The Newfoundland-based band has been quietly making a name for themselves in their native Canada, having collected a trio of Canadian Folk Music Awards, been named Newfoundland & Labrador Art Council’s Artist of the Year and earned a Juno nomination for best Roots/Traditional album. In the coming year, however, the rest of the world will get to discover the joyous, harmony-rich acoustic music that have made them such favorites in their homeland.
The Once is rooted in its essential musical elements – lead vocalist Hollett’s incandescent voice, the trio’s gorgeous harmonies and the spirited acoustic instrumentation supplied by Dale and Churchill. Hollett, who the Toronto Globe and Mail hailed as a “pure-voiced starlet,” is a captivating, compassionate singer who has brought comparisons to such iconic Americana stylists as Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch and Emmylou Harris. Dale and Churchill, both talented and versatile players, utilize guitars, mandolins, banjos and even a bouzouki to build a rich musical tapestry.
The Once’s story began five years ago, when the band released their 2009 self-titled, award-winning debut, which was funded by a stranger at a show who was so impressed that he offered them $5,000 to make the album. It was released by the Canadian label Borealis Records, as was its follow-up Row Upon Row Of The People They Know, for which they received the Juno nomination. The band self-released a Christmas CD in 2012 and still had that independent spirit when they started this new album. They caught the attention Nettwerk CEO Terry McBride at the Vancouver CelticFest, who offered them a label deal shortly after.
