Kim Beggs
Wanderer's Paean
© 2006 Kim Beggs (778224221326)
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Original Old-tyme Country Folk Roots. . Juno Award winning producer, Bob Hamilton’s sparse production captures Beggs' sweet, bramble, oldtyme voice as it lifts and carries through mountains; on trains and rivers.
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#3 top selling Appalachian Folk Album on CD BABY
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Finalist for International Songwriting Competition 2007: Americana
Nominee for Canadian Folk Music Award 2007
Nominee for Western Canadian Music Award 2007
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alt email: kim@kimbeggs.com
Yukoner Kim Beggs’ infuses sweet old-time roots country with
dark tales of Northern life
Whitehorse, Yukon may be a long way from the American south, but it’s notable for the same sort of hardscrabble lifestyle and unshakable sense of community that influenced early Appalachian music over a century ago.
It was that very sense of community that prompted Toronto transplant Kim Beggs to make her home there just over 15 years ago, and it’s that same sense of banding together in the face of adversity that has inspired her distinctive “sweet dark” old-time tinged roots music – a style that draws inspiration from old country and bluegrass, but which is unmistakably influenced by the expansiveness and desolation of the North.
Combining delightful acoustic arrangements with a voice that’s been described by Acoustic Live in NYC as a “cross between Nanci Griffith and Iris DeMent” Beggs reflects on the journey through life and death, the wanderer’s spirit and the loss of loved ones. Closer to home, she sings of the destruction of the Whitehorse shipyards and the struggles of a family member with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. The latter provides her with an opportunity to speak to audiences about the importance of community in supporting women through pregnancy. Yet for all the allusions to tragedy, the songs never sound “heavy” thanks to Beggs’ uplifting melodies. On her sophomore CD, Wanderer’s Paean, a who’s who of fine acoustic players fleshes out the lovely old-time sound. They include Handy Award-winning bluesman Rick Fines on guitar, Shania Twain accompanist Burke Carroll on pedal steel, The Creaking Tree String Quartet’s John Showman on violin, and another Yukon starlet Kim Barlow on banjo. Tying the sound together is Juno-winning northern producer Bob Hamilton (Kim Barlow, Jerry Alfred, Undertakin’ Daddies) who also plays dobro, mandolin and upright bass and sings harmony.
Wanderer’s Paean, released in the fall of last year, earned Beggs the 2006 Porcupine Award for “Find of the Year” and was named one of the Top 10 albums of 2006 by Doug Lang of Vancouver’s CFRO radio. The folk publication Penguin Eggs called it “a tasteful confirmation of a distinct talent” and declared "Lips Stained Red [with Wine]" “a contender for 'song of the year' by any reckoning.” Another song, “Walking Down to the Station” made it to the semi-finals in last year’s International Songwriting Competition, and “Shipyard Song” was featured in the CBC documentary “Shipyard’s Lament.” Wanderer’s Paean has been either in or near the top 10 Canadian albums at U.S folk radio since the beginning of this year, and from February through May it also charted in the Top 10 on the Galaxy Folk/Roots channel.
About Kim Beggs:
The theme of community is one that runs throughout Kim Beggs life and music. Born in Val d’Or, Quebec and raised in mining towns in Northern Ontario and later in Toronto, she is the second youngest of six children from a mixed-heritage household. Her parents adopted two children of Aboriginal ancestry giving Beggs a strong sense of connection to Aboriginal communities. Beggs studied Family and Social Relations at the University of Guelph and spent summers tree-planting in Northern Ontario and BC. In fact, it was the communal campfire sing-a-longs with her fellow planters that inspired her to start singing and playing guitar. She headed up to Whitehorse in the winter of ‘91 to teach herself her new instrument and visit with her sister for what was supposed to be just a couple of months’ vacation, but the Yukon’s strange combination of rawness and camaraderie grabbed her, and she never did go back to Ontario.
Beggs spent her first couple of years in Whitehorse working in a group home and working with the elderly – two occupations that exposed her to the hard reality of life in the north. She went on to establish herself as a carpenter – a trade she shares with two-time Juno-winner David Francey - while honing her guitar skills in her free time. Around the time she earned her journeyman carpenter papers in 2000, she began performing away from the campfire and writing her own material.
The very first song Beggs wrote, “Lowdown,” was featured as a hidden track on the Juno-nominated album Gingerbread, the second album by Whitehorse’s then-up-and-comer, Kim Barlow. Beggs’ own debut album, Streetcar Heart, came out in 2004, and earned praise from The Toronto Star, Now Magazine and the CBC’s Michael Enright among others. “Carry My Guitar” and “My Woes” were featured in the CBC Television series “Northern Town,” and a live version of “Gidyup Cowboy” was included on the CBC compilation CD TrulySomething2.
