On “Holiday!” Lynch and her white-hot band offer up acoustic remakes of holiday classics and original tunes that has become essential listening and a perfect seasonal gift for all fans of Americana, Bluegrass and Country music. From her home in Nashville, Lynch says, “When you slip this CD into the player, I know you’re going to feel like wrapping those presents and baking those goodies!” This is the perfect record to help you jump-start and kick off your Holiday season. 
     Claire Lynch is high on the bluegrass world’s A-List, with accolades that include three International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Female Vocalist of the Year awards, two GRAMMY nominations, the United States Artists Walker Fellowship (2012).

Holiday!

Holiday! (mp3)

8 We Three Kings (instrumental)

5 Jingle Bells

4 Heaven's Light

3 Snow Day

2 It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

1 Home for the Holidays

A wonderful collection of new songs from one of our most important and vital songwriters…If it doesn’t bring a lump to your throat, you’re already beyond help. Essential listening, then, this Gathering. – Penguin Eggs Magazine (March 2016)

On her sixth album, Gathering, past Juno-nominated songwriter Maria Dunn highlights stories of love—not songs of romantic love, but songs of family, community, humanity and the love that fires our actions to make the world a better place. 

In keeping with Pete Seeger’s words (1994), “The key to the future of the world is finding the optimistic stories and letting them be known”, the songs range from historical and narrative to personal and immediate, inspired by social justice stories both global and local.

A storyteller through song, Maria writes about the resilience and grace of “ordinary” people. Her earlier albums anchor these tales in music that melds North American roots with her Scottish-Irish heritage. With Gathering, Maria continues to expand her musical palate with contributions from Sufi singer Karim Gillani and jazz saxophonist Jeremiah McDade.

Recorded at DanLyn Studios in Sherwood Park, Gathering was produced by Shannon Johnson (Juno award winner with The McDades for 2007’s Bloom). Guest musicians: Eric Breton (percussion), Karim Gillani (guest vocal), Shannon Johnson (violin), Ojas Joshi (tabla, percussion), Jeremiah McDade (saxophone, bansuri, whistles, guitar), Solon McDade (upright bass) and Asani (singers Debbie Houle,  Sarah Pocklington and Terry Morrison).

The 11 songs on Gathering range from “Malala”, a buoyant call to action inspired by Malala Yousafzai, to “When I Was Young”, a flowing old-time ballad inspired by Alberta indigenous leader Dorothy McDonald-Hyde. “How I Live” shares the quiet courage of families supporting their children with disabilities, while “When The Grandmothers Meet” celebrates women across the globe, with its exuberant vocals and joyful horn lines. The recording finishes with “Music In The Meadow”, a bluesy bow-driven wordplay on the wonder of the Rocky Mountains.


03 When I Was Young

Claire is a down to earth, gracious friendly performer onstage & off who has a voice that's pure country gold, an open-hearted approach in her songs backed by a band of folksy troubadours with watertight musicianship. She's long been recognized as a creative force in acoustic music and at the forefront of women who have expanded the Bluegrass genre.  She has three GRAMMY nominations, eight International Bluegrass Music Association awards and the prestigious United States Artists Walker Fellowship. Critics laud Claire's  songwriting as an undeniable gift, and her enthralling "hillbilly angel" voice has landed her spots on recordings from Linda Ronstadt to Ralph Stanley and in between.

8 We Three Kings (instrumental)

Claire Lynch

Related tracks