Gladstone welcomes Newfoundland duo
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- Published on Saturday, March 12, 2016
Submitted photo. Fortunate Ones are coming to Gladstone on March 17.
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Fortunate Ones is a Juno nominated, Canadian Folk Music Award winning folk-pop duo made up of singer/pianist/accordion player Catherine Allan and singer/guitarist Andrew James O’Brien– endearing audiences with wide-eyed energy, pragmatic optimism, and an earnest mission for connection.
Andrew and Catherine grew up on opposite sides of the island of Newfoundland – Mount Pearl and Corner Brook respectively. It was in St. John’s where the pair met and began to sing together. One night in 2010, Andrew heard Catherine sing harmony with her brother at a private gathering in downtown St. John’s. He had to sing with her. The next day he got up the nerve, left her a note, she acquiesced and within 48 hours, they were singing together on stage. While it was a road from that evening to the formation of Fortunate Ones in 2013, their beginnings are in keeping with one of the core messages they carry: That sometimes the most important decision you can make is to just say yes.
From a musical family, the Allan home was a constant eclectic flow of instruments, singing and the stereo. Catherine studied classical piano, taught herself guitar in secret, and discovered the accordion by chance when her brother brought one home over Christmas in 2011. Musical exploration was the norm.
After moving to St. John’s, Catherine’s induction to the east coast music scene was rapid – performing with Andrew, recording and touring extensively with Juno award-winning songwriter Amelia Curran, and appearing at festivals with Curran and east coast songwriter Don Brownrigg.
The debut album by Fortunate Ones, THE BLISS, is nominated for the 2016 Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, five East Coast Music Awards, including Album of the Year and Group Recording of the Year, winner of four Music Newfoundland and Labrador Awards and has garnered two number one singles on CBC Radio 2’s Top 20. Fortunate Ones won the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year and are nominated for the 2016 International Folk Music Award for Artist of the Year.
“I first encountered Andrew and Catherine at an arts conference a couple of years back and I remember being very excited by what I was seeing and hearing. I’m not at all surprised to see how far they’ve come in such a short time. I’m just glad we can still afford to have them in Gladstone,” said Gladstone Community Centre Secretary, Kelvin Bueckert. “I know I’m sure looking forward to seeing them again. As always, any profit we make on these shows go to support our own Community Centre here in Gladstone, so I hope we can get a good crowd out.”
The Fortunate Ones will visit the Gladstone and District Community Centre on March 17, showtime 7:30 p.m. For more information or to reserve tickets online, visit: www.gdccshows.com
They will also be playing in Neepawa, on Tuesday, March 15.
