MRG Live Presents: Sarah Harmer

"Sarah Harmer is a Canadian singer/songwriter and environmental activist whose winsome vocals and wanderings in indie pop, folk, and bluegrass have bewitched critics and fans alike. Harmer was the driving force behind Kingston folk-pop group Weeping Tile before embarking on a successful solo career in the late '90s that began with high-profile live shows alongside artists like Indigo Girls, Great Big Sea, and Moxy Fruvous. Her first release outside of Weeping Tile was a tribute to her father titled Songs for Clem. Credited to Harmer and Jason Euringer, the folksy album was released independently by Harmer, but was eventually given wider release by Universal Canada. Her proper debut album, the resonant You Were Here, was released in mid-2000 by Zoe Records, and showed a polished, more mature side to her music than her work with her former band. It wasn't until 2004 that Harmer returned with a follow-up, All of Our Names, while in 2006 she explored her country and bluegrass side on I'm a Mountain, which garnered the singer three Juno Award nominations. 2010 saw the release of her fifth album, the more rock-oriented Oh Little Fire, which featured guest appearances from Neko Case, Julie Fader, and James Shaw (Metric) -- like its predecessor, the LP earned Harmer a trio of Juno nominations. She spent the next several years focusing on environmental work, though she continued to perform and record sporadically. Harmer returned to the studio in 2019 and inked a deal with Arts & Crafts. The resulting Are You Gone, which she described as "" a spiritual successor"" to her 2000 debut You Were Here, was released in February 2020."