Dayna Manning, Damhnait Doyle and Tara MacLean, three great friends, songwriters, labelmates and fellow travellers, will be coming together for a special performance in recognition of the fact that our ongoing existence is largely dependant on a thin veneer of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon compounds, that have been roughly scraped over the surface of a rock that is hurtling through the vacuum of space at mind-boggling speeds, or “Earth Day” as some call it.
Manning, Doyle and MacLean will be performing in the round, sharing fan favourites, and swapping stories about life and their two decades of friendship.
“I can’t wait to play with Dav and Dayna! I love them and their music. No idea what stories are going to come out. I’ve got dirt on both of them,” says MacLean, presumably in keeping with the Earth Day theme.
Each of the three award-winning musicians has an apparent soft spot in their heart for the pale blue dot and each other.
Tara MacLean has been a passionate environmentalist since 1993 when she found myself protesting the clear-cut logging of the ancient temperate rain forest in British Colombia.
“After spending two weeks in jail and being a part of a movement that protected that old-growth forest, I learned that we can only do this together, raising our voices together, learning and listening and changing our ways together,” says MacLean. “The main thing I learned was that we need to listen to the indigenous elders and their wisdom about how to protect the earth so we can sustain it for generations to come.”
Dayna Manning says she’s been able to focus on helping to protect the planet through her teaching and by working towards a community-driven, arts-based economy. Manning has a “Folk Army” program which, much like Scouts, provides opportunities to earn custom-made guitar strap badges to highlight their individual successes. The patches are based on everything from the improvement of musical abilities to community involvement, all the way to an environment badge for a special achievement of their choosing that helps promote a healthier planet.
Manning says she’ll be performing two songs during the show that fit into the Earth Day theme: “Save Me,” which she wrote from the perspective of the earth speaking to humanity, and “From Canada,” which she co-wrote with “Father Goose” Bill Lishman of Fly Away Home fame.
“I am looking forward to hanging with Tara and Dayna,” says Doyle. “We have been friends for so long and frankly it will be really nice to have a legitimate excuse to lock myself in my room for a few hours! I am passionate about a lot of massive social issues but, unless we focus on our planet’s survival, there will be no one and nothing left.”
It should make for a fun evening of good-natured ribbings, top-notch songcraft, and some colourful tales as we celebrate that which makes all other celebrations possible.
Tickets for Grounded (Thursday, April 22, 2021, 7:00PM ET/8:00PM AT) can be purchased online from HomeRoutes.ca, with prices ranging from $15 – $30 CAD. Naturally, the show takes place via the entirely safe and sanitary platform of Zoom. All ages are welcome.