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Loreena McKennitt - The Visit Revisited

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/30778

• In-person event

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of her Juno Award-winning album, The Visit, independent Canadian artist and composer Loreena McKennitt is heading out on tour this fall.  In September 2021, McKennitt released The Visit: The Definitive Edition, a deluxe limited-edition, hardback book format. The original album, released in Canada in 1991 and internationally in 1992, marked a life-altering turning point in her career. Entering into a partnership with major international record...

“It’s always so interesting and often enlightening to revisit one’s early work to see how the inspiration for it has evolved.” Loreena McKennitt

• ≈ 2 hours and 20 minutes · With intermission

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of her Juno Award-winning album, The Visit , independent Canadian artist and composer Loreena McKennitt is heading out on tour this fall.  In September 2021, McKennitt released The Visit: The Definitive Edition, a deluxe limited-edition, hardback book format. The original album, released in Canada in 1991 and internationally in 1992, marked a life-altering turning point in her career. Entering into a partnership with major international record company, Warner Music Group, The Visit propelled McKennitt onto the world stage, a place where she has been comfortable ever since.  Accompanying McKennitt on tour will be long-time musical companions Caroline Lavelle on cello, Brian Hughes on guitar, and Hugh Marsh on violin. Performances will include every song on The Visit, (in the order which they appear on the album), as well as other favourites from across her catalogue. The Visit Revisted will be McKennitt’s first toursince her Lost Souls Tourin 2018, which began in Stratford, followed by performances in Brazil, Argentina and Chile, later taking her to Europe that spring and summer for 49 concerts, eventually wrapping up in Canada in the fall of 2019. “In 2019, I decided to put my career on hold in order to focus on other matters, including civic affairs, climate change and Indigenous issues. Little did I know we were heading into a two-and-a-half-year pandemic,” says McKennitt. “Even under those challenging circumstances I was able to be involved in matters related to those themes and they continue still. At the same time, I believe it’s possible to get back to touring even while keeping a foot in those things back home. I felt then, as I do now, that it’s important to be a contributing member of one’s community.” Loreena McKennitt’s eclectic Celtic blend of pop, folk and world music has sold over 14 million albums worldwide. Her recordings have achieved Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum status in 15 countries, on four continents. She has twice been nominated for a Grammy Award and has won two Juno Awards, as well as a Billboard International Achievement Award. Loreena has performed in some of the world’s most iconic concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain, Le Grand Rex in Paris and Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, to name only a few. Furthermore, she has performed for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II plus numerous heads of state and dignitaries.

In 2004, McKennitt was awarded the Order of Canada, and in 2013 was appointed Knight of the National Order of Arts and Letters of the Republic of France. 

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October 11, 2023 Music » Music News + Views

Soundbites: Loreena McKennitt Revists 'The Visit' 

Published October 11, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

• Courtesy Of Ann Cutting
• Loreena McKennitt

Look, I love to shout out DIY artists. There's something impressive and romantic about bands who haul themselves across state lines in vans that probably wouldn't pass inspection. It's a rite of passage that the vast majority of musicians never really progress past, the whole bleeding-for-your-art thing.

To be clear, though, my admiration isn't envy. If I had a massively successful career as a recording artist during which I sold, oh, let's say 14 million albums, got nominated for a bunch of Grammys and won several Junos, made a genre-defining album that's still held in reverence more than 30 years later, and was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, you can bet your ass I wouldn't still be operating DIY. I'd have assistants just to tell me when I run out of weed. And I would never, ever carry an amplifier again.

Don't tell that to Loreena McKennitt . The Canadian singer-songwriter and Celtic music superstar has had a glittering career (those are her stats listed above), achieving the status of being invited to perform for the Queen of England, for example.

Yet McKennitt doesn't surround herself with assistants or even a manager. On her farm in Stratford, Ont., the 66-year-old musician enjoys the quiet life — until it's time to dust off the harp and hit the road. She was doing just that when I reached her by phone ahead of her upcoming tour celebrating (a little late — thanks, COVID-19) the 30th anniversary of her landmark 1991 album, The Visit . That tour brings her to Burlington's Flynn Main Stage this Thursday, October 12.

