(Photo: Jim Bryson in February 2016. Photo by Barry Gray for StittsvilleCentral.ca)
Big congrats to Stittsville’s Jim Bryson for his well-deserved nomination for a Canadian Folk Music Award.
Bryson’s album Somewhere We Will Find Our Place is nominated in the “Pushing the Boundaries” category. The record was released in February and coincided with three pretty damn incredible sold-out shows at Quitters.
Tracks from the album including Depression Dance and Ontario (a duet with Kathleen Edwards) have been getting a lot of play on CBC Radio 2, and if you haven’t heard the music yet you should head over iTunes or whatever your favourite music source is and check it out.
Here’s how the Folk Awards describe the album:
Jim Bryson is a singer-songwriter / producer from the Ottawa area. He’s been making music since long before the internet became popular.
Somewhere We Will Find Our Place finds Jim jumping into new puddles and new sounds. Sonic flourishes and texture fill this recording that has been called a “contemplation on the joys and struggles of the middle years and of life and love and family”.
When not on the road, Jim can be found recording and producing records in his Fixed Hinge Recording shed and hanging out with his partner and their daughters “just beyond the fringe”.
There’s another Bryson/Ottawa connection on the nominee list: Amanda Rheaume earned a nomination for Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year for her album Holding Pattern. The album was produced by Bryson and recorded in his Stittsville studio.
The awards will be handed out December 2-3 in Toronto.
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Recommended watching/listening
Official video for Depression Dance:
Bryson on The Strombo Show:
Jim and Kathleen performing Ontario at Quitters:
Jim performing a solo stripped-down version of Ontario:
Musician Jim Bryson finds his place back home in Stittsville