New collaboration “Water Your Own,” with PK Tessmann available today! (Click photo to listen)
Happy holidays folks, and welcome to the near onset of 2018 :). It’s a funny time of year where many people reflect on what has happened in life up to this point, and set sights on what they want to achieve going forward.
This past year, I put focus into collaborating with other artists. My new album, All We Ever Need, is an example of this on many levels. During the Summer and Fall, I toured and performed with Cumberland’s (Vancouver Island) PK Tessmann. Not only did I discover a fantastic artist and human being (Check out her music!), but also a great new friendship.
After a house concert in Ladysmith, BC, the topic of “The grass is always greener on the other side,” came up in conversation. PK offered the following wisdom – “Well, if the grass is looking greener, it’s time to water your own.” BOOM! You best be sure I noted that down in my writing book!
During our following ferry ride back to the mainland, we decided to write a silly song together, and thus “Water Your Own,” was born. We had such a blast writing and performing this tune, we decided to visit producer/artist Corwin Fox in Cumberland to do a live off the floor recording in October. And now, it is here for your enjoyment! Click the snowy trampoline photo to listen, or receive the song for free by emailing michael@michaelaverill.com.
Happy coming new year, all the best in 2018, work together to do better, and if the grass is looking greener on the other side….dig in…put in the work, and remember to Water Your Own!
Two special shows in Kelowna April 29th/30th
Fresh off the Vancouver release, I am now headed east for the Okanagan portion of the All We Ever Need Launch!! Going to be 2 very different shows this weekend:
April 29th – Roots Revival Event at Little Creek Gardens, innovative picnic style event, I’ll be performing alongside Leila Neverland and Nils Loewen. Click the picture below for this very unique event and team:
Sunday April 30th – House Concert release of All We Ever Need with special guests. Click the album cover below for info and link to tickets:
All We Ever Need release show at St. James Hall a huge success!
Photo by Nicoleta D
After 4 years of build up, writing, walking, rewriting, walking some more, collaboration, sweat, blood, tears, and laughter….all of it came to beautiful fruition at St. James Hall on Friday night. Meet the cast of characters that helped me to bring All We Ever Need into this world. From the left, Jon Anderson, Natalie Ramsay, Bre McDaniel, Shera Kelly, Darren Beattie, Me, Chris Couto, Colleen O’Connor, and Heather Hay! What an honour it was to play to a packed house with this all star team.
I wanted to take a moment to thank all the wonderful supporters who contributed to the fundraiser, and to the Creative BC/BC Music Fund team for helping to make this project real. With the new album in hand and properly launched, so starts the action of this project with all that was intended for it – increasing connection, building community, and growing the love! Giddy up folks. Giddy up!!
All We Ever Need is here and available to the world!
I am so thrilled to announce that my new album project “All We Ever Need,” after 4 years in the making, is out and available on every kind of music platform imaginable. Below are links to a variety of sources where you can find it, listen to it, share it, purchase it, whatever your preference may be. Just click on the below link to go where you want to go :).
Enjoy!
Album art above designed by Celestial Folk star – Bre McDaniel
Another rung around the tree
If I were a tree, then today, I would magically sprout a new layer of external shell. You could cut me in half, count the layers, and discover my age. Pretty wild when you think about it. Looking at the inside of a tree is like looking at a story board for a book or movie. Every line/layer is packed with information, stories, emotions, lessons, and experience.
However, these layers don’t just show up on their own. The ground holds the base of the tree stable, allowing it to root and grow. The rain and surrounding micro/macro creatures do what they do to help bring nutrients. The sun shines on the leaves, provides energy, encouragement, and advice on where to go in its life. It takes a forrest to raise a tree :).
These last few years, I have opened up to the wonders of collaboration. For a long time, I tried to do everything on my own, and definitely added some tough layers to my stump! When I look back today on how much stronger I have become from focused/intentional work with others, co-creating, and admitting that I need help, I feel an overwhelming sense of appreciation and gratitude.
Thank you to everyone in my forrest! If you are reading this now, you have had a profound impact on me, and the latest rungs I have acquired are entirely because of you. They are the best I have ever had, and all I can say is thank you! I couldn’t have got here on my own.
Like a human bone that becomes stronger and more dense as a reaction to bearing load, so do
New live video for “Thank You,” entered in CBC Searchlight 2017!
