Cara Luft likes to laugh. She does it a lot. It’s one of the first things you notice when meeting her, that and her engaging smile. It’s endearing and infectious. Nothing pretentious about her, Cara’s the real deal. What you see is what you get from the former founding member of Juno award winning folk music trio The Wailin’ Jennys. And that sense of honesty, integrity, personality and spontaneity permeates and resonates throughout both her music and her live performances. After all, what other folk-based artist unabashedly cites Buddy Holly, prog-rockers Yes, and even Led Zeppelin among their inspirations and influences?

Singer/songwriter/guitarist extraordinaire Cara Luft is that rare artist steeped in folk and traditional roots music almost from birth yet willing to alter that fabric, stretch the boundaries, not afraid to bend genres, styles and integrate what others might regard as a disparate set of influences. Her music has been described as “a rich roots travelogue whose traditional heart beats with a wholly contemporary pulse spanning the distance between the mists of English folk balladry and Middle East mysticism, through to the Mississippi Delta and the rustic wonders of the Appalachian Hills, with a certain fearless reverence and no small amount of soul.” (Ottawa Xpress)  Americana UK declares her “a consummate performer. Unlike so many singer-songwriters, Luft’s music has an urgency that can’t be denied.” Critics have drawn comparisons to Julie Miller, June Tabor, Gillian Welch, Linda Thompson and even Brit folk-rockers Pentangle.

The Light Fantastic (Black Hen Music, 2007), Cara’s last solo album, produced by 54-40 frontman Neil Osborne and mixed by Warne Livesey (Matthew Good, Midnight Oil), has garnered superlatives far and wide. Reviewers fell over themselves in praising her original material, her distinctiveness and daring mix of styles, her execution and her eclectic approach drawing on folk, roots, Elizabethan and rock. Her songwriting is always evocative and insightful, her guitar and banjo playing fully accomplished and intricate, her voice distinctive, compelling and heartfelt. Cara’s choice of trad songs reflect her innate understanding of the traditional folk form redefined within a contemporary context.

Born into a folk musical family in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Cara played with dulcimers and autoharps while her peers played with Barbies and Nintendo. Music was an integral part of her growing up experience.  In her early twenties she struck out on her own, recording two EPs and the Prairie Music Award-nominated album Tempting the Storm (2000) which signaled the arrival of a major talent. Based in Winnipeg, Cara has become a widely-respected and well-traveled member of the Canadian folk/roots music community. She has graced the stage at Lilith Fair and been invited to perform at the prestigious International Guitar Festival in the UK. With The Wailin’ Jennys she created one of the most talked about folk groups of the last ten years and recorded the exquisite 40 Days, winner of the 2005 Juno award for Best Roots Recording (Group). Since leaving the trio she has wowed audiences and critics with her solo performances across North America and Europe. 

Critics and fans alike are eagerly awaiting the release of Cara’s upcoming new solo album, Darlingford, in the spring of 2012. The album was recorded in old churches, living rooms and home studios across Canada, the UK and the USA during 2011, and includes an all-star cast of guest musicians. With Cara sitting in the producer chair for the first time, Darlingford once again captures her prowess as a songwriter, singer and instrumentalist, and introduces her as a gifted producer.

Leave it to Canadian music elder statesman Terry David Mulligan to sum it up best: “This is her time, folks!  Make room in your musical world for Cara Luft before she kicks your door down.”