The Wailin' Jennys

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The Wailin' Jennys
Origin Flag of Canada Winnipeg, Manitoba
Genre(s) Folk
Years active 2002 – Present
Label(s) Jericho Beach
Website www.thewailinjennys.com
Members
Ruth Moody
Nicky Mehta
Heather Masse
Former members
Cara Luft
Annabelle Chvostek

The Wailin' Jennys are a Canadian folk trio from Winnipeg, Manitoba and New York, consisting of soprano Ruth Moody, mezzo Nicky Mehta, and alto Heather Masse. All members also play instruments (acoustic guitar, electric upright bass, mandolin, banjo, accordion, bodhran, drums, harmonica, and violin). The Wailin' Jennys have released several albums, and tour regularly through North America and Europe. Their album Firecracker made it to number two spot on the Billboard Bluegrass charts in 2006.

The group is featured regularly on Garrison Keillor's show A Prairie Home Companion. The group's name is a pun on the country singer Waylon Jennings.

Contents

[edit] History

The group was founded in 2002 when a guitar shop in Winnipeg called Sled Dog Music[1] brought three soloists (Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and Cara Luft) together for a joint performance. The show was well received, and the owner scheduled a follow-up which was also a great success. The owner then "offered that they might go on tour and call themselves the Wailin' Jennys."[2]

In 2004, Luft left to pursue her solo career and was replaced by Annabelle Chvostek, a singer/songwriter from Montreal.

In 2005, the group won a Juno award for their 2004 CD 40 Days in the category of "best roots/traditional album (group)".[3]

In 2006, the group was nominated for two awards at the North American Folk Alliance, one for contemporary artist of the year and for best contemporary release, Firecracker.[4]

In 2007, the Jennys received a Juno nomination for Firecracker (in the category of "Roots & Traditional Album Of The Year: Group), and their producer, David Travers-Smith was nominated as "Recording Engineer of the Year" for his work on The Devil's Paintbrush Road (composed by Chvostek) and Prairie Town (composed by Moody).[5]

In 2007, Chvostek left to pursue her solo career, to be replaced by Heather Masse, a Maine-born singer with a background in jazz and blues as well as folk who also fronts the Brooklyn-based Heather & the Barbarians.

All of the members of the Jennys maintain solo careers in addition to their efforts with the group.

[edit] Discography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sled Dog Music
  2. ^ Notes the 2005-05-21 episode of A Prairie Home Companion, viewed 2006-10-10
  3. ^ [Article] at Guilford
  4. ^ Folk Alliance nominees] article from CBC.ca Arts (downloaded 2007-02-13)
  5. ^ 2007 Juno nominees (downloaded 2007-02-13)

[edit] External links