Rheaume heads from Kabul to local pubs
Posted Jan 26, 2012 By Jennifer McIntosh
Click to Enlarge
EMC news - Amanda Rheaume said she has come full circle as a singer and songwriter.
Submitted
Musician Amanda Rheaume, left, with Defence Minister Peter MacKay during a visit to Kabul. Rheaume played for the Canadian troops during her trip.
The Barrhaven-turned-Hintonburg resident originally started out at coffee houses and small clubs when she was 16, armed with her acoustic guitar.
As she got older, she began to play with bands.
"Then we moved to more of a rock sound," she said.
A Big Money Shot grant from the radio station Live 88.5 in 2008 allowed her to record the 2009 EP Kiss Me Back, which had kind of a pop sound, but Rheaume said she has returned to her acoustic guitar and folk roots with the 2011 release Light of Another Day.
"When I tour I'm usually part of a twosome or a trio and I am back to bringing my acoustic," Rheaume said. "I began to question why I was putting all kinds of extra stuff into my records and I wasn't performing it live. Now I would say I am back to folk, roots and Americana."
Rheaume, who will hit the Branch in Kemptville on Jan. 28, O'Reilly's Pub in Perth on Feb. 18 and the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Que, on March 13, said she plans on touring Ontario until summer.
"All this year will be about promoting my new CD," she said, adding that she plans to do a west-coast tour in the fall and then start work on her next album next year.
Rheaume spent Christmas in Kabul, performing for Canadian troops in Afghanistan. It was her third trek to Afghanistan and she said she is always honoured to be asked to visit.
"It really reminds me of my job as a singer, songwriter and communicator," Rheaume said. "They are in the middle of the desert, it's not like they can go to the pub and listen to a band. It makes you see how much we have."
The Algonquin College grad has toured the country from coast to coast and said all the travel has brought her back to her roots.
"I have been thinking a lot about where I came from - my grandmother and great-grandmother," she said. "That has been driving my songwriting, as well as the people I have met through my travels. Sometimes when you are touring you stay with strangers who end up being your really good friends."
Rheaume will hit the stage at the Branch Jan. 28 at 8:30 p.m. For more show dates and times, visit www.amandarheaume.com.
jennifer.mcintosh@metroland.com
blog comments powered by Disqus