"I have a small heap of souls who help me put all the pieces together, but by and large I handle most of the details," McKennitt said. "The hardest part is putting together the blueprint, the routing and working out all the logistics, but once that's done, it's just about executing the plan and playing the shows."

Though McKennitt makes it sound easy, booking a tour is no mean feat in 2023. As a Canadian citizen touring the States, she has to deal with the Internal Revenue Service and pay taxes on tour income, something she worries about as the American government flirts with a November shutdown. Then there's the lingering specter of the pandemic.

"Oh, it's still changing things," McKennitt said. "In most professions, if you get sick and miss five days, it's no big deal. But I've put up half a million dollars' worth of equipment and trucks, and I have musicians and touring staff to pay, so, as a touring artist, getting sick can be catastrophic."

Still, McKennitt can't hide her excitement about touring America for the first time in more than seven years and playing some of her most celebrated material.

"It's really quite interesting to revisit those songs," she told me. "I feel like the songs hold up really well, which is nice. And for a song like 'Bonny Portmore,' this traditional piece lamenting the cutting down of a tree in Ireland, it feels as relevant now as it did over a century ago."

McKennitt admits that she rarely, if ever, listens to her old material and hasn't sung many of the songs on The Visit in years. But she relishes the opportunity to, ahem, revisit the work. She fondly recalled singing a version of the traditional song "Greensleeves" as a joke — until it ended up on the album.

"We were just playing around while the recording engineer took a phone call," she said. "Someone suggested I try singing 'Greensleeves' like Tom Waits, so I dropped my voice and did this hushed thing and it worked, so we ended up tracking it."

McKennitt fell in love with traditional Celtic folk music growing up in Manitoba, where her parents would take her to a club in Winnipeg. As soon as she heard Celtic music, with the beating bodhran and tablas and the keening fiddles, she was "smitten by it," she said.

"What I like so much about folk music is that you can't truly appreciate the songs until you appreciate the social, economic and political circumstances from which it sprung," McKennitt said. "Discovering those songs opened my eyes to Irish history, and I hope my own music might do the same."

When I pointed out that she certainly has fans who learned about Celtic traditions and songs from her albums, she noted that she lives on a farm and hasn't engaged with social media since quitting Facebook in 2017.

"I live as much of my life as close to the natural world as possible and draw a lot of rejuvenation from that," she said. "But whenever I do encounter someone who had a positive interaction with my music, I'm very humbled. To hear people got married and had kids to my songs is just an incredible sensation."

McKennitt released her most recent studio album in 2018 . When — or if — she will go back to the studio to make another record is anyone's guess. According to her, the recording industry has collapsed, largely due to the advent of streaming.

"You used to make 25 cents every time your song played on the radio," McKennitt recalled. "But with Spotify, if you're lucky you can get 10 cents for every thousand plays. It's just utterly broken."

For the time being, McKennitt is focused on live music — and happy to be back on the road after years away.

"I truly can't wait to get out from the rock I live under and perform these songs again," she said.

For more info on McKennitt's upcoming Burlington show and to purchase tickets, visit flynnvt.org .

Tags: Music News + Views , Loreena McKennitt , The Visit

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VISIT: LOREENAMCKENNITT.com

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

2024 spring tour.

30th ANNIVERSARY 1991-2021 • 5 DISC EDITION  

Celebrating 30 years since loreena’s award winning album propelled her onto the international stage. a deluxe limited-edition, hardback book format containing four cds and one audio blu-ray disc , a 32-page illustrated booklet, and hours of previously unreleased content, including the first-ever surround sound mixes of loreena’s music. read more a bonus hand-autographed 5” x 7” postcard is included exclusively for customers purchasing directly from the artist store. not available to customers of other retailers, including amazon..

Disc One contains the original recording, remastered in 2004

Hand-autographed 5"x7" postcard

exclusively for direct from artist customer s

NOT AVAILABLE THROUGH RETAILERS

Disc Four features a binaural headphone mix as well as a soundboard recording of previously unreleased 2016 trio performances. READ MORE

​ Disc Three   a 1991 interview with journalist Tim Wilson and a previously unreleased 2020 round-table discussion with Loreena and colleagues.

