January 19,
2012
Trio is hot
to trot
Christine HINZMANN-SKOREPA, Prince
George Citizen
The
phrase triple-threat takes on a whole new meaning when applied to the
band Searson, three Ottawa Valley step dancing and singing sisters who
also play a variety of instruments.
With Erin on piano, Heather on fiddle and Colleen on bass, Searson takes to the mainstage during the Kickoff Celtic Kitchen Party Friday at 8 p.m. at the Ramada, the first event of the much-anticipated Coldsnap Music Festival that goes until Jan. 28.
"The show is going to be high energy, there's going to lots of fiddle tunes, vocals and a lot of numbers people can get out of their chairs and dance to if they want to," said Colleen Searson, during a call from sunny Florida where the trio is on tour. "We'll also perform the Ottawa Valley step dancing, which everyone seems to love."
While on tour, Colleen said, Searson finds more and more people who recognize the Ottawa Valley style of step dancing.
To fill out the sound, Colleen said, the sisters are lucky enough to have Danno O'Shea drummer, percussionist from Niagara-on-the-Lake accompany the trio.
During the show, Searson showcases new work from their sixth album Fade and Shine, which is two albums in one with 16 tracks on it.
"We're really lucky that we have such wonderful fans that are always craving more of our music and always demanding more of us so we said let's do it all," said Colleen. "So there's 11 vocal tracks and five instrumental tracks and I think two of the instrumental tracks are about eight minutes long so there's lots of music on this album."
In 2011, Searson toured throughout Canada, the U.S., Ireland, Germany, Denmark and headlined one of the largest music festivals in Europe at Festival Ortiguiera, Spain.
Colleen said the trio have been hoping with anticipation that The Coldsnap Festival would eventually fit with their touring schedule.
"We're really excited about it and we love playing in Canada," said Colleen. "Canada always has the best audiences in our opinion. They're just uninhibited and not afraid to show their love for the music."
Tickets are $30 each and available at Books & Co., 1685 Third Avenue or Studio 2880, 2880-15th Ave. or by calling 250-563-2880.
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................................................................................................................................
July
21, 2011
Songs at Mirror Lake's Celtic Night
Article by Catherine
Moore, Adirondack Daily Enterprise
................................................................................................................................
July
14, 2011
High Energy Music to Highlight Canal Festival
Article By Chris Must, EMC
Smiths Falls
................................................................................................................................
May 16, 2011
If you are touring through Eganville, ON this summer please stop by the Bonnechere Museum in Eganville! There is a Searson display of old photos, old costumes, art work, newspaper clippings, posters and more.
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May
6, 2011
Sisters sing, step together
Searson to step into
spotlight at Old Courthouse Heritage Museum tonight
By Cheri Harris
INVERNESS — The Woodview Coffee House music series will offer more than a caffeine kick at a special show Friday, May 6, featuring Canadian sister act Searson.
The Celtic group includes the Irish step-dance and musical talents of Erin, Colleen and Heather Searson. Drummer Mary Gellner rounds out the band.
Jim Davis, who organizes the Woodview shows, said, “We’re putting down two sheets of plywood so that they can do their step dancing.”
Davis said Searson recently performed at Stringfest in Brooksville, “and they just wowed the crowd there.”
When he learned they were interested in other engagements on their Florida tour, Davis wanted to book them. He also thought the Old Courthouse Heritage Museum would make a better venue for this act than the fellowship hall at Unity Church of Citrus County in Lecanto where the Woodview series is usually presented.
According to the band’s website, www.searson.org, Erin Searson plays piano, organ and mandolin; Colleen Searson plays fiddle and joins Erin on lead vocals. Heather plays bass.
Davis said the concert will be in the old courtroom, which has a capacity of 160, compared to the fellowship hall that can hold 120 if some audience members stand in the hallway to “overhear the music.”
Unlike most Woodview performances, the May 6 show will not include open mike time.
Tickets are $10. Davis said reservations can be made but on Wednesday he already had more than 100. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. For information or reservations, call (352) 726-9814.
................................................................................................................................
Ireland Tour!
Hi Everybody!
We're excited to share with you the final details for the tour of Ireland with Searson and The Elders, May 23 - June 1, 2011. Please feel free to email us with any questions you may have about the tour.
2011 Irish Tour Hoodie
For a Limited Time Only!
$45.00 Includes Shipping
Orders must be in by April 17!
Black zip-up hoodies with the 2011
Irish Tour Design on left side.
MORE INFO / BUY
(Through The Elders website)
A special note to any of our Canadian fans, Hammond Tours will gladly price out flights from various cities in Ontario at your request. We are really looking forward to sharing our first visit to Ireland with you. There will be lots of live music concerts throughout the tour and memories to last a lifetime.
Please join us by booking your seats as soon as possible.
Click here for additional info and show details (PDF)
As always, please join Searson on Facebook by clicking on 'iLike' from our Home Page or by going to Facebook directly and get your daily updates on everything that is Searson.
