East Coast Talent

ALICIA TONER

Alicia Toner is an Americana singer, songwriter from the East Coast of Canada. A unique sound that brings her folk roots into a pop/rock fusion sets her apart, but it is her earnest and heartfelt songwriting that captures audiences, elevated by her incredibly moving, emotive voice.

“‘Joke’s On Me’ is about the part of you that knows you need to get out and the other part that tells you everything is fine. If anybody is in a relatable experience, one of the biggest things I learned is that you can’t get out by yourself without help.” - Alicia Toner

Award-winning Eastern Canadian musician, Alicia Toner, nationally recognized as a top Canadian songwriter, is gearing up to release her sophomore album at the end of June. In advance of her second full length project, the SOCAN Songwriter of the Year (2017) will be releasing her brand new single, “Joke’s On Me” on Friday, June 11th 2021. The classically trained violinist worked for over a decade in musical theatre in Toronto, and has been featured on notable Canadian radio programs including CBC Q among numerous others. Her upcoming single “Joke’s On Me” was produced by Stuart Cameron (Crash Test Dummies, Matthew Good, Amanda Marshall) and Peter Fusco. The song is about realizing the need to exit a difficult situation, touching on the inner conflict that one has before committing to taking action.

Growing up in New Brunswick, Toner was surrounded by music and grew up under the influence of her grandmother’s and uncle’s musical tastes (John Prine, Jim Croce, Gordan Lightfoot). She was classically trained on the violin and spent many years with the prestigious New Brunswick Youth Orchestra with whom she played Carnegie Hall. She continued on to study theatre in Toronto and spent 10 years in a successful acting career including shows produced by Mirvish Productions and Soulpepper Theatre. Three Toronto productions Toner was part of have won Dora awards. For seven seasons she was an integral part of the repertory cast at the Charlottetown Festival before returning to her first love: songwriting. Alicia’s first release, “I Learned The Hard Way” (2017) earned her much critical acclaim and a SOCAN Songwriter of the Year award for her song “Back To Fine.” She was featured on CBC’s Q as a part of Measha Brueggergosman’s Block Party and had extensive radio play for her first single, “Waves”.

It is her upcoming album, however, that really shows us who Alicia Toner is and what she is capable of. “Joan” is set to be released in June 2021 and it marks the arrival of an artist you must pay attention to. Says Toner, “‘Joan’ was my way of selftitling an album. It is my middle name but one used by many members of my family and inner circle since I was born. Calling this album ‘Joan’ felt appropriate as the songs on it are pieces of myself that not everyone gets to see. Until now.”

Full of hooks, masterful vocals, compelling lyrics and top notch production, “Joan” is a collection of songs that demands your attention.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0KWdSvxreEiygy1tMVCZqi

www.aliciatoner.ca

The Charlottetown Festival

The 2021 season focuses on the East Coast-and its stellar musicians

By Rebecca Spinner Photos Courtesy of CCOA

▲ Steve O’Connell, Bernardine Stapleton (Photo: Ritche Perez) f For decades, Charlottetown Festival performances have been the high point of perfect summer days on the Island.

And although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Confederation Centre of the Arts from staging 2020’s festival, a carefully chosen season--and social distancing measures implemented with the Chief Public Health Office’s guidance-mean 2021’s festival can go ahead safely.

The festival can now stage the world premiere of Dear Rita, which organizers say has been in the works since 2019. This fascinating production reframes the music of Rita MacNeil, and it’s certainly the show Islanders have anticipated longest. As Artistic Director Adam Brazier puts it, “Dear Rita is a musical toast to Cape Breton’s ‘First Lady of Song’—a true fixture of Canadian culture.”

Like Dear Rita, 2021’s amphitheatre show--the Young Company’s THE RISING!-showcases songwriting (classic pop/rock “protest songs”). But the production isn’t geared toward nostalgia; the festival’s online audition

“These stories demonstrate what it takes to be a hero, to put everything on the line, and to fight for those who cannot.” - Adam Brazier, Artistic Director

▲ Old Stock: Ben Caplan (Photo: Fadi Acra) ▲ Robert Harris, Self-Portrait, c. 1890, watercolour on paper, gift of the Robert Harris Trust, 1965, CAGH-205

call described the show as “exploring moments where society has come together to stand up for civil and judicial rights.”

The 2021 festival will also host two productions initially staged elsewhere on the East Coast. Those two shows-Between Breaths and OLD STOCK: A Refugee Love Story-draw on Atlantic musicianship as well. In Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland’s Between Breaths, ECMA-awarded folk trio The Once score the story of twentieth-century whale expert Dr. Jon Lien.

“I have always been drawn to true stories in the theatre,” says Brazier. “Between Breaths reminds us how small we are and the immense influence we can have.”

Meanwhile, 2b theatre company’s OLD STOCK pulls from the history of European refugees at Halifax’s Pier 21 and the klezmer music tradition. The production has experienced breathtaking international success since its first staging, and stars cocomposer Ben Caplan. As a whole, Brazier says, the festival lineup revolves around “enchanting, true stories from right here in Atlantic Canada.”

To support social distancing, Between Breaths, Dear Rita, and OLD STOCK are presented by relatively small casts. (Festival mainstay Anne of Green Gables—The Musical™ is to be remounted farther down the road.) From a theatregoer perspective, a small-cast season is intriguing-these types of shows spotlight exceptionally talented artists and, often, astonishing performances.

Festival attendees should be familiar with the social-distancing policies on Confederation Centre’s website. Audience sizes for indoor productions will be reduced, and during “sold-out” shows, the theatre will remain threequarters empty-so it’s important to get tickets quickly.

The Confederation Centre Art Gallery

• Give Me Shelter - until June 6 • Gerard Clarkes: A Haunted Land - until June 16 • A Life’s Work: Canadian Artist Robert Harris (1849-1919) - from June 5 • Art in the Open at 10 Years: An Incomplete Archive - from June 12 • BGL: Two Thumbs Up Arts and Crafts - from July 17

The Confederation Centre Art Gallery’s summer programming revolves around Canadian artists from Newfoundland and Quebec, as well as the Island. The exhibitions vary from Clarkes’ and Harris’ beautiful landscapes to fascinating, off-kilter installation works by BGL and a retrospective of the Art in the Open festival.

Confederation Centre of the Arts 145 Richmond Street, Charlottetown 902.628.1864/ 800.565.0278 info@confederationcentre.com www.confederationcentre.com