Biography
New CD available October, 2008
Looking for Christmas is a follow-up to her successful Christmas CD, On Angels’ Wings. With the same warm, rich pallet of sounds, the music provides a soothing seasonal soundtrack for any music lover.
The CD features Ali’s softly soaring soprano accompanied by the trademark liquid guitar of her musical partner, Rick Francis along with a plush assortment of stellar instrumentation.
Blending traditional with contemporary and originals with familiar classics, the CD covers a wide range of styles from folk and jazz to bluegrass and Celtic.
This 16 song collection captures the wonder and mystery of the Christmas season with the warmth and honesty inherent through all of Ali’s music.
Latest News: October 24, 2008
Ali attended the GMA Canada Covenant Awards in Calgary, Alberta. She received two nominations and won BOTH awards: Seasonal Song of the Year and Instrumental Song of the Year for
The Cry of Bethlehem which is featured on the new CD, Looking for Christmas
WINNER 2006 International Songwriting Competition - 3rd place for her song, "Poised for a Fall" (Lyrics category).
WINNER in the 2006 Just Plain Folks Awards for Best Contemporary Christian CD ("Where You Remain")
WINNER of FOUR 2006 Gospel Music Association Covenant Awards including:
Folk/Roots Album of the Year ("Window of Light")
Folk/Roots Song of the Year ("Poised for a Fall")
Country/Bluegrass Song of the Year ("Sweeter than Wine")
Seasonal Song of the Year ("Brand New Miracle")
HONOURABLE MENTION in the 2006 John Lennon Songwriting Competition for "Window of Light" (Gospel / Contemporary Christian Category) AND in 2007 for "Santorini" (Folk Category).
WINNER of three 2004/05 GMA Covenant Awards
WINNER of the 2006 and 2007 Word Guild Canadian Writing Award for Best Song Lyrics
NOMINATED for 3 Vibe Gospel Music 2005 Shai Awards
AWARDED 2005 Woman of the Year in the City of Stratford for outstanding contribution to the Arts
WINNER in the regional finals for the 2000 Canadian National Songwriting Contest for "Time Will Never Tell".
PROFILE:
Stratford's Ali Matthews has been a performing songwriter since her teens and has built a strong following across Canada and beyond. She has released four critically acclaimed CD's since her debut project, "Patchwork" in 2000.
Writing and performing on both piano and acoustic guitar, she blends mature and sensitive lyrics with evocative, compelling melodies. On stage, Matthews has teamed up with producer/ guitar player, Rick Francis creating a polished acoustic duo with a captivating sound. Exploring a wide range of musical styles, including elements of folk, pop, rock, jazz and country, the duo has delivered over 600 performances in five years for a variety of corporate events, house concerts, live television and radio appearances, churches, weddings and folk festivals. Matthews has been invited twice to perform the National Anthems at Sky Dome for the Toronto Blue Jays. Her music has been featured on CBC Radio as well as dozens of local radio stations across Canada.
In 2004 she released "Where You Remain", a beautiful collection of traditional hymns and contemporary sacred songs. The CD received five nominations at the 2004 Gospel Music Association Covenant Awards, winning both Inspirational Album of the Year and Country/Bluegrass Song of the Year for her single, “Hunger Mountain”. The CD was also nominated for three Vibe Gospel Music 2005 Shai Awards in the Folk, Country and Inspirational categories. Prior to this, she was also a winner in the Regional finals of the 2000 Canadian National Songwriting Contest and was recently awarded Woman of the Year by the City of Stratford for her outstanding contribution to the Arts.
Her Holiday CD "On Angels' Wings" is a collection of timeless Christmas songs with an acoustic jazz flavour and features five beautiful originals. It continues to be a perennial favorite, with growing sales each Holiday season since its first release in 2001. In 2005 Ali teamed up with FTC (Feed the Children) Canada and released a new edition of the disc, which included two additional original songs, one written specifically about child hunger. Her original Christmas songs have won the Seasonal Song of the Year award for two years in a row (2005, 2006) at the GMA Covenant Awards.
“Window of Light”, a CD of all new, original material, was released in August, 2006 and is receiving glowing reviews from critics and listeners alike in both the mainstream and Christian music industries. The CD took home the 2006 Folk/Roots Album of the Year at the GMA Covenant Awards along with awards for Folk/Roots Song of the Year and Country/Bluegrass Song of the Year.
“I desire to write songs that connect us with each other; songs that tap into our hopes and heartaches, our fears and passions, the things that make us vulnerable, the things that tell us we are alive. I see a dark and broken world in desperate need of mercy and compassion and I am compelled to create music that will draw us closer to grace, to each other and to our Creator. I am not a preacher - just a fellow-traveller on this fascinating ride …and I don’t mind being transparent.“ Ali Matthews
Visit www.alimatthews.com
Instrumentation
Option 1. Solo - Ali and her guitar
Option 2. Duo - Ali (with her guitar) and Rick Francis (with his guitars)
NOTE - most gigs are with the duo
Option 3. Full band - Ali (vocals, piano and guitar), Rick Francis (guitars), Dave Campion / Jay Reihl(drums and percussion), Junior Riggan (bass), Jim Wilde / Joy Brown (piano, keys), Don Reed (violin)
Discography
"Patchwork" 2000 debut CD
"On Angels' Wings" 2001 Christmas CD
"Where You Remain" 2004
"On Angels' Wings" 2005 reissued version with 2 additional tracks - in support of FTC (Feed the Children) Canada
"Window of Light" 2006
"Looking for Christmas" 2008
Links
| http://www.alimatthews.com |