Cheers,
Colleen, Heather & Erin
................................................................................................................................
November 9,
2010
Searson bringing a blend of musical genres to
Athens
By Ronald Zajac ,
The Brockville Recorder and Times
ATHENS -- Searson, a group of talented women from the Ottawa Valley, brings its electrifying mix of Celtic, bluegrass, country and pop to the Joshua Bates Centre Friday night, and the audience had best be prepared for some experimenting between those genres.
"We like to switch it up and the audience seems to like it," Erin Searson, the group's lead vocalist and keyboard player, said in a telephone interview this week from her home in Eganville, in Renfrew County.
Erin and her sisters Heather on bass and Colleen on the fiddle make up the core of the band, joined by Mary Gellner on drums and percussion.
Searson has recorded five albums since 2002. A Different Kind of Light, released in 2008, featured all vocal songs and the band's 2009 effort, Ignite, features all instrumentals.
The Searson sisters have Irish and French-Canadian roots, and are all accomplished step dancers.
Music is clearly in their blood.
"We started playing music when we were little kids," said Erin, 31, the eldest of the siblings.
In fact, their great-great-grandfather even made his own fiddle, which Colleen used to play.
"She used to tour with it," said Erin. "She doesn't anymore because she doesn't want it to get hurt."
The Searsons performed throughout their grade school and high school years, including an appearance at Riverfest in the late 1990s.
"That was kind of our job, weekends or summers," said Erin.
The sisters have now been working full-time in the music business for about six years.
Gellner, who has been with the group for about two years, has a jazz background and adds that influence to the mix.
Searson's show will feature all original music.
The group arrives in Athens after an eight-show U.S. tour including stops in Cleveland and Milwaukee.
Searson's busy touring schedule of over 150 gigs each year takes the women to the U.S., Germany, Switzerland and across Canada.
Despite lacking a commercial hit, Searson has built up a fan base on Facebook and elsewhere on the Internet, and has received steady support from indie and college radio stations, especially in the U.S., as well as the CBC.
The group has found a huge following for Celtic music across Europe.
"They're so cultured about Celtic music. It surprised us," said Erin.
This is Searson's first stop in Athens, and she said the band enjoys playing smaller halls.
"We can really touch base with the crowd," she said. "We feed off of that."
Friday's show starts at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $25 each and are available from Debbie at 613-924- 2056, Kathryn, (evenings and weekends) at 613-924-9551 and Mary Rae at J.B. Kelly Insurance, Brockville, at 613-345-3032. More information is available online at www.joshuabatescentre.com.
................................................................................................................................
November 9, 2010
Hey
Searson Fans - Our music is now broadcasting on
Earbits Radio! To check it
out and hear other great artists, click on the following
link. If you really
want to help us, re-share this with your friends and "Like"
Earbits when you get
there. Thanks!
Back At
The Beginning on A Different Kind of Light
http://earbits.com/tracks/4cd0807aafac9f1e9a000004
................................................................................................................................
June
30, 2010
Searson
excited to be headlining at Bay Blast
The Leader, Eganville, Ontario
Trio of Hyndford sisters continue to make a name for themselves in the entertainment circuit... READ FULL ARTICLE (PDF)
................................................................................................................................
June
16, 2010
Searson
headlines 12th Staten Ireland Festival
[Read
Article]
................................................................................................................................
March
11, 2010
Sister-act Searson brings Irish energy to O’Donold’s
By GUY D’ASTOLFO,
vindy.com
As the Gold-medal game neared at the Winter Olympics last month, Colleen Searson was a little nervous.
It looked like a hockey showdown was brewing between Canada and the United States, and as a Canadian, she would’ve rather seen her team play anybody but the U.S. The Americans had already beaten the favored Canadian team once.
But things turned out well for Searson, who is part of the Celtic-pop band of the same name. Her team, of course, did face the U.S. and won the Gold.
It was a great day for Canada — and therefore, for Colleen Searson (fiddle) and her sisters, Erin (vocals, piano, mandolin) and Heather (bass), as well.
Searson — the band — stays musically true
to the Ottawa Valley, which it calls home.
But the girls are also true to their Irish roots.
Working within a framework of traditional Celtic music, Searson filters it through a Canadian prism. Pop, bluegrass and country elements merge to create an original sound.
The band, which also includes percussionist Mary Gellner, will make its second visit to Youngstown in a year when it returns to O’Donold’s Irish Pub in Austintown on Monday. Searson’s appearance is part of the weeklong St. Patrick’s Day festivities at O’Donold’s.
In a phone interview with The Vindicator, Colleen Searson discussed the band and the role family and tradition played in shaping it.
“We grew up traditional, and we hold that dear to out hearts,” said Colleen. “But we like to do our own take on the traditional. We go over a few different genres. ... We call it ‘Searson music’.”
When they were growing up, the Searson sisters were competitive step-dancers. “We grew up doing it,” said Colleen. “It’s how we spent our summers.”
