Vancouver based indie singer-songwriters Dana-Marie Battag-lia and Sound Refuge will be performing live in Creston at the Snoring Sasquatch on July 24 at 8:30 p.m, a stop on their western Canadian tour in support of Battaglia’s debut album produced by John MacArthur Ellis (Doc Walker, Dan Mangan, Jeremy Fisher, the Be Good Tanyas and Barney Bentall).
Since being selected to inspire Olympic athletes in private concerts with her soul baring performances and entertaining on-site at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Battaglia developed an international fan base and caught the attention of European radio. Over the past few years, while methodically working on her official debut album, Battaglia made headlines by performing international anthems in multiple languages, taking the stage at festivals, entertaining crowds of thousands, and sharing the bill with several Juno Award winners.
In 2007, the self-taught composer and gear-headed singer-songwriter began building a home studio to fulfill a passionate impulse to arrange and record powerful accompaniment to her songs. Battaglia was thrilled in 2009 when the complexity of her compositions on her self-produced demo captivated Ellis, a major label contractor and award winning producer, who agreed to work with her as an independent artist. After two years of co-engineering and co-production on top of the same track beds that Battaglia started comes an album of exceptional quality in the independent industry.
After travelling in and out of her vulnerable, passionate melodies and charming toe-tapping grooves, you’ll understand what the phrase “emotional rollercoaster” really means. With her sweet, energetic presence, captivating voice, and genuinely moving expression Battaglia will rip your heart out and gently sew it back in.
Her sound has been described as unparalleled in its blend of acoustic folk-pop melodies with haunting classical elements. The epic, orchestral nature of her arrangements have many new listeners reaching for comparisons in several genres, only to be left on a limb when the diverse songwriter springs into one of her quirky upbeat pop tunes. On this tour, Battaglia will be on acoustic guitar and piano, accompanied by Tim Bartsch on cello and Tanya Maria on background vocals, piano and synth. Markus Michelucci of Sound Refuge will be traveling alongside.
Sound Refuge’s sound is primarily folk reaching into the rock genre, resembling the Weakerthans, Joel Plaskett, Sam Roberts Band or Sufjan Stevens. The song Vancouver’s On Fire, from his debut album, Umbrellas In Winter, has been featured on CBC radio and has found its way onto a number of university and internet radio stations. The album is available on iTunes and at independent records stores in Vancouver.
The doors open at 7:30 p.m., and the show starts at 8:30. Tickets are $12 in advance at Kingfisher Used Books and Black Bear Books, or $15 at the door.