FREE DOWNLOADS: Kim Wempe's Star Rising from Coast to Coast

Prairie born songwriter’s career taking off thanks to East Coast support

HALIFAX, NS – February is a busy month for Kim Wempe, and one she’ll probably never forget. The Halifax folk/roots artist recognized for a voice as fierce and powerful as a North Atlantic storm has been thrown into a whirlwind of her own, crisscrossing the country with a series of winter festival dates and a two-week residency at Atlantic Canada House for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Pavilions.

But it doesn’t end there. The Saskatchewan born songwriter, whose most recognized song tells her story of falling in love with Atlantic Canada and her move to Nova Scotia, returns from her last Olympic gig just in time to finish rehearsals for performances at the East Coast Music Awards where her May 2009 release Where I Need to Be is nominated for Female Solo Artist and Rising Star Recording of the Year.

“The support for emerging artists on the East Coast is amazing,” says Wempe. “Everyone appreciates music, it’s such an important part of culture out here, and that is reflected all the way up to industry organizations like Music Nova Scotia, the ECMA and the funding partners.”

After a digital release of the record in May, Wempe hit the road with pal and musical soulmate Carmel Mikol (the pair formed their bond travelling together to last year’s ECMA’s) on their “Guess Who’s Driving?” Tour – an ambitious series of more than 50 dates from Newfoundland to Gabriola Island, BC and back to Nova Scotia. The adventure netted them new friends and fans, endless stories and a Canada-wide co-write that will be featured on Kim’s upcoming full-length release, Painting With Tides.

Kim hibernated in Halifax’s Echo Chamber with producer Charles Austin (Joel Plaskett, Thom Swift, David Myles) through January to record the new album which follows her more alt-country Where I Need to Be with a folk/roots sound and added influence from some of Atlantic Canada’s best players including Joel Plaskett, Thom Swift, Chris ‘Old Man’ Leudecke, and David Bradshaw. Currently in mixing, the record has so far been funded by fan support and the Province of Nova Scotia through the Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage and is currently available in one of five custom pre-order packages at http://kimwempe.com/help.

While no release date has been set for Painting with Tides, Wempe is offering free downloads of three tracks from her ECMA Nominated Where I Need to Be. The entire EP can be downloaded for $4.99 or fans can purchase a limited edition CD + poster package with an instant digital download for $9.99 + shipping. All are available at buy.kimwempe.com where the record can also be streamed for free.

Kim’s music is also featured on this year’s ECMA Rising Star compilation (Where I Need to Be: The East Coast Love Song), the Atlantic Film Festival Music & Image Compilation (Oh Heart) and Spincount Music’s Best of the East Coast Volume One digital download card (Out of My Closet).

Stream Where I Need to Be
Pre-Order Painting With Tides

Myspace: myspace.com/kimwempe
Twitter: kimwempemusic
Or search “Kim Wempe” on Facebook

Kim Wempe - Oh Heart (Alternate Take) by kimwempe

The Coast Looks at Why the Halifax Scene Works

Stephanie Johns at the Coast has written a great piece about the Halifax Music scene and the things that have made it work over the last decade.

""I think with home recording being a lot easier now there are just a lot of people putting out recordings that aren't exactly full-length records, so people are just having a bit more fun with how they present that material," says Dunlap.

There is also a cultural commitment to music on the east coast. Mason mentions "Nova Scotia's support for music, both festivals like Celtic Colours, Halifax Pop Explosion, Lunenburg Folk Harbour and Harmony Bazaar, and the government programs and Music Nova Scotia all have created a wonderful and unique incubator and support system for all sorts of genres of music.""

Full Article at http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/decade-in-review-music-scene-not-a-machine/Content?oid=1454921.

Since Canada and it's various music scenes are the lifeblood of NxEW I can't recommend strongly enough that you give it a read. Halifax (pop 360,000) has been doing amazingly well and a combination of local/community support, networking with other area cities, and government support has alot to do with it.

One Last Blast of Christmas Music: Halifax is Burning

I've recently discovered the blog/podcast and CKDU radio show Halifax is Burning and somehow, over the holidays, neglected to mention it, but although Christmas is over, you might want to grab a copy of the Christmas edition which features the Superfantastics version of Do They Know It's Christmas?, the Tom Fun Orchestra doing Merry Christmas From Me To You, BA Johnston doing BA Johnston Sings A Christmas Song and Wintersleep performing We Three Kings (amoung a bunch of other stuff). Visit http://halifaxisburning.blogspot.com/2009/12/halifax-is-burning-s01e013-christmas.html to get the full track list and download the episode!

Halifax + Fredricton: Make Your Holidays Superfantastic

If you live in Halifax or Fredricton you're in luck the amazingly spectacular Superfantastics are releasing a limited run of their new EP 'Holiday Special' only at their Holiday Shows:

December 17 at Gus' Pub in Halifax
December 18 at the Capital in Fredricton, New Brunswick
Facebook Event Page is Here

Joining them will be more superfantastical people - Jenocide and Jon McKiel - great music, and a chance to grab an EP that the rest of the country can't have (at least not yet).

Now I know that you're planning on doing your Xmas shopping on those days, but you aren't really going to. You'll just end up procrastinating some more - so, go to the show, have a few drinks and grab the new Superfantastics EP for all of your friends and family. It will be the best holiday shopping experience of your life!