The sisters still incorporate step-dancing segments into their live show, which is known for its energy.
Searson has grown a large fan base that follows it on tours. The band is on a swing that will take it through Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and New York.
“When you see the same people more than twice [on the road], it becomes a friendship connection, more than musician and fan,” said Colleen.
................................................................................................................................
March
11, 2010
St. Patrick’s celebration grows beyond one day
'tis the Season for Searson
Tribune Chronicle (article excerpt)
All those honorary Irish on St. Patrick's Day dabble in Celtic music as well as green beer at this time of year, which means that Irish bands that may struggle for gigs in July have a full dance card now (it's no coincidence that national Irish rock acts Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys and Black 47 all released new CDs this month).
Searson - a Irish folk/rock act from Canada led by sisters Erin, Heather and Colleen Searson - maintains a busy touring schedule year round, but it booked a two-and-a-half-week U.S. tour around St. Patrick's Day that includes a stop Monday at O'Donold's Irish Pub & Grill in Austintown.
In a telephone interview from her home in Ontario, Colleen Searson said the set lists they will be playing on this tour are a little different from the ones they play rest of the year.
''We'll definitely throw in more traditional fiddle tunes and traditional Irish tunes,'' she said. ''We'll change up the set list a bit. It's more of a party tour for the crowd.''
Searson has released five albums since 2002, and it's most recent release is ''Ignite,'' a collection of instrumentals. The band's earlier albums mixed vocal numbers and instrumentals, but 2008' ''A Different Kind of Light'' featured all vocal songs.
''We have a huge fan base that comes out for the instrumental tracks, and we wanted to pay tribute to them,'' Colleen said.
And crowds on this tour can expect to hear ''Ignite'' songs like ''Weddings & Shotguns,'' she said. ''It starts out nice and slow and then turns into a really good jam.''
................................................................................................................................
March
11, 2010
Sister act Searson performs Irish favorites, own material
BRIAN McELHINEY,
Daily Gazette, The (Schenectady, NY)
In a genre heavily focused on artists' interpretations of traditional songs, Searson has cut away from the pack with its originals.
From an early age, sisters Erin Searson (vocals, piano), Heather Searson (stand-up bass, vocals) and Colleen Searson (fiddle, vocals) have shared a love of Celtic, Irish and English folk traditions.
Growing up in Ottawa, the three were surrounded by the stuff. But the girls also found inspiration in the music of fellow Canadians Neil Young and The Band, as well as '70s country rock.
These influences all combine on Searson 's five albums, including last year's instrumental "Ignite" and 2008's "A Different Kind of Light," resulting in music ranging from plucky fiddle tunes to the traditional-minded pop-rock of songs such as "Role Play."
Luckily for the sisters, they seem to have met with audiences in Canada, the U.S. and Europe that are just as musically omnivorous as they are, although they still do get requests for traditional material.
"A lot of times, we find that people, especially around March 17, want the traditional Irish stuff -- and we still do know them all," Heather said from her home in Ottawa, a few days before heading out for a handful of New York dates. The group, with drummer and fellow Ottawan Mary Gellner, will play at The Parting Glass on Friday night, which will be their sixth visit to the venue, according to Heather.
"But most people do appreciate that we've written new music and play live music, original music. Canadians just appreciate new music, as well as in the States; people just love listening to live music, whether it's a song they know or something new. I won't deny this -- some people always ask for the very traditional Irish cover songs. Everyone wants to hear their favorite songs when they're out at night; you can't blame people for that."
Willing to experiment
Lately, Searson has had to rethink its live show because of the departure of guitarist Andrew Krause, who blew out both his shoulders this winter and is unable to play until he has surgery. Producer Jordan Zadorozny handled guitar duties on the band's last albums, but live the group has been experimenting with different instruments to fill out the sound.
"A lot of times on the road now, we'll have a lot of synth sounds or organ," Heather said. "We reconstructed the show to fill in where the guitar is missing. For a little bit, we do play guitar onstage, but we've changed the whole sound around so it isn't so guitar-heavy."
According to Heather, the change was good, allowing the sisters to home in on their playing and re-examine some of their older material from the past 10 years the group has been playing.
"Any time we have to stop and focus, rewrite, rearrange, it gives us growth," she said. "It made us stay together for two weeks to rewrite each song, so from the audience's perspective it's new, and from a playing perspective it's new and fresh. And it's interesting to play with all girls again -- there's not too many bands you run into that have girls, let alone all girls."
Lifelong performers
The Searson sisters have been playing music all their lives -- all are classically trained on the piano to be part of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Canada, and have been playing live for as long as they can remember.
"Our parents were very big on pushing us out to perform, because they didn't want us to just sit and play in our basement," Heather said. "It was something we did as our summer job, which put us through high school, and then through university. And then after university, we loved playing music so much that we decided to take that on as a full-time job."