Exciting news! CBC has just started their 2017 round of Searchlight, a national program that helps bring new Canadian music to your lovely ears. I have entered it this year, and have put in a new song and video in lieu of my upcoming album release “All We Ever Need.” The song is called “Thank You,” featuring the amazing Chris Couto on Djembe, and is one of the most dearest to my heart. This is the video I submitted:
(Video filmed and produced by Kale Beaudry http://klphotograph.com)
Searchlight works as a mixture of judges opinions as well as crowd voting. You can vote once per day, for any and as many artists as you like. I am one out of 12 in the “Folk,” category for “Vancouver City.”
Click the “Searchlight Vote Now” picture below to vote for “Thank You.”
Round 1 goes from today till February 27th at 3pm. The prizes for this are pretty special, and include mentorship, a chance to write a song for Canada’s 150, and some incredible performance opportunities with CBC’s festivals around Canada Day in Ottawa.
I am inviting you to participate in this journey with me, however far it goes. You can vote once per/day at the above link, and I appreciate all and any help. If you connect to it, or think of someone else who might enjoy this song and its message, feel free to share!
*For the Facebookers out there, feel free to join the EVENT PAGE and follow along for some entertaining, humourous, and uplifting daily voting reminders.
Lastly, there are a few other artists that I know and have personally played with before that are in my category. They are well worth looking into. If you feel inclned, vote for them too. They are fantastic people, and amazing musicians, and you can vote for as many artists as you like:
Natalie Ramsay
Echo Nebraska
NO MOTHERS
Thank you for time!
Album Recording Finished!!
WHAAAAAAAAAAAA???? Exsqueeze me? Baking powder? haha. Yup, you read correctly! After 90+ hours of recording over the month of October, my upcoming album, All We Ever Need, has been completely laid down! It was a marathon that literally came down to the last 5 seconds of time I had in the studio, and what has resulted is absolute magic! As we speak it is going through the mixing stages, followed by the mastering process, and I am so thrilled to hear it on the other end.
So many highlights throughout this experience. One of them was having the likes of master percussionist, Chris Couto of Kutapira (and many other groups), lend his skills on conga and djembe for a couple of songs!
Big thanks to all who played on this (Shera Kelly, Blake Williams, Darren Beattie, Chris Couto, and Jon Anderson), and for all who helped contribute to make this kind of album a reality. There are some wonderful surprises in store for you all :).
Back in the studio with Mr. Blake Williams!
Pumped to be back at Protection Island with Jon Anderson today and tomorrow, continuing solid work on All We Ever Need. Had the honour of having Bodhran superstar, Blake Williams join in for a very special tune. Judging by our feet, I’m sure you can guess what song we were plugging away on….:). It’s all sounding so so good!!!
Recording of All We Ever Need has begun!!
Happy Thanksgiving all!
I can’t think of a better day to post this. I began the recording of my new album (All We Ever Need) with Jon Anderson on Friday and Saturday, and will continue on and off throughout this month and early November. The first couple of days have been fantastic, and it’s sounding pretty sweet! Brought in a couple of characters to contribute their musicality to a couple of tunes (Darren Beattie and Shera Kelly), and as you can see below, they know how to candidly pose for a camera :).
I am so thankful for all the support that made the recording of this album possible! It’s been an overwhelming experience to hear back how it is already taking shape. You guys and gals are gonna love it!
Enjoy the weekend, and more updates soon!
CBC Cape Breton Interview – Minstrel of Marine Atlantic: Folk-singing ferry performer sings of love and loss
Click on the photo for the article:
All We Ever Need Fundraiser just hit $2000! Next up – $5000!
Thank you so much to all those who have helped lift this project off the ground and getting’er rolling!! Keep sharing with those who love community, and connecting with other human beans :). Click on the photo to share!
Big Announcement: New Album Fundraiser Launches Today!
I am very excited for this day!! Over the last few years of walking throughout Canada and connecting with wonderful people and communities around the country, it is time to put these stories in songs into album form. For the first time, I am going to be working with a producer to bring this very special project to life!
Today is day 1 of the fundraiser, and I am thrilled to share this with the world! The new album is going to be called “All We Ever Need.” Click on the photo below to visit the page, watch the video, and to learn how you and your community can support and benefit from this project!
