Lucky Songs On the Road WORKSHOP

Join us at Perth & District Library, with support from Blue Skies In the Community, for an afternoon of workshops for songwriters and musicians, by songwriters and musicians!

“Lucky Songs”, a songwriters-in-the-round series hosted by Christine Graves, first emerged in Ottawa and is now hitting the road in September! The afternoon will consist of three workshops created and delivered by Christine Graves, umberlune, & Suzanne Nuttall. Each songwriter will also play a short set of original music!

Entry by donation – suggested $20.00 or PWYC at the door.

Please pre-register below.

Christine Graves is an exemplary contemporary Canadian folk-roots singer and songwriter. She has created a significant body of work, releasing five independent recordings on her own label Brave Music and touring Canada and parts of the US. Her love of genre busting, improvisation, community participation, multi-discipline arts and teaching mark her career as a quintessential and generous Canadian performer and creator. Christine spent two years as Artistic Director of Blue Skies Music Festival and five years as alto with the a capella world-music group Malaika. In 2017, she won a “Songs of Protest Songs of Hope” contest in Ottawa, bringing her back into the songwriting fold after a hiatus. Songs in a confessional style are Graves’ trademark. Social justice creeps in from time to time and makes inquiry into common issues without alienating listeners. Graves’ guitar playing is a solid back up to her elegant voice. Trained in vocal improvisation, she will sometimes delight an audience with a spontaneous solo. Everyone feels welcome into her performances.

Christine’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyP3Datq5CtvLw6EgUHgPwg

umberlune (uhm-ber-loon) is a bluesy, folk singer-songwriter with a punk rock ethos. Nuanced guitar, knock-your-socks-off vocals, and whistling solos, provide the launching pad for vivid, lyrical vignettes that go deep and then stick around for a while. At times dark or melancholy, often whimsical, and always honest, these songs are undeniably relatable. You’ll catch yourself singing them days later! Following the release of her 2023 debut album, Pretty Little Bones, and self-produced official music video for “Ghosts and Skeletons,” umberlune continues to create new music. You can find her performing in Ottawa and The Valley, as well as Kingston and The Seaway, while she works on her future projects. French language single, “Trois heures du matin” coming soon! Full length album, Lisp, expected for release in early 2026.

When not playing music, umberlune, alias Sarah Foster, RMT, is usually humming along to the songs in her head while working at her day job.

umberlune website: https://umberlune.com/

Suzanne Nuttall embodies the spirit of classic folk singer-songwriters mixed with the passion of 1970s soul. Her original songs cover the full spectrum of human emotions: from quiet odes to love and loss, to joyful rockers sprinkled with glitter and a dash of crunch! Her storied career began in Montreal in the early 90s when she formed roots duo BARE BONES with Patrick Hutchinson. Together, they released three albums, played Mariposa Festival twice, were voted “Best Local Unsigned Band” by readers of weekly newspaper The Mirror in 1994 and toured Canada from Charlottetown to Whitehorse. A music veteran with several musical projects created and spearheaded over the years – including her Toronto soul-funk band SUE de NYM – Suzanne eventually came full-circle and began performing and recording original songs under her own name, including “Trophy Wife” produced by Michael Phillip Wojewoda. Catch her in her natural habitat… live on stage!

Suzanne’s “Trophy Wife” music video: https://youtu.be/dYFNvPPqvR8

Learn more about Blue Skies in the Community here!