The group's debut album, "House Party," came out in 2002, followed by "Follow" (2004) and " Searson Live" (2005). "A Different Kind of Light" and "Ignite" took a bit longer because of the band's road commitments, leading to a surplus of songs both instrumental and with vocals. Zadorozny suggested that the band split the songs along those lines, with "Light" featuring 12 vocal tracks to "Ignite's" eight instrumentals.
"We started out doing the vocal album with two weeks off," Heather said. "We wanted to focus on the vocals, since the instrumentals come a little easier, so we started working and pumping out one really good song after song after song."
The sisters still write together, each bringing in their own ideas. The family connection allows them to be brutally honest with each other during the process.
"We work well as a team," Heather said. "We are family, and we're all older, so we can all be honest. There's no sugarcoating, no wasting time; we just keep going."
................................................................................................................................
March
2010
Irish Boys Vs. Irish Girls: A Night of Music with
BARLEYJUICE and SEARSON
At Connolly’s Klub 45, Thursday March 11th,
8:30 PM, $10 at the door
SPONSORED BY THE IRISH BUSINESS ORGANIZATION OF NEW YORK
A St Paddy's Day Celebration
New York City -- BARLEYJUICE-- Kyf
Brewer, Keith Swanson, Billy Dominick, Jimmy Carbomb, Eric Worthington
and Gregor Schroeder – excite their fans with their unrepentant
testosterone filled Celtic Rock. SEARSON – Sisters Erin, Heather,
Colleen and drummer Mary Gellner – Femme Fatales of the Celtic Music
Scene who burn the floor with their fiddle playing and footstomping. NOW
-- both bands come together to battle it out as ‘Irish Boys Vs Irish
Girls’ at Connolly’s Klub 45 on March 11th, 8:30 PM
BARLEYJUICE have been described as “Infectious…fun…delightful.” The band
has released many cds, the latest being ‘Bonnie Prince Barley’, an album
of songs steeped in originals that sound like traditionals and have you
happily ride the wave until the very last note has faded. Shay Clarke of
radio WDCB says that Barleyjuice plays, “Toe tapping, hand clapping,
whiskey drinking, crowd pleasing, high stepping music that makes the
blood flow a little faster.” The band is a favorite on the Festival
scene.
The musical experience SEARSON, features the talents of sisters, Colleen on fiddle, Erin on piano and Heather on bass to create a showcase full of their talents. Says The Irish Amercian News,“Searson astounds their audiences with unguarded sincerity in their vocals, raw fiddling and ferocious step dancing..” They have expanded the musical culture from where they grew up in Ottowa Valley, Canada, to a create contemporary sound based on their heritage, the musical traditions of the first groups of immigrants to arrive there, the English, the Scottish and the Irish. Says another music critic, “Their high energy is contagious.”
The Irish Business Organization of New York (IBO) is a premier business networking group dedicated to the furtherance of Irish and Irish American Entrepreneurs and Professionals. The IBO is proud to sponsor of this fun evening of music. To find out more about the organization and to join go to www.ibo-ny.com
So DON’T MISS “Irish Boys Vs Irish Girls:
An Night of Music with Barleyjuice and Searson” at Connolly’s Klub 45,
3rd floor 121 W. 45th St., MARCH 11th, 8:30PM,
212-597-5126 .... $10 at the door
connollys45st@nyct.net
................................................................................................................................
December 2009
Ottawa Vallery Invasion
Irish American News
Every
successful performer and performing group has a trademark
sound or characteristic that identifies them in the first
few notes. It might be the way Sean McGuinness uniquely
tunes his banjo that identifies the Dublin City Ramblers
distinctive sound, or the driving beat established by John
Doyle that is the signature sound of Liz Carroll & John
Doyle. For Irish- Canadian group Searson, it is a perfect
pulse of energetic fun that courses through each and every
ballad, fiddle tune, and step dance...
Read More
(PDF)
................................................................................................................................
October 2009
Interview with Colleen by Cal Koat from Celt in a Twist
World Beat Canada, Vancouver, BC
[ Listen to audio interview
]
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October 8, 2009
Searson to perform at Knickerbockers
By Michael Todd,
Daily Nebraskan
Siblings sequestered in automobiles are like popcorn in the microwave. Sooner or later, things reach critical mass.
But with time, both forms of incendiary ingredients are rendered more stable.
Roots pop and Celtic band Searson may be comprised of three sisters, along with a couple friends, but it needn’t worry about rivalries intensifying while in cramped tour vehicles: Six years in to a full-time music career, the Searson sisters have it sorted out.
Tonight at 9, the group hailing from Ontario, Canada, stops by Knickerbockers at 901 O St. flaunting fiddles and step dancing, all with a cohesiveness that can only come from that genetic connection.
Lead vocalist Erin Searson recently spoke with the Daily Nebraskan about (or aboot) being so close to her sisters, being Canadian and being Celtic.
DAILY NEBRASKAN: Do you ever encounter problems being in a touring group with your two sisters?
