(Napanee, ON) – A proud native of Prince Edward County, born of true United Empire Loyalist stock, and now a resident of Sir John A. Macdonald’s hometown of Kingston, talented singer/songwriter Emily Fennell Taylor is thrilled that her first show in Greater Napanee in more than five years is taking place on the grounds of the town’s historic Allan Macpherson House.
Billed as Miss Emily, she will be performing on Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m., as part of L&A County’s Music in the Garden series.
“I am really excited to be coming back to Napanee, and I am thrilled with the setting there. To be outdoors and on such a beautiful heritage property is amazing. An outdoor show thatis all ages and community oriented – to me is one of the most beautiful places you can make music. I am UEL and I appreciate that part of my personal history more and more every year I am on this planet. And I love that Napanee is pairing arts and entertainment with culture and history. To me it’s the most natural thing,” said Fennell, who has written, recorded and released five albums over the past decade, the most recent being Rise, which came out in 2014.
A fixture on the eastern Ontario music scene since she was in her late teens, Fennell devoted her life to music and was able to make a full time living doing what she loved right up until a couple of years ago when she married. The struggles and sacrifices of being a full-time working musician were legion, especially being a single-mom for a number of years, and Fennell Taylor said Rise was the first time in a long time when she really felt able to step back and do music simply for the love of it. And it marked the first time in a very long time where she has been able to actually live a life with a semblance of normalcy.
“I am still very busy now, but it’s mostly family stuff. My career as a working musician was so heavy for so long that it’s been kind of nice to re-prioritize life a little bit. From age 17 to age 32 it was full tilt, anywhere from four to eight gigs a week. Summer never existed for me then. Many musicians will understand this because in the summer you make hay while the sun shines and it’s non-stop. You work yourself into a frenzy and just summer doesn’t happen. There are no patios and cottage docks or camping trips,” she said.
“But I feel very strongly that I don’t want people to think that for any reason or under any circumstances am I any less of a musician than I was one year ago, five years ago, or 10 years ago – absolutely not. It’s just now having a support system and having a double-income household and stuff like that has allowed me some freedoms. So I can write and I can record and I can enjoy my family time and have a life outside of just gigging.”
Fennell Taylor said the less hectic schedule means when she does play shows, such as the one in Napanee on Aug. 26, they’re more special for both her and the audience.
“It’s made a huge impact on heightening the quality of my performances over the last couple of years. I can focus on the details of the show and be well rehearsed because I am not laden with all the filler gigs just to try and pay my hydro bill. It’s really nice to play shows and have it be really special and a show that I can put a lot of effort into just that one performance, because I don’t have 16 more shows over a 14 day period,” she said, adding that Rise was an album where she unshackled herself from all the expectations and music ‘business’ considerations and just concentrated on expressing herself as a creative force, and carve out a memorable musical legacy.
“The days of concerning myself with what radio wants are long over. With each passing year, I decided that I needed to something that is going to be around long after I am going, something that is a real statement of who I am, even if it’s only in the hands of six people. Rise was the first album I have made that I had zero interest in fitting into any genre or label; I just made music that I was passionate about. And end of the day it ended up being a very soulful record, but it was made for the most selfish of reasons, and it was made for myself and my support network,” she said, adding that her new perspective is a far cry from even a half-decade earlier when she and her then management were pushing to break Miss Emily into the mainstream music scene.
“In 2010 I was being shopped around to some of the biggest record labels in the world, but more as a pop artist. It was a cool experience and stuff (including performing and getting accolades from the likes of Kiss co-founder Gene Simmons). But even in 2010 I was a fossil. I was 29 – I was friggin’ ancient as far as being a female artist goes these days. Now at 34 they probably see me as being six feet under.”
With the support of her incredibly loyal and certainly substantial fan base, coupled with more time to plan, create and think about the next chapters in her musical journey, Fennell Taylor has seemingly found her path. And it’s not one that would come as any surprise to those who have heard her powerful somewhat dusky and evocative voice.
“My voice has always just been my voice, but now I am actually going to apply it to a productive style that is specific to the characteristics of my voice. I think Rise was a huge step in that direction and I feel like I accomplished something by taking that step. So the next record is going to be a blues record. And the great thing about the blues is that it doesn’t matter how old you are, or what your gender is, or what you look like. It’s all about the songs, the authenticity of the voice and the performance,” Fennell Taylor explained.
“There’s no real radio format for the blues, which is hilarious really when you think of how popular it is. There are all these listeners, all these festivals concerts and great artists out there. So first and foremost I put a phone call in to one of my friends who is in that genre and is part of the music industry here in Canada and she said, ‘oh yeah, we need to have some conversations.’ She was so encouraging.
“And I had one text conversation with [the Tragically Hip’s] Gord Sinclair. He has become a great partner in crime for me and has been so supportive. I said to him, ‘this is what I want to do and this is why I want to do it, what do you think?’ And he replied ‘I am your man. I am always in.’ And that was the entire conversation via text – I took it as a signal we’re making a blues album.”
Fennell Taylor has also become a passionate supporter of the Light of Day Foundation, which raises funds for the treatment and cure of Parkinson’s disease.
It was created in 2000 in New Jersey as a single fundraising concert in Asbury Park and has now grown into a 10-day festival featuring dozens of musical shows throughout the New York City/New Jersey area and features some of the top acts from that part of the country, including regular appearances from local legend Bruce Springsteen.
The foundation has spread to a dozen countries throughout the globe, including Canada over the past couple of years. Fennell Taylor’s new manager Gord Hunter and his wife Ginette Blais organized two Kingston shows over the past couple of years, which brought some of the main organizers and even some artists up from New Jersey. Impressing the visitors, she was asked to perform as part of the main festival in New Jersey this past January. During the finale of the main show at the legendary Paramount Theatre, Fennell was called out to do backup singing duties for Springsteen and also participate in the grand finale, when all the artists were onstage.
As much as appearing with ‘The Boss’ was a cool moment, it was the dedication and commitment of the Light of Day volunteers and staff which really inspired her.
“Gord and Ginette are passionate supporters of the Light of Day organization. And I am a passionate supporter of passionate supporters. When I see a charity is well organized and that there are amazing people doing good things, that really puts wind in my sails. My songwriting mentor growing up suffers from Parkinson’s and I mean he really suffers. So when there was finally this wonderful marriage of passionate people and an organization that raises money for something I believe desperately needs to be cure, I was totally on board. I can’t tell you the last time I was involved in an organization where I felt so passionate about what they were doing,” she said.
“They have huge dreams and huge hopes. To see what Gord and Ginette were able to accomplish here in Kingston and then go down to New Jersey and meet the people who had travelled up here and see them in their element over this big festival was simply amazing. And Springsteen is Springsteen. But honestly he is really just a drop in the bucket of all that is going on with Light of Day. It was the most ‘feel good’ charity event I have ever been involved in.
“There are no politics, no egos – there was a beautiful camaraderie amongst the musicians and the organizers. There was so much respect amongst the venues and the sound people and volunteers. It’s eight months later and I am still buzzed about it. It changed my life. I am so committed to this cause personally; I can’t wait to do more to raise money for that organization.”
In the interim, Fennell Taylor will continue to play select shows, work on her new blues project, and enjoy her abundant and continually rewarding family life.
Admission to her show on Aug. 26 at Allan Macpherson House and Park, 180 Elizabeth St., is $3. For details, visit www.MacphersonHouse.ca, or call 613-354-3027.
For more information on Fennell visit http://www.themissemily.com/.
For information about Light of Day, visit www.lightofday.org.
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