Rachel Beck is on the move.
The P.E.I. singer-songwriter was in Halifax with the Atlantic String Machine last weekend to kick off her Canadian tour with a trio of concerts at Neptune Theatre.
“It’s going really well. It’s been a whirlwind so far,” said Beck, during a telephone interview from Halifax on Friday.
Her late night arrival, early morning sound check and a rigourous roster of interviews kept her moving on Valentine’s Day.
She had lots of good news to tell.
“I’m really excited about tour. It’s great to be back on the road. I’m really thrilled to take my (new) songs across Canada,” said Beck.
She said she was eager to talk about Warrior, her recently released single. It’s a song about female empowerment, inspired by her four-year-old daughter Nora.
“I got thinking about Nora, what a force of nature she already is and the kind of woman that I think and hope she’ll grow up to be. Then I started thinking about other incredible women through history; people like Amelia Earhart, Viola Desmond and Malala Yousafzai. Those are the people who inspired the song.”
Beck took it one step further, turning Warrior into a video, co-directed by herself and P.E.I. filmmaker Millefiore Clarkes. It features Nora as one of the dancers. To preview it, go to YouTube.com
If you're going
- What: Rachel Beck hometown concert
- When and where: March 3, 7:30 p.m., Florence Simmons Performance Hall, Holland College, Charlottetown.
- Information: Admission is at the door.
- Website: Go to rachelbeckmusic.com.
On Feb. 14, Beck released the second track off her album, Tonight. It’s a love song, perfect for Valentine’s Day.
“It’s the idea of being present and embracing unexpected love.”
The song was inspired by tour dates that Beck did with singer-songwriter Adyn Townes.
“He has this really beautiful song called Churchill, a beautiful love story about his grandparents who met during the war, had a whirlwind romance but had other people waiting for them at home," she said.
"They had to decide whether they were going back to the people they promised themselves to or were they going to live the fairy tale and stay together. In the end they decided to stay together and had this beautiful, long marriage.”
So, during one of her songwriting sessions she started thinking about that story.
“I wondered, ‘what if you did have this incredible fairy tale and you only had one night together?’"
Beck, who is performing in Sharbot Lake and Hamilton, Ont. this weekend, is looking forward to returning to P.E.I. for a hometown concert at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall in Charlottetown on March 3 at 7:30 p.m.
“I can’t wait. I’m really excited about it. I love the Florence Simmons hall and I haven’t done a hometown show for a year and I’m excited to share these songs with a hometown crowd.”
Call in and win
- The question is: Name one of the songs Rachel Beck will perform at her March 3 concert in Charlottetown? Leave your answer as a voice message at 902-629-1707.
- The prize: A prize package containing CDs and Rachel Beck merchandise.
- Last week’s winner: Betty Pryor won a pair of tickets to see the Charlottetown Jazz Ensemble in Summerside.
Sally Cole is an entertainment writer with The Guardian. She welcomes comments about her column as well as suggestions for future columns from readers. She may be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 902-629-6000, ext. 6054.