ERIN SEARSON: When we were younger, we did fight a lot, but now we’re all adults. We’ve been doing it for so long now we know each other’s moods. We know what to expect out of each other, so we actually get along really well. We have a pretty good team on the road.
DN: I’m guessing you cross the border quite a bit going back and forth between here and Canada. Have you had any trouble with Customs?
ES: Yeah, we used to when we were younger a little bit, but we have it all figured out. We get yearlong work visas in the states now, and we get all our CDs and shirts manufactured in the U.S., and we leave them down here. So now we don’t have a hassle.
(Customs) knows exactly what they’re expecting because we do this professionally now: It goes fluidly. But a lot of lot of bands do have trouble. So we’re down here in the U.S. all the time, and we love it. (Customs) welcome us; it’s nice.
DN: Also relating to Canada, I understand the government there subsidizes some bands looking to tour. Has Searson received any grants?
ES: There is a lot of grants for musicians in Canada. We’ve applied for many grants, but we’ve never received one yet. So far we’re doing this completely independently with no outside help, which takes a lot to keep going.
It is hard when you get turned down for grants all the time. But there are so many musicians and bands touring, there’s only so much money to go around. We keep applying, so hopefully someday we’ll get some help.
DN: Now, how did you find this particular style of music, and how did you cultivate your love for it?
ES: In the place I grew up, our area is full of fiddling and dancing, and we started as young kids. We used to do volunteer jobs; we’d literally do hundreds every summer, and eventually, we got paid to do this.
This was a job while we were in school and university, and then it just grew, and we thought, “Let’s try this full time; it’s a good opportunity.”
We thought we’d try it for a couple of years, and now we’ve been doing it full time for six years. It just kept growing and building.
DN: Along with the music, I understand you step dance, so does that take place while you play or during breaks in the music?
ES: We will play straight through, and then, yeah, step dancing is a highlight of our show. We have the drummer playing some beats, and we step dance to her during the show. But no, we keep going. We don’t take any breaks at all.
DN: How much of your material is borrowed from traditional music and how much are originals?
ES: I’d say 95 percent of our show is original music. We do do a bit of traditional fiddle tunes that people will recognize. But we write our own music, and our CDs are pretty much originals.
It keeps it exciting for us, and people keep requesting certain songs. It’s a nice compliment, so we keep doing it.
DN: Finally, have you been to Nebraska, or will this be your first time?
ER: No, this is going to be our first. We’ve been getting really good feedback about it, so we’re very excited to come to Lincoln.
................................................................................................................................
September 2009
"IGNITE" FIDDLE ALBUM BY SEARSON
The
wait is over. Ignite, the album highly anticipated is finally here.
Searson is excited to share our new musical adventure with you. Ignite
encompasses Searson’s love of all music. All original, these tracks
contain flavours from the Ottawa Valley, Country and Blues styles.
Ignite was recorded at French Kiss Studios in the Ottawa Valley, produced by Jordon Zadorozny. We enjoyed recording the album with Andrew Krause on acoustic and electric guitar, dobro and banjo. Recording Ignite gave us a chance to be creative and have fun with our music.
Searson hits the road this fall in support of the new album. Colleen’s fiddle will be on fire! Don't miss the opportunity to hear the full touring band this fall. Rounding out the live sound we will again be joined by Andrew (Pembroke, ON) and also the talents of Mary Gellner (Ottawa, ON) on drums.
Ignite is the fiddle album your collection is missing! Check out some of the new tracks available on our webpage (www.searson.org), Facebook or Myspace. Check out the track Endless Highway, you will not want the musical journey to end. Ignite has been a labour of love, Enjoy!
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Keltische Damen statt rauer Burschen
Lünen, 15.03.2009,
Diethelm TEXTORIS (translated)
Pandula presented their 20th festival on the Friday evening in the Hanse hall. Instead of a few Rough legged fellows playing, the “Celtic Ladies" sang. A special pleasure for ears and eyes at the same time.
Pandula still remembers the time when the festival was in the children's shoes when the groups still had to be written up by letter because there were still no e-mails, and some musicians were not even accessible by telephone. The " Fallen Angels ” had also formed up around this time, Irelands oldest woman's group which delivered the musical prelude of the arrangement on Friday. With their A Capella performance they showed that Celtic songs are not only barfighting songs. In ingenious arrangements of their nice voices in different sound positions they sang of subjects which moved not only women: from the green valleys of West Virginia and from the freedom-fighter James Connolly who was executed in 1916 fastened on a chair with heavy injuries. They also sang romantic love songs like Neil Youngs "Love is a rose" or ancient "She moved throught the fair".
The soloists of the quintet "The Outside Track ” met each other in the academy of music and dance in Limerick. In this 2005 formed band , three Celtic nations are represented: Ireland, Scotland and Canada. Out of these roots they get their songs, orchestrated with violin, harp, accordion, flute and guitar. They proved that they are strong vocally with songs like " Broken of bridge ” or "Kiss in the morning early ." They succeeded the show a connection of traditional music with modern elements.
