ONLINE sales have ended. There are tickets available at the DOOR!
Newcomer Freya Milliken – with able support from The Gilberts and Avery Dakin – celebrates the release of a new EP with a show at The Carleton on Sunday, November 26th. Show time is 7 PM and tickets are $20 + HST
Freya Milliken is a Canadian singer-songwriter and recent graduate of Acadia University’s School of Music. Originally from Dorchester, New Brunswick, Freya has always appreciated small town life and found another home down the Bay of Fundy in Wolfville, Nova Scotia where she is now based.
Since 2021, Freya has been gaining momentum on the maritime festival scene with her heartfelt and perceptive songs, drawing her audiences in with her soft-spoken voice, intimate musical delivery, and down to earth maturity. She is quickly establishing herself as an emerging musician on the East Coast and will be releasing her debut EP in November 2023. “Wholeheartedly”, the title-track off her upcoming EP, has been nominated for SOCAN’s Song of the Year at the 2023 Music New Brunswick Awards.
Much of her work has been focused on presenting and promoting live shows, hosting open jams for youth, and leading an all-ages queer community choir in Wolfville. She is a warm and generous leader with an ability to connect and inspire that belies her young years.
Multi award-winning siblings The Gilberts bring vibrant three-part harmonies, soulful lyricism and diverse influences to their songs, performances and recordings. Frieden, Reuben and Maisie emigrated to Canada in 2003, growing up on muddy folk festival fields, stepping up to open mics, performing at small events and soon touring soft seat theatres and playing major festivals including Deep Roots, Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival, Full Circle, Paddlefest, and Celtic Colours.
Along the way they set up a home studio and recorded and released two albums, garnering a Canadian Folk Music Award, an East Coast Music Award, and a Music Nova Scotia Award. As siblings there is an organic and intuitive flow to their songwriting and arrangements, and there are often wistful and meditative elements in their music that evoke strong emotional responses in audiences. Their music is played widely on CBC and independent radio, and they have done feature interviews and performances for CBC, Global News and CTV. They have been featured in many fundraisers for hospital foundations and organizations and initiatives concerned with poverty, mental health, seniors’ wellbeing, drug overdose awareness, and the arts in schools.
Steeped in vintage sensibilities and powerful emotion, paired with her dreamy, delicate vocals reminiscent of the crooners of eras past, Avery Dakin fuses old and new in her dynamic, thoughtfully crafted music. Her soft-hearted, soulful accounts of life’s most intimate moments are youthful and refreshing, sometimes playful and cheeky, while still reflecting her old soul. Cushioned within lush, shimmering harmonies and longing melodies, bathing in a soft sweetness, her sultry yet earnest music implores you to sway along to the sounds of introspection, yearning, and a woman finding her voice in spite, and because of it all.