MARIE-LYNN HAMMOND
“One of the best contemporary singer-songwriters in Canada”
(Estelle Klein, Mariposa Folk Festival co-founder)

Half English, three-eighths French, and one-eighth Aboriginal (Abenaki), Marie-Lynn Hammond is a bilingual musician, playwright, writer, editor and former broadcaster who grew up in such diverse places as Edmonton, AB; North Bay, ON; Chénéville, PQ; and Purley, England. The range of her work, in both official languages, is impressive: her art touches your heart, your mind and your funny bone and celebrates the Canadian experience. From the poignant autobiographical ballad “La Tête anglaise, le cœur français” to the satirical wit of “Canadian Love,” she isn’t afraid to be personal, or provocative.

Stringband co-founder

In the early 1970s, Marie-Lynn and Bob Bossin founded the legendary and indie-pioneering Canadian folk group Stringband. Tirelessly criss-crossing Canada for 15 years, they also made international forays (see below). Their 30th anniversary was marked by two Stringband reunion shows on CBC’s The Vinyl Café, followed by appearances across the country in 2002–03.

Performance highlights (with Stringband & solo)

INTERNATIONAL: Folk Alliance Showcase, Chicago; Expo 85 (Japan), Expo 86 (Vancouver); USSR tour (28 dates); Mexican tour for the Canadian embassy (30 dates)

TELEVSION & RADIO: Person 2 Person with Paula Todd, The Vinyl Café, Sounds like Canada, Swinging on a Star, Musical Friends, Morningside, The Ian Tyson Show, The Al Hamel Show, Variety Tonight, The George Hamilton IV Show, CBC Radio Canada Day Special from Lahr, Germany

CONCERTS: Canada Day shows, Parliament Hill and Harbourfront; opening for Pauline Julien, Paul Butterfield, Fairport Convention and others

FESTIVALS: Every major folk festival in Canada (Mariposa, Vancouver, Winnipeg, etc.)

Recordings

Four albums, one compilation CD (Stringband); five recordings, reissued as CDs (solo); plus several songs composed and/or performed for documentary films and television shows

Other career highlights

In the early 1980s Marie-Lynn’s songs about her bicultural family grew into a critically acclaimed musical play, De Beaux Gestes & Beautiful Deeds, which has received several productions. She has written or cowritten four more plays and a screenplay (all produced), hosted two national CBC radio shows and written articles for national magazines, and she currently works part-time as a freelance editor.

Current

In 2006 Marie-Lynn Hammond had a serious accident that necessitated over two years of recovery and left her with a visual disability. But she’s now performing and writing again—and some would say better than ever, with a new CD in the works. Two lines from a song of hers, “The Canadian,” about Canada’s rare and special National Horse, could well apply to Marie-Lynn: “Ain’t that just the Canadian way it goes/To have something special and no one knows…”

Contact: mlh@marielynnhammond.com Tel: (905) 640-7208
More info: www.marielynnhammond.com