Beggs performs every Christmas on the Aboriginal People’s Television Network, and she recently co-wrote and recorded a song for a Yukon film about Dawson City. In addition to singing and songwriting, she also draws, paints, does sculpture and makes films.
reviews
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Wanderer's Paean
author: Dave SimmWonderfully pure and simple lyrics and melodies.
- author: Bobby Richards
I love it. one of a kind. Cant wait for more
Kim Beggs is a rising star! This album proves it!
author: Charles GetzOne of the good aspects of living in the Detroit area is the capability of picking up Canadian radio stations. When I first heard cuts from this album, I was determined to pick it up. This album is a gem! It is a true work of art. What else can I say? Buy it and enjoy!
A little gem
author: peter howardAgain bought on the strength of a Bob Harris played track. A gamble as ever but this time a winner. Delightful CD
Kim Beggs is the most beautiful songstress in my collection for years.
author: Nick AdamsHeard on BBC, UK. Well worth tracking it down to CD baby. This record is mesmerising in the simple arrangements, beautifully played and recorded, and Kim Beggs voice is just most wonderful with pure upper range. One of the best records I have bought in years. Best Regards to all. Nick Adams (England, UK).
I bought Kim's album for one track I heard on BBC Radio 2
author: Paul Hughes - New Big FanI heard the Lips Stained Red track on Bob Harris's show by chance and it turns out that the whole album is fantastic. You gotta understand I am a Jazz Funck, Soul and blues type of guy but Kim's haunting Lyrics and sounds got deep into my heart and transported me back to simpler but tougher times - WOW
Lived up to expectations
author: catharineHeard a track on Radio 1 or 2 - Folk programme- was fascinated by Kim's voice and lyrics- managed to track down the album to CD Baby - Excellent :-))Brilliant CD- bought 2 copies, one for my mate's birthday and he loves it too!
Gorgeous voice, lovely songs. A breath of fresh air
author: Denzil Davies U.K.First heard Kim Beggs on "Bob Harris country" on BBC Radio 2 and it was the title track. Liked it so much,searched on the net and found CD Baby. Bargain! Great e-mail to say it was on the way,brightened my day! Thanks, CD Baby.
- author: john meares
I was introduced of Kim's music from my friend Doug Lang of Vancouver on his radio program "Better Days"CFRO. I was blown away by the music. Kim's voice is of such purity that you are taking away to crystal clear mountain air that leaves you refreshingly inspired. I Was in such awe that I bought her new CD.
Whoever taught her to sing should get a medal
author: Richard Cuccaro--Acoustic Live in NYCKim Beggs - Wanderer's Paean Kim Beggs moved to Yukon from a mining town in Northern Ontario and, swinging a hammer, worked at building and renovation, while teaching herself guitar. Whoever taught her to sing should get a medal. While she doesn't have what you'd call a big voice, she gets a whole lot out of her high, feathery alto, a cross between Nanci Griffith and Iris DeMent, and her lean, spare delivery. She sings original songs that have an old-timey, traditional sound. She sounds right at home in the middle of the down-home country airs set up by pedal steel, mandolin, banjo and fiddle, creating a warm, earthy spot for the listener's psyche to drop into.
an unmistakable new talent
author: Steve Fruitman-- CIUT radio in TorontoCIUT's 17th Annual Porcupine Awards! NEW DRAGON MINE The find of the year Award! KIM BEGGS, Whitehorse, Yukon She began playing guitar and performing in public just a few short years ago, but already her quirky country songs beg another listen. Her first CD, Streetcar Heart, was new and exciting. Her new CD, Wanderer’s Paean, has marked her as an unmistakable new talent.
The measure of this record is surely the country-folk of "Lips Stained Red [with
author: Roddy Campbell, editor of Penguin Eggs MagazineThe Yukon's Kim Beggs took her first bold steps in 2004 with the release of her wonderful debut, "Streetcar Heart". For "Wanderer's Paean", she has recruited several of the same strategic characters who added much of the spirit to that first effort. So producer and multi-instrumentalist, Bob Hamilton's sympathetic approach, again, allows Beggs lots of breathing room to sing her heart out. So here and there a country fiddle makes a subtle appearance, as does a steel guitar. An acoustic bass warrants the odd mention. A tasteful mandolin, too. But really the songs-- grand tales, largely set in the north--stand on their own, swaddled in that unique, warm and distinctive voice. The measure of this record is surely the country-folk of "Lips Stained Red [with Wine]"-- a contender for 'song of the year' by any reckoning. "Wanderer's Paean" then, is not a departure from "Streetcar Heart" but rather a tasteful confirmation of a distinct talent.