Although the audience was barely reserved withthe first two groups and showered the musicians with applause, it went off with the Canadian group "Searsons". The spectators were carried away by the cool rhythms, the roaring percussion, the funky guitar sounds and E bass sounds. Above all, Colleen Searson turned out to be a true devil's violinist. She played her Fiddle so that the bow threatened to glow. Colleen: "Ordinarily I get by three days with a bow, but today I already broke one ”. Accompanied sometimes only by the drum, “Searsons” surprised with skillful tap dance inserts. With "Jolene" and the famous "Super-Girl" all actors of the evening assembled once again on the stage and proved in such a way that musically absolutely different groups can make music harmoniously with each other.
................................................................................................................................
July 16, 2009
Sister
act Searson to hit Burk’s Falls
Almaguin News
BURK’S FALLS – After returning home from tour in Chicago, musician Erin Searson is thrilled to be playing Burk’s Falls Towne Theatre on July 18. “We’re very excited,” said the Ottawa Valley native.
“We never get to stay in the area. I wish we could play more concerts in Canada.” Erin is the eldest of three sisters ranging in age from 25 to 30 who have been playing music together since they were very young. She, Colleen and Heather, began with music lessons and taking on volunteer events and eventually turned the band into a summer and weekend gig, playing live performances in Ontario and Quebec.
They had to make a decision to keep going full time or break up the band. Erin says the relationship that she has with her sisters is a strong one, especially after long tours together in a van.
“I would definitely not know my sisters as well (if we hadn’t done this). It’s such hard work. We’re very solid,” she said. “We’re in the van 80 per cent of the time.” Searson has been going strong, full time, for the last three years as the girls take their music across North America and Europe performing an average 150 shows a year. They have gathered a following in Switzerland and Germany.
“The crowds in Germany really love Celtic music,” said Erin. Trained in traditional Celtic music, the girls have adapted the music to a sound all their own. Erin plays piano, lead vocals and mandolin, with Heather on bass and Colleen on fiddle, vocals, and mandolin.
“We have included our own style, our own sound,” she said, adding that every once in a while a traditional Celtic song will make its way into their lineup. Their music blends the Irish sound with folk, country, a little pop, and, thanks to guitarist Andrew Krause, a little blue grass and blues. Mary Gellner joins them on drums. Their music is high spirited and the performance high energy as the girls show off their step dancing skills, a dance unique to the Ottawa Valley.
Since 2002 Searson has released four albums, their most recent being A Different Kind of Light in 2008. Their latest project, a fiddle album, is set for release this fall. Tickets for the 7 p.m. show are available at the Village of Burk’s Falls Municipal Office.
................................................................................................................................
March
11, 2009
The second annual Fort
Collins Irish Festival Musical Entertainment Event of 2009.
June 20-21, 2009. Featuring 16 Renowned Local, National, & International
Bands
Irish Traditional, Contemporary Rock, & Pop/Rock:
Liadan ~ The Fuchsia Band ~ The Young Dubliners ~ The Elders ~ The Prodigals ~ The Brazen Heads ~ The Screaming Orphans ~ The Town Pants ~ Searson ~ Colcannon ~ Ceol Ceili ~ Juice O’ The Barley ~ The Commoners ~ Brian Clancy ~ Peace & Love & Jigs & Reels ~ Skean Dubh
Click here for poster and more info (PDF)
................................................................................................................................
January 19, 2009
"St. Patrick's Day Celebration
Festival" auf Jubiläumstour
By: Lothar Gerber
Zusammen mit Fallen Angels und The Outside Track auf der "St. Patrick's Day Celebration Festival"-Jubiläumstour: Searson (Foto: Magnetic Music) Reutlingen - Magnetic Music stellt schon mal Stout, Ale und Cider kalt, denn im März tingelt das "St. Patrick's Day Celebration Festival" durch Deutschland. An Bord der 20. Auflage der Festivaltour sind Fallen Angels, The Outside Track und Searson.
Die drei gebuchten Acts sind allesamt reine Frauenbands. Das hat den einfachen Grund, dass es vor St. Patrick, dem irischen Nationalheiligen und Schutzpatron der Grünen Insel, eine Nationalheilige gab: St. Bridget, die einst kurzer Hand von der von Männern dominierten Katholischen Kirche des Mittelalters abgesetzt und durch St. Patrick ersetzt wurde. Deswegen erweist Magnetic Music St. Bridget nun durch die Verpflichtung der drei Frauenbands die Ehre.
Ein besonderer Gast bei der 20. Auflage des "St. Patrick's Day Celebration Festivals" ist Irlands dienstälteste Frauengruppe, Fallen Angels. Das Quartett sing A-capella. Dagegen sind bei The Outside Track verhältnismäßig viele Instrumente im Einsatz. Geige, keltische Harfe, Akkordeon, Flöten und Gitarre lassen ihren Sound pan-keltisch anmuten. Die Dritten im Bunde, Searson, könnten laut Magnetic Music mit ihrer Fusion aus Celtic-Rock und Pop durchaus in die Fußstapfen der irischen The Corrs treten.
