Trent Severn was a Canadian folk trio composed of Emm Gryner, Dayna Manning, and Lindsay Schindler. Founded in 2011, all of its members shared vocal duties and contributed to the songwriting process. They released their self-titled debut album in November 2012, under the imprint Dead Daisy Records.[1] The band was nominated for two 2013 Canadian Folk Music Awards,[2] and toured and performed around Canada[3] until announcing a hiatus on January 21, 2019.[4]

Trent Severn
OriginStratford, Ontario
GenresFolk music
Years active2011 (2011)–2019
LabelsTrent Severn
MembersEmm Gryner
Dayna Manning
Lindsay Schindler
Past membersLaura C. Bates
WebsiteTrentSevernBand.ca

History

edit

Founding

edit
 
Band member Emm Gryner (pictured in 2005), contributed vocals and bass

In 2011 Emm Gryner approached fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Dayna Manning about forming a folk band, and Manning's childhood friend and violinist Laura C. Bates joined soon thereafter.[1] Gryner and Manning had co-billed a number of stages early in their careers,[5] and had both been raised in Ontario.[3]

They named the trio Trent Severn, after the Trent-Severn Waterway in Southern Ontario.[3] All three women contribute to the songwriting and the vocals,[3] and frequently reference Canadian culture and landscapes in their music.[3] They also typically do all instrumentals themselves, with Manning on banjo or guitar, Gryner with a bass and stomp box, and Bates with a fiddle[5]/violin[6] and sometimes percussion.[5] They sold out a number of their early shows, also playing on CBC Radio's Q.[1]

Debut

edit

They released their self-titled 10-track debut album on Nov 6, 2012, under the imprint Dead Daisy Records.[1] Excluding a guest appearance by Joel Plaskett on the track “Bluenose On a Dime” and percussion by Dave Tolley,[6] all the music is arranged and performed by the band.[1] The writing, recording, and mixing process overall had taken fourteen months.[1]

The album received heavy airplay on CBC Radio,[3] and reviews were generally positive.[1] According to one reviewer, the album "contains a distinctly folk feel reminiscent of Joni Mitchell or Gordon Lightfoot."[3] Post City praised the balanced feel between tracks, stating "For the most part, the album [has a] laid-back, twangy trend, punctuated by a couple of fast-paced and upbeat numbers here and there. The result is a warmly nostalgic record padded with darkly pensive instrumentation...Trent Severn sing and play with the weight carried by old souls, but they can still throw in a wink with playful verses and jaunty songs."[6]

Touring

edit

The band was nominated for two 2013 Canadian Folk Music Awards.[2] Trent Severn tours frequently and plays both large and small events, many informal and outdoors.[3] In 2013 Manning arranged an original folk version of "O Canada" with three part vocal harmony,[7] which Trent Severn performed at the flag raising ceremony on Parliament Hill, Ottawa on July 1, 2013.[8]

The band had an ongoing campaign to have people send postcards from across Canada.[3] On March 15, 2013, they became the first band to receive a phone call to a concert from space, when they played a live song for Commander Chris Hadfield while he was on the International Space Station.[9] On Canada Day[3] of that year the band was part of Hadfield's first performance back on Earth, of "Space Oddity" by David Bowie.[10]

Members

edit

Discography

edit

Albums

edit
Year Album title Release details
2012 Trent Severn
2015 Trillium
  • Released: Oct 9, 2015
  • Label: Trent Severn
  • Format: Digital
2017 Portage
  • Released: June 30, 2017
  • Label: Trent Severn
  • Format: Digital

Singles

edit
Incomplete list of songs by Trent Severn
Year Title Album Certifications
2012 "Truscott" Trent Severn
2014 "Love and Maple Syrup" by Gordon Lightfoot Single only

Awards and nominations

edit
List of awards and nominations for Trent Severn
Year Contest Category Result
2013 9th Canadian
Folk Music Awards
"Vocal Group of the Year" Nominated
"New/Emerging Artist of the Year" Nominated
2016 Polaris Music Prize "Longer List"[12]

Further reading

edit
  • "Album Review: Trent Severn's self-titled debut". Post City. November 27, 2012. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  • "Trent Severn Interview". The Toronto Quarterly. December 2012.
  • "Trio in songwriting mode during hometown concert swing". St. Marys Journal Argus. August 28, 2013. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.
  • "Video: Chris Hadfield talks to Trent Severn from International Space Station". YouTube. March 16, 2013.
  • "Video: Chris Hadfield Space Oddity". Trent Severn Band. July 8, 2013.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Trent Severn Interview". The Toronto Quarterly. December 2012. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  2. ^ a b "Nominees Announced". Canadian Folk Music Awards. September 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Slater, Stew (August 28, 2013). "Trio in songwriting mode during hometown concert swing". St. Marys Journal Argus. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  4. ^ "Facebook post". Trent Severn Band. January 21, 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  5. ^ a b c "About". Trent Severn Band. Archived from the original on 2018-09-04. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  6. ^ a b c Nanji, Sabrina (November 27, 2012). "Album Review: Trent Severn's self-titled debut". Post City. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  7. ^ "O Canada: Credits". Trent Severn. July 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-11-17. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  8. ^ "Canada Day Dream". Trent Severn. July 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  9. ^ Lahteenmaa, Darryl (March 16, 2013). "Video: Chris Hadfield talks to Trent Severn from International Space Station". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  10. ^ "Video: Chris Hadfield Space Oddity". Trent Severn Band. July 8, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  11. ^ a b Ingram, Chad (November 26, 2015). "Trent Severn flows into Minden". Minden Times. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  12. ^ "Behold, The Longer List – Polaris Music Prize". Polaris Music Prize. 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
edit