Melissa McClelland (born 18 May 1979) is an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter who lived in Hamilton, Ontario, in her youth and now bases her career from Toronto, Ontario. McClelland's music is influenced by blues and Americana. A writer on CMJ's staff blog wrote that McClelland has "a persona reminiscent of a female Tom Waits."[1]
Melissa McClelland was born in Chicago, Illinois. She spent her youth in Burlington, Ontario before developing her career in Toronto, Ontario. McClelland married Luke Doucet on 24 June 2006; the two have played together on numerous stages, including at the 2006 Calgary Folk Music Festival. He has produced three of her records, Stranded in Suburbia, Thumbelina's One Night Stand and Victoria Day.
In 2006 McClelland opened for Matthew Good's solo acoustic tour across Canada. During the tour the two singers closed Matthew Good's set with a duet performance of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt".[2]
She also works with Sarah McLachlan, providing backing vocals at her live shows. McLachlan makes a guest appearance on the song "Go Down Matthew" from McClelland's album Thumbelina's One Night Stand.[citation needed]
Performing live
"Skyway Bridge" (off of Thumbelina's One Night Stand) features Greg Keelor from Blue Rodeo. Additionally, McClelland is the only guest artist on Blue Rodeo's 2008 live album, Blue Road.[3]
Melissa McClelland at Wolf Trap 2019
In 2007 McClelland opened a tour with Jesse Cook and sang on his recording of "It Ain't Me Babe" (a Bob Dylan cover) which was released on his 2007 album Frontiers. "It Ain't Me Babe" was released as a single from that album, which spent three weeks in the top position on Billboard's world music charts.[4]
Also in 2007, McClelland's "Passenger 24" won in the 6th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Americana Song.[5]
McClelland's follow-up album, Thumbelina's One Night Stand was released in 2006. Reviews drew attention to the eclectic nature of the album. Exclaim! Magazine described the album as "impossible to pin down stylistically, as it segues from roots-y rock ("Passenger 24") to country ("Taxi Ride") to chamber pop ("Solitary Life") to folk (a cover of Randy Newman's "Dayton Ohio") and blues ("Go Down Matthew")."[7]
Victoria Day
In late 2008 Melissa McClelland began work on Victoria Day, her fourth album, and first for Six Shooter Records. Victoria Day was scheduled for release on 14 April 2009. The album was recorded at Canterbury Music by Jeremy Darby, and was produced by Luke Doucet.[8]
Victoria Day has a vintage 1950s sound, combining dixieland with "high lonesome twang".[9] "Seasoned Lovers", from Victoria Day, features vocals from Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith.
Whitehorse
Whitehorse
In 2011 McClelland and her husband Luke Doucet released a self-titled album under the moniker Whitehorse on Six Shooter Records. It included reworked versions of McClelland's hit "Passenger 24" and Doucet's hit "Broken" and was recorded at the Catherine North studio in Hamilton, Ontario, Sarah McLachlan's house in Vancouver, British Columbia and a studio located at McLelland's and Doucet's house.[10]
Brian Byrne is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was the second vocalist for the band I Mother Earth.
Colin Cripps is a Canadian musician and record producer.
Luke Doucet is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has written and performed as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock band Veal and the folk rock band Whitehorse.
Thumbelina's One Night Stand is Melissa McClelland's third album. The album was released in 2006 in Canada by the Orange Record Label.
Stranded in Suburbia is Melissa McClelland's second album. The album was released in 2004 in Canada by the Orange Record Label.
Lori Yates is a Canadian alternative country music singer and songwriter.
James Gregory Keelor, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as a member of the band Blue Rodeo, where he shares song writing and vocal duties with Jim Cuddy. Keelor has also released three solo albums and appeared as a guest musician on albums by Crash Vegas and Melissa McClelland. He participated, along with Rick White and members of The Sadies, in the supergroup The Unintended.
Six Shooter Records is an independent record label based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that uses an artist-centric business model, focusing on art before commerce combined with extensive touring. Six Shooter Records was founded in 2000 by Shauna de Cartier. The mission statement of the company is Life is Too Short to Listen to Shitty Music.
Frontiers is the sixth studio album by Jesse Cook.. Cook and nine other musicians recorded the album at Coach House Music in Canada. The album was mixed by Cook. All songs were written by Jesse Cook except "It Ain't Me Babe", which is a cover version of the original song by Bob Dylan, and La Llorona, a traditional Mexican folk song.
Justin John Rutledge is a Toronto-based Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter signed to Outside Music.
Ladybird Sideshow is a Canadian folk/pop band. Members include Melissa McClelland, Janine Stoll, Erin Smith and Lisa Winn, all also solo artists, the first three from Toronto, Ontario.
Blood's Too Rich by Luke Doucet & the White Falcon is Luke Doucet's third studio album. The album was released in Canada on January 8, 2008 by Six Shooter Records. Six Shooter Records released the album in the United States on June 24, 2008.
James Murdoch is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter. He has released five full-length albums. Murdoch is a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, piano, mandolin, banjo and singing on his records, which he often helps produce himself. His 2007 release, In Transit, was co-produced by compatriot Hawksley Workman.
Victoria Day is Melissa McClelland's fourth album. The album was released in 2009 in Canada by Six Shooter Records.
Rosanne Millicent "Rose" Cousins is a Canadian folk-pop singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Prince Edward Island, she is currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Whitehorse is the self-titled album from Whitehorse, a band consisting of Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet. The album was released on August 30, 2011 in Canada by Six Shooter Records. It was made available for digital download on August 9, 2011.
The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss is the second album from Whitehorse, a band consisting of Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet. The album was released on August 28, 2012 in Canada by Six Shooter Records.
Whitehorse is a Canadian folk rock band, composed of husband-and-wife duo Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Doucet and McClelland were both established singer-songwriters before opting to put their solo careers on hold to work together as Whitehorse.
Panther in the Dollhouse is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Whitehorse. The album was released via Six Shooter Records on July 7, 2017.
The Neighbors Dog is a Canadian music performance television series, which premiered on SCN in 2009. Created by Darryl Kessler and John Mills of Plan 9 Films, the series featured musicians performing private house concerts in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
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