Tickets für die Jubiläumstour des "St. Patrick's Day Celebration Festivals" gibt es unter anderem auf www.magnetic-music.com, www.eventim.de und an allen CTS-Vorverkausstellen.
"St. Patrick's Day Celebration Festival" - "Celtic Ladies-Jubilee Tour"
12.03. Leverkusen, Stadthalle Hitdorf
13.03. Lünen, Hansesaal
14.03. Steinberg, Wernesgrüner Brauerei
15.03. Torgau, Kulturhaus
16.03. Eisleben, Landesbühne
17.03. Wiesbaden, Rhein-Main-Hallen
18.03. Illingen, Illipse
19.03. CH-Zug, Theater Casino
20.03. Mössingen, Aula Quenstedt Gymnasium
21.03. Garching, Bürgerhaus
22.03. Augsburg, Parktheater Göggingen
24.03. Aalen, Festhalle Fachsenfeld
25.03. Aschaffenburg, Colos Saal
27.03. Karlsruhe, Festhalle Durlach
28.03. Glauchau, Stadttheater
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October 28, 2008
Author Christine Palamidessi Moore has
released her latest novel The Fiddle Case and Colleen is featured on the
cover. To learn more please visit
www.moorechristine.com.
To purchase the book please visit
Amazon.
The Fiddle Case takes a penetrating look at a time in America when the folk music scene and peace and love culture collided with the dark underbelly of the self-actualization movement. This delightfully thrilling new novel breathes life into the sights, smells, sounds and characters of the 70s. Readers will swear they know Cindy and Anna. The risks they take test the boundaries of family, truth, friendship and love.
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August 25, 2008
New website
launched! New CD "A Different Kind Of Light" now available!
Visit the Music page
for more info on the new CD....
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July 7, 2008
Searson to play the 20th St Patrick's Day Celebration: Celtic Ladies Jubilee Tour, Germany 2009... View PDF for more information.
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April 2008
We now have fashionable Dog Tags available with the band logo engraved on them in our online store! Please visit the store to view a photo of the this product.
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February 7, 2008
Kitty Hoyne’s serves up a Fiery
Fiddle Fest Thursday through Saturday
(Excerpts from: Sizzling Strings)
By Russ Tarby - Syracuse City Eagle
Get ready for three nights of hot-rockin’ Celtic fiddle tunes at Kitty Hoyne’s Irish Pub this week.
The First
Fierce & Fiery Fiddle Fest gets underway at 8 p.m. Thursday
Feb. 7 with a four-man band from Virginia called Scythian. A
Canadian quartet named Searson performs at 9:15 p.m. on
Friday and Saturday Feb. 8-9, and its fiddler, Colleen
Searson will participate in workshops and jam sessions on
Saturday afternoon…
Searson
The
Ottawa, Ontario-based Celtic quartet Searson features
sisters Colleen, Erin and Hetaher, along with their
guitar-playing father, Mike Searson.
“They’re quite a foot-stomping family,” declares the
folk-music magazine Dirty Linen. “The largely Scottish-based
tune sets on their high-energy concert disc, ‘Live’
(self-released in 2005), feature some wonderfully wild and
melodic interplay between fiddler Colleen, who plays with an
aggressive, bow-bouncing style reminiscent of Eileen Ivers,
and pianist Erin, whose rapid-fire keyboard style is
somewhere between boogie and Cape Breton dancehall.
Heather’s bass and bodhran anchor the rhythm.”
Besides, “Live,” Searson has released two other discs,
“Follow” and “House Party.”
Erin Searson calls the band’s sound a “Celtic mix with a
rocky edge,” while Dirty Linen points out that many of the
band’s originals have a “pop-country” feel. The band
performed at the 2007 Syracuse Irish Festival in Clinton
Square.
Following
their Fiery Fiddle Fest performances here, the gals and
their dad will travel to the 16th annual Greater
Philadelphia Mid Winter Scottish and Irish Music Fair, where
they’ll perform on Feb. 15-16.
… [Then] Searson will show how those ancient tunes can be
thoroughly reheated with a rock beat and electric
arrangements when it takes the stage at 9:15 p.m. Saturday.
No matter how much the music changes over the years,
however, one thing remains constant: the fierce and fiery
fiddle.
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September 20, 2007
Searson is
part of a great new compilation album Rootstomp, Volume One!
We are honoured to have had the opportunity to perform with
most of these talented bands found on the album.
Rootstomp is a collection of progressive Celtic/Folk acts that have come together to promote this fast-growing genre of music and to introduce you to some fantastic bands. The album contains 18 tracks with songs from Enter The Haggis (Toronto, ON), Fiddler's Green (Germany), Greenwich Meantime (Cornwall, ON), Searson (Ottawa Valley, ON), Seven Nations (Orlando, FL), Slide Show Baby (Nashville, TN), The Clumsy Lovers (Vancouver, BC), The Elders (Kansas City, MO) and The Paperboys (Vancouver, BC).
