Jann Arden set to play Georgian next weekend

Barrie is where it will all start for Jann Arden. Her Ontario tour kicks off Saturday night, Sept. 23, at the Georgian Theatre, heralding the release her newest album due out early next year.

The much-decorated Arden genuinely loves Barrie and tells BarrieToday she enjoys playing intimate venues like Georgian “because they always sound so great!”

What is more, “We are actually having rehearsals in the Georgian theatre, so we’ll be in town for a couple of days, which is going to be so relaxing. It’s gonna be nice to be able to walk around and see the sights for a change. Usually, we go through these cities so quickly, you hardly have time to catch your breath, never mind do some shopping and sightseeing!”

Tickets for the event are pretty much gone, so those who acted early have reason to get excited, just as Arden is about the album.

“It’s the best record I’ve made in 20 years. It’s exciting for so many reasons, but mainly, the collaboration with (producer) Bob (Rock, who helped her write most of the songs) made it unbelievably special for me. It was a leap of faith for sure.

“These songs stretch themselves into R&B, contemporary urban soundscapes, country, it truly is a ‘singer-songwriter’ record and I think it really speaks about the times we’re living in.”

Get set to hear the standards, and to laugh… and cry.

“Our show is always a spattering of humour and angst and tears and triumph. I think people will have a great time and hear the songs they want to hear and maybe even meet some new friends.”

Arden has drawn her name on Canadian music consciousness with Could I Be Your Girl?, Insensitive, Where No One Knows Me, and I Would Die for You. But Arden makes sure the house lights don’t go up without her singing Good Mother.

“We still end with Good Mother! We have a couple of encore songs that we love to do as well.”

Good Mother will be particularly poignant on this tour, given that her mother’s struggle with a brutal disease. Mum is also the focus of a book due out Nov. 21, Feeding my Mother

“It’s about my journey with my mom who has suffered from Alzheimer’s these past five or six years. Hopefully, it will help a lot of people who have found themselves in the same position as me.”