists, including the CBC and the UK’s The Sunday Times.

For the legion of Ford fans looking to catch her at the festival, there’s no separating the pleasure of her music from her uncommon voice. Unleashing her inner soul singer, she unearths lyrical intimacies with honesty, a giving heart, and a sharpness the combines the pretty, the reflective, and the searingly forthright. Her sound is described as being “a masterpiece” (The Sunday Time).

Frazey Ford is a powerful force on today’s music scene, and making “the best art of her life” (Alex Varty, Georgia Straight). She is someone who, when she comes within range of your sight and sound, you simply must come see.