Coulson Past and Present

— by Anne Walker

In this edition of “all things Coulson” I’m sharing some exciting news of my own. This summer I’ll be releasing a new recording of my original songs. This is my fifth CD and features an open-hearted collection of songs. There are some sad ones and some happy ones and some that are a blend of the two. Hence the CD title—”Sunny and Blue”.

This recording was produced at Crush Studios in Springwater by Grammy and Juno-nominated producer Ray Dillard. Ray’s business partner, the brilliant Randy Crafton, was sound engineer. Musicians from across the continent contributed their incredible talents to making these songs sound wonderful, including New Orleans-based pianist Oscar Rossignoli; accordionist Aurora Newland, also from New Orleans; Lindsay Horner of New Jersey on bass, whistle and sax; cellist Max Dyer from Wisconsin; and percussionist Ray Dillard. 

The official release concert will take place at Historic Coulson Church, 301 Horseshoe Valley Rd. W. on Sunday, September 28 at 2 pm. I’ll be showcasing the songs from the CD (with a few extras thrown in for fun) and will be joined by a number of special guest artists.  Tickets, priced at $25 can be purchased at https://annewalker.ca/the-coulson-concerts . 

Here’s a brief history. I began playing coffee houses and small clubs in the 1980s and released my first independent recording “Rainwater” in 1989. Danna Garcia of Canadian River Music (Texas) declared this recording “a favorite for ‘89/’90.”  In 1990, while traveling in Ireland, I won the song competition at the Ballyshannon Folk Festival and returned to perform there in 1991. I performed frequently at festivals and clubs through the 90s and released a second recording “Over My Shoulder” in 1995, produced by Tony Quarrington. In 2008, well-known folk music producer, Paul Mills, recorded my third CD “Labyrinth”. 

Drawing on the history and culture of the rural community of Coulson, where I was raised, I created and performed a one-person, historical docu-musical called “Kith and Kin: the Coulson Women’s Institute”. This led to the release of a collection of songs celebrating this rich heritage, “Down the Horseshoe Valley Road” (2015), also produced by Paul Mills. 

In 2023, I launched a folk concert series “The Coulson Concerts” at Coulson Church. This little white church has stood watch at the top of Coulson hill on the Horseshoe Valley Road for over 140 years. The church, built in 1881, was closed as a place of worship in the 1960s and recently restored preserving many original features, including an ornate Victorian tin ceiling, pews, plank flooring, a cast iron and nickel-plated stove, and the original pulpit. Coulson Church provides an enchanting setting in which to enjoy authentic Canadian music. The September concert will close out our third season of Coulson Concerts. I hope you can join me to celebrate the release of my new recording. 

If you prefer streaming to CDs, all my recordings are available on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, etc.