An artist is swept up in the flurry of touring, the rush of the crowd’s reaction, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the song, and the solitude involved in creating it.
When Caledon-born folk singer Megan Bonnell takes the stage in
“Culturally, we are becoming more comfortable with speaking openly about our personal and darker experiences. As a result, we’re shattering the stigma around these topics and replacing it with conversation.”
Bonnell discusses the album with the intent of opening peoples’ eyes, ears and heart, her own heart being quite on her sleeve.
“In writing this album, I dealt with experiences both personal and of those close to me. I find the two often meld into one.”
Bonnell also tells BarrieToday she’s at her best when being forthcoming and vulnerable, something she drew from listening to artists like Fiona Apple, and to Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill as a young girl.
“I would belt it out word for word. Even at that young age I could recognize and connect with how potent her lyrics were and how raw the delivery was. It spoke to the intensity of my emotions.”
One of those emotions she says tends to hold many women back.
“As women, I feel there often exists a fear within us of being deemed ‘crazy’ when we don’t maintain composure or operate with the lines that others are comfortable with.”
A two-time Canadian Folk Music Award nominee, Megan has spent the last three years touring
Part of her current cross-country tour will touch down at Donaleighs Irish Public House, Tuesday, April 10, along with the father-son team of Andrew and Sam Cash and Songwriter Series co-founding father Brett Caswell. She’s played the series before and gets a buzz about going back.
“I remember the room being packed with an incredibly attentive audience. The whole night felt super intimate and candid, given the nature of the songwriter circle where each artist shares something about their song before performing it. Everyone in the room feels that much more connected to the show due to the personal nature of it.”
The lead single from the current CD (and title track), co-written with renowned composer Donovan Woods, was released in mid-February, and has had a life of its own online, having been added to Spotify’s Folk and Friends.
There’s one track on Separate Rooms Bonnell is especially keen on unveiling before the Donaleighs crowd.
“What’s Good For You was inspired by something a friend said to me when I was trying to walk away from someone that I loved dearly, but wasn’t good for me. She said, ‘Sometimes we take things too far, and can’t put back the pieces that get taken away by our mistakes’.
“There can come a point of no return within a relationship when your needs are not being met, and no matter how much you wish you could go back and reset things, you have nothing left to do but walk away.”
Donaleighs is located at
