Carrie Day

Carrie Day is an Edmonton, Alberta based folk/roots singer-songwriter who has gained a reputation for her breathy vocals, poetic lyrics and skilled arrangements that channel raw emotion straight to the listener’s heart. Day started to develop her craft at age 11 when she taught herself to play and read music on a second-hand organ. She went on to study classical piano through the Royal Conservatory of Music, then continued her studies at the University of Alberta where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music. Complementing her classical training, Day taught herself guitar and in 2000 studied with a tabla master while travelling in India. Songwriting soon followed, and Day’s talents began to shine in Edmonton’s indie folk/roots scene.

As a pianist and guitarist, Carrie has spent a great deal of time perfecting her craft. Attention to dynamics and organic sounds has become her trademark. With a style of her own, Carrie’s sound may be described as a cross between Joni Mitchell and Cat Power. She is an emotionally charged artist with an exuberant stage presence, and a keen ability to capture listeners, make them chuckle, and warm their hearts. She is a poet, a singer, a songwriter and a storyteller. As audience member and music writer, Fraser Wareham has said: “when you get the chance to hear Carrie sing live, you truly appreciate the power and depth of this voice. Carrie belongs in large concert halls.”

Citing musical influences including Sarah Harmer, Feist, Joni Mitchell and Regina Spektor, Day also takes her inspiration from her daughter and her many piano students, who form the choir in some of her recordings. Day’s songs reflect her calling to create beauty or tap into it by writing meaningful lines of lyric and music. The result is a unique sound that speaks to universal human experiences of love and loss, joy and sadness, turmoil in the world and in the individual soul.

Day has been featured in local, national and international print (including the Edmonton Journal, CBC and Performing Songwriter Magazine), and is receiving airplay on CKUA, CBC, CJSR and international stations as far away as Australia. “A Glimpse of Heaven”, Day’s first music video, was nominated for a 2012 Alberta Film and Televisions Award.

Her self-produced debut album, Pieces of Me, engineered by Nik Kozub, marked the arrival of a serious new talent to watch. Performing Songwriter Magazine noted Day’s second album, Finding Grace, produced by Day and engineered by Kozub, brought to mind Sarah McLachlan in her Surfacing days. Day’s third album, Immaculate Night (Sound Extractor Studio), was one of CKUA’s top 100 for 2010. Her latest album, Life is Like This, debuted in CKUA’s top ten in November of 2012.

When Day isn’t performing, writing or teaching music, she focuses her creativity on home renovations, cooking, writing poetry, painting and doing yoga. An introvert and shy by nature, Day’s songs showcase both her musical talents and her gift of reflection, which create powerful lyrics and melodies that move through a spectrum of emotions from haunting to uplifting. A sense of wonder permeates Day’s songs, which enhance the listener’s own reflections on life and what it means to love and to be human.