Rootstomp
will be available at all of our Live performances and
through our online store. We
hope you love Rootstomp as much as we do!
Learn more at
www.rootstomp.com and
myspace.com/rootstomp
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August 23,
2007
Searson family stays in harmony
By David Burke, Quad-City Times
Ask Erin Searson how long the band that bears her name has been together and you’ll get a quick response.
“All our lives.”
Searson, the band, includes the 28-year-old Erin and her two younger sisters, with their father on the guitar. The fifth member and only non-family member is the drummer.
After an initial appearance in 2005, Searson returns to the Celtic Highland Games in Davenport this weekend, taking center stage for the ceildih on Saturday night at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds.
The Canadian-based band has played in the United States for the past three years.
“It’s a high-energy show, mostly original music, and all three girls step-dance,” Erin Searson said.
Searson said the group enjoys playing shows such as the Celtic Highland Games.
“We always have a great time,” she said. “These kinds of audiences always look for a high-energy show, so that’s what we have to give them.”
The group performs both traditional and original music. The Celtic-influenced sound has found its way into pop and country-type songs by the band.
“We started off traditional,” she said. “Our roots are in that, but we’ve gone beyond that with the live show.”
While her younger sisters live and go to school in Ottawa, about a 90-minute drive away, Erin Searson lives in Eganville, Ontario, a town of about 1,300 that’s a metropolis compared to the 100-person town where the Searson children were raised.
Searson said she sees the family group continuing indefinitely. It already has a scheduled date in Dallas in 2009.
“It’s definitely turning into a long-term commitment for us,” she said.
David
Burke can be contacted at
dburke@qctimes.com.
Comment on this story at
www.qctimes.com.
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March 15,
2007
Celtic band brings national tour to Toms River
By Kelly Meisenberger, Ocean County
Observer
"The music (Searson) plays, I may not know it, but I like it. They're fantastic." — Jim Reynolds, owner, McIntyre's Pub in Toms River
TOMS RIVER — They're high-energy, they're original, and according to the owner of a local pub where they will perform tonight, they're the perfect way to kick off the St. Patrick's Day season.
Searson … a band that features a drummer, three step-dancing sisters and their father, will bring their Celtic background to Toms River 's McIntyre's Pub at 9:45 tonight. Playing mostly original music, the band from Ontario, Canada, is working on their fifth album, according to band member Erin Searson.
"It's so much fun to be on stage and see people enjoying our music, which is mostly all original,'' she said. "For me, that's the best part of being on tour.''
Jim Reynolds, an owner of McIntyre's Pub, said the band has performed at his establishment five or six times previously, and always draws great reactions from the crowd.
"The problem with original music is that if people don't know it, they aren't usually into it,'' Reynolds said. "But the music (Searson) plays, I may not know it, but I like it. They're fantastic.''
The band is made up of sisters Erin, Colleen and Heather Searson; their father, Mike; and drummer Corey Zadorozny.
Erin Searson said music was always present in her family, and she and her sisters began music lessons at young ages. She personally started to play the piano when she was 4 years old.
The sisters play fiddle, bass guitar, mandolin, piano and banjo, as well as step-dance and sing. Their father also plays guitar and sings.
"We played as volunteer work in the community, and it got to a point where we were starting to get paid to do it,'' Erin Searson said of the band's beginnings. "When we got older, in high school and when we went to university, we made a conscious decision to keep the band going.''
The sisters put themselves through college by playing gigs on weekends and during the summer, and three years ago decided to pursue music full-time.
"It's been nonstop from there,'' she said.
The band is booked with performances through 2008. Just in March, they will head to Pennsylvania, Indiana, Missouri, South Carolina and New York.
In the Ottawa Valley where they grew up, Erin Searson said, Celtic music was a way of life.
"Fiddle and step dance were dominant,'' she said. "Our area was saturated with this kind of music.''
Because this style is so uncommon in New Jersey, Reynolds said he hopes residents will come out to experience something different.
"In our area, it's something you just don't see,'' he said. "And with our first parade this weekend, it's a good way to jump-start St. Patty's Day.''
McIntyre's Pub is at 213 Route 37 E. in Toms River. It can be reached by calling (732) 349-0420.
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February 2007
Music Hall Teams Up With American Foundry For
St. Patrick's Day Celebration
[Read
article]
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February 2007
Searson is
proud to introduce the newest venue for live music in The
Ottawa Valley. Located in Pembroke, Ontario, Cafe Ole
was awarded New Business of the Year in 2006. Their coffee
is roasted in Ontario and Cafe Ole takes care to offer local
products as much as possible. Any musicians traveling
through The Ottawa Valley are encouraged to contact Cafe Ole
to showcase their talent. To learn more about Cafe Ole
please visit their
website or phone Christine Booth at 613.732.2137
Thanks for your support Cafe Ole, we love your coffee!
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