​ Disc Two includes two archival performances: from The CBC and NPR's World Cafe in 1992

​ Disc Five consists of a Blu-ray audio with three different formats: Dolby Atmos, 5.1 surround sound  and a hi-res stereo versionn. READ MORE

THE VISIT - ALSO AVAILABLE on 180 GRAM VINYL Available as a numbered, 180-gram audiophile-quality vinyl record which also includes a free digital download coupon.

The Visit: The Definitive Edition

"Unboxing"

Loreena delivers a Gemini award-winning performance of Lady of Shalott at the 1992 Juno Awards.

Bonny Portmore from Highlander 3

In Her Own Words

Loreena takes the listener on a track-by-track journey through the story of the songs of The Visit in anticipation of the five disc, 30th Anniversary set The Visit: The Definitive Edition. Avaiilable on Spotify, Apple Music and other services here . 

A Revisit with Echoes

and John Diliberto

Loreena talks with Echoes host John Diliberto, telling epic tales of “The Lady of Shalott” and “All Souls Night.” The album took the burgeoning Celtic craze of the 80s and launched it into a global fusion behind her eastern inflected arrangements, soaring soprano voice and ancient tales from Celtic realms. Loreena and John catch up and look back on a signature work on Echoes. READ MORE

A Revisit with

The Eclectic Light Show Loreena celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of her seminal album The Visit in an exclusive interview with The Eclectic Light Show with Mandy Morton, in which she discusses her musical inspirations, her concerns over multi media platforms, the technical revolution involved in creating the new four disc definitive edition of the album, and her plans for future tours. LISTEN via MIXCLOUD

WE LOOK BACK

We're looking back with fond memories to the time of The Visit , beginning with a feature article and interview with Loreena's long-time band member Brian Hughes who worked on the album with Loreena. Check back as we share our stories and memories.

Guitarist Brian Hughes ‘unclassifiable’

Accomplished musician/producer has worked with Loreena for 34 years

A love of music and the evolution of technology

Award-winning sound engineer reflects on a fulfilling career

A sophisticated and enhanced listening experience

In addition to celebrating 30 years, The Visit: The Definitive Edition marks Loreena’s first-ever surround sound mixes , bringing listeners a whole new, sophisticated and enhanced experience .

The anniversary package includes a Blu-ray audio disc with the original recording rendered in Dolby Atmos® , 5.1 surround sound and a hi-res stereo version .

For customers without a Blu-ray player and sound system, a binaural headphone mix of the original recording can be found on disc four and enjoyed through a standard CD player. These binaural mixes offer listeners a similar experience to surround sound, using stereo headphones.

Dolby has developed this new immersive format, Atmos, that provides the listener with a musical experience comparable to three-dimensional sound experienced in modern cinemas. 

The 5.1 mix is presented in the older, five-speaker plus subwoofer surround sound format with which most home cinema and surround sound aficionados will be more familiar.

The hi-res stereo mix is an uncompressed audio format that allows listeners to enjoy the original stereo mix in a resolution that comes closest to the original stereo studio masters.

The surround mixes were created by the three-time Juno winning engineer Jeff Wolpert at his Dolby Atmos® Studio Desert Fish in Toronto, Canada. Jeff also engineered the original recording of The Visit in 1991.

Multi-award winning engineer, mixer, producer, editor, and educator Jeff Wolpert , Desert Fish Studios , Toronto, Canada

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Loreena McKennitt The Mask and Mirror – 30th Anniversary Tour

Loreena McKennitt returns to Greece after her two sold-out concerts in 2019, which left an unforgettable impression in Athens and Thessaloniki alike. The acclaimed Canadian singer and composer is known for her unique musical style that combines world music with folk elements from Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. Athens is the starting point of her European tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of her landmark album The Mask and Mirror, in which she masterfully mingles Celtic, Spanish, and Moroccan influences. The first set on the tour will feature ‘fan favourites’ while the second will include every song on the album. She will be accompanied by musical companions Caroline Lavelle on cello, Brian Hughes on guitar, Hugh Marsh on violin, Dudley Phillips on bass, and Robert Brian on drums.  

Caroline Lavelle cello , Brian Hughes guitar , Hugh Marsh violin , Dudley Phillips double bass Production Archangel

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Loreena McKennitt’s ‘eclectic Celtic’ music has won critical acclaim worldwide and gold, platinum and multi-platinum sales awards in 15 countries across four continents.

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