Loreena Mckennitt fall tour 2023

I know there used to be a few fans here....My own journey with Loreena began in the early 90s with The Visit. I was so moved by her music once I heard her, i couldn’t stop listening, it had this strange phenomenon of being immediately familiar to me, as if it already existed inside of me. That musical deja vu has only happened in my life with one other artist in my life, a long dead guitar player….

I have devoured everything she has done over the years and through geography and good fortune, have been fortunate to see her perform several times. I’ve seen her with a full size band and a spartan trio, but this was to be my second show seeing her in a glorious quintet format, the other being a Christmas performance in Ottawa. 

Tonight I was to be accompanied by my youngest daughter who, at 5 years old, was looking forward to seeing someone play a harp, she told me that “you can perform magic when you play a harp.” I fully agreed….

We were treated to a lovely cross section of her career during the first program, several tracks from her Lost Souls album alongside long-standing favorites. Of course, the Garcia connection would shine through in her lovely take on The Bonny Swans(Oh the Wind and Rain). I was especially thrilled to be seated directly in front of the stunning Caroline Lavelle, one of the most incredible cellists out there. 
 
Anyone who hasn’t heard of her should do themselves a favor and check out her work, she even ventures into my prog orbit from time to time. 


The second program was given over fully to a complete performance of her classic album The Visit, remarkable from start to finish. The All Souls Night and Bonny Portmore poignant for the season, and the ever haunting, semi autobiographical, The Old Ways. She wrapped things up nicely for us with a Dante’s Prayer encore and a nice throwback singalong take on Wild Mountain Thyme. Perhaps that was a look forward at her upcoming roots album??
 
Her voice was as magnificent as always and while I have enjoyed her in each format I’ve seen, I really think she shines best in this quintet of top shelf, mostly acoustic, musicians.