WATCH AND SHARE SARAH HARMER’S “CBC FIRST PLAY LIVE” PERFORMANCE HERE
LISTEN AND SHARE SARAH HARMER’S CBC q PERFORMANCE HERE
CANADIAN TOUR DATES BEGIN MARCH 24
THE “REMARKABLE” NEW ALBUM IS HARMER’S FIRST IN A DECADE
OUT TODAY VIA ARTS & CRAFTS
BUY / STREAM ARE YOU GONE HERE
"one of the most accomplished and affecting albums in her already remarkable catalogue" Exclaim! 9/10
“Harmer’s greatest strength is in her vocal conviction and clarity.” Bandcamp
“she unfurls the most gorgeous melody of the album, if not her entire career.” - on “Just Get Here” The Boston Globe
“Are You Gone is a journey across time, place, learning, and loss that Sarah Harmer is an incredibly gracious guide to take us on” Folk Alley
"An artist long appreciated for her ability to survey a scene and describe it with such poetic clarity has honed her lyrical sensibilities even further.” Analogue
“a folky, minor-key song about ice skating at night, with a gentle vocal and a sturdy melody, that maps a precarious relationship onto the wintry conditions. “ on St. Peter’s Bay New York Times
Photo Credit : Vanessa Heins // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Today, Sarah Harmer shares her new album, Are You Gone (Arts & Crafts), a deeply personal and political collection of songs motivated by the beauty of life, the urgency of the climate crisis, and the question of loss. Sarah called the album a spiritual successor of sorts to her acclaimed 2000 debut, You Were Here, which made many year-end critics’ lists, and which TIME called the year’s best debut album. Its simple title, Are You Gone, is a meditation on the idea of presence, and a bookend to the questions posed on You Were Here - a sharpened, more electric confrontation with the realities of nature and human nature.
WATCH AND SHARE SARAH HARMER’S CBC FIRST PLAY LIVE PERFORMANCE HERE
LISTEN AND SHARE SARAH HARMER’S CBC q PERFORMANCE HERE
The result of an unshakeable inclination to make music in conflict with a lifestyle more attuned to privacy, quiet, and activism, Sarah wrote Are You Gone gradually over the last decade as she traded music for grassroots organizing as her “day job.” Between co-founding the citizen’s organization PERL (Protecting Escarpment Rural Land) and leading the coalition’s successful efforts to prevent a quarry from being built on the Niagara Escarpment, she became a fixture in local politics and advocacy, while keeping her musical chops fresh by writing and playing casually with friends. Finally, in 2019, while pondering the “ghosts” of loss, capitalism’s gluttony and music’s potential as a public platform, Sarah got to work on Are You Gone, her most sophisticated record to date.
WATCH AND SHARE SARAH HARMER’S NPR WORLD CAFE SESSIONS HERE
Encompassing a stylistic range from barebones folk to layered indie rock, album opener “St. Peter’s Bay” blends melancholic vocals and smooth atmospherics to effectively conjure the feeling of standing at dusk overlooking an endless sea, while “Take Me Out” is a modern, punchy alt-rock take on the near impossibility of letting go. “What I Was to You” is a tribute to Harmer’s lifelong friend Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip, and psychedelic-tinged piano ballad “The Lookout” tackles the angst of love-across-timezones. Penultimate track “Shoemaker”, about Sarah discovering an old book and census of her great great Glaswegian grandfather, calls to mind the gently ominous, slowly shifting chords of Sparklehorse before transforming into a gorgeous, almost-crescendoing show of Sarah’s vocal range. “See Her Wave” wraps the album with an acoustic goodbye written in memoriam to another friend who moved on.
WATCH AND SHARE “NEW LOW” LYRIC VIDEO HERE
Sarah has performed on The Late Show with David Letterman, Ellen, has been nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, garnered nine JUNO Award nominations and two wins, and been widely praised for her “razor-sharp songwriting chops” (NPR Music) and “plainly hooky” melodic sensibility (Rolling Stone).
This March, to celebrate the release of Are You Gone, Sarah will be playing her first tour in a decade, and all dates are below.
BUY / STREAM ARE YOU GONE & VINYL DISCOGRAPHY HERE
TOUR DATES
Feb 26 - Alexandria, VA - Birchmere Music Hall
Feb 27 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
Feb 29 - New York, NY - Joe’s Pub
Mar 1 - Boston, MA - City Winery
Mar 24 - Peterborough, ON - Market Hall
Mar 25 - Peterborough, ON - Market Hall
Mar 27 - Huntsville, ON - Algonquin Theatre
Mar 28 - Belleville, ON - The Empire Theatre
Apr 1 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall
Apr 3 - London, ON - London Musical Hall
Apr 4 - Guelph, ON - War Memorial Hall
Apr 14 - Meaford, ON - Meaford Hall
Apr 15 - Orillia, ON - Orillia Opera House
Apr 17 - Parry Sound, ON - Stockey Centre
Apr 18 - Sudbury, ON - College Boreal
Apr 19 - Sault Ste Marie, ON - Machine Shop
Apr 21 - Winnipeg, MB - The Garrick
Apr 22 - Saskatoon, SK - Broadway Theatre
Apr 24 - Edmonton, AB - Starlite Room
Apr 25 - Calgary, AB - Bella Concert Hall
Apr 26 - Nelson, BC - Hume Hotel
Apr 28 - Courteney, BC - Sid Williams Theatre
Apr 29 - Campbell River, BC - Tidemark Theatre
Apr 30 - Victoria, BC - The Capitol Ballroom
May 2 - Vancouver, BC - The Vogue Theatre
May 4 - Seattle, WA - The Triple Door
May 5 - Portland, OR - The Old Church
May 16 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark
ARE YOU GONE TRACKLIST
1. St. Peter's Bay
2. New Low
3. Just Get Here
4. Take Me Out
5. Squeaking Voices
6. What I Was To You
7. The Lookout
8. Wildlife
9. Cowbirds
10. Little Frogs
11. Shoemaker
12. See Her Wave