Manitoba Live Music Event

About

Declan O'Donovan

A masterful songwriter collects life's experiences and artfully turns them into songs that capture the imagination of a listener. Declan O’Donovan is that songwriter and contemporary troubadour who utilizes a broad palate of voice and piano to tell intriguing stories through the music he creates. At home in the rural environs of Whitehorse, Yukon and equally at home in the urban centers of Montreal and Toronto, this broad sense of place comes into play in the songs Declan has written for his newest release, Broken Sky. “Overall, the sound of the album strikes a balance between the rural and roots, and the urban and contemporary influences that contributed to the sound and the songwriting,”says O’Donovan.

Produced by Jean Massicotte (Patrick Watson, Lhasa, Adam Cohen), Broken Sky was recorded at Studio Masterkut in Montreal. “Jean gave my songs a landscape to live in and explore. He brought with him a sound and an approach that gave every note warmth
and direction, and he gracefully coaxed out performances from everyone involved that at once made the songs both grounded and unrestrained.” Featured among the many outstanding musicians on Broken Sky is Brad Barr of The Barr Brothers, and Joe Grass,
Mishka Stein, and Robbie Kuster of Patrick Watson.

Declan released Broken Sky on June 2nd and has been touring nationally and internationally in support throughout 2017. As a full 4-piece band, he has travelled multiple times to Germany, across Canada, and to Japan with appearances at Canadian
Music Week, Sofar Hamburg, Atlin Music Festival, Fuji Rock Festival, and Breakout West, with dozens of theatre and club shows throughout.

Leaf Rapid's debut album Lucky Stars is a soundtrack for the modern cowboy-part Canadian trucker, part Manitoba Motown. Lucky Stars brings the deep roots of North America's great plains into the new millennium.

Fronted by husband & wife Keri & Devin Latimer, Leaf Rapids came out of their popular indie folk band, Nathan, which spent the early 2000's signed to major label Nettwerk. Winning 2 Canadian Folk Music titles and the 2008 Juno award (Canadian Grammy) for Roots Traditional Album of the Year, Keri and Devin's outstanding talents grabbed the attention of industry heavy weights, including Canadian roots music producer Steve Dawson. Dawson, a prodigious multi instrumentalist, was eager to work with Keri and Devin on their new project Leaf Rapids via his renowned record labelBlack Hen Music. As a five time Juno award-winning producer, Dawson brought his powerful talents on a wide variety of instruments, from pedal steel to electric guitar, crafting a full band sound for this duo that borders on indie roots.