Lynn Chisholm Music

It is Monday evening in Mabou, and a Port Hood singer Lynn Chisholm is entertaining during supper hour at the Red Shoe Pub. The audience may not be aware but wouldn't be surprised after listening to her to learn that the woman accompying herself on guitar and singing country songs as recent as the Dixie Chicks or as old as Put My Little Shoes Away will leave for Nashville on July 11th to record a cd and take the stage at Tootsie's the most famous open mic in country music.
Since the release of her first recording, Timing, the special education teacher and mother of two has seen her singing reputation grow as e-mails have begun arriving from fans as far off as Germany and Australia, and contact by a Nashville producer has resulted in the upcoming trip to the capital of country music.
Shortly after the release of Timing, Lynn's daughter Genna, created a Myspace page for her mother's music, and since March of 2007 visitors have been coming to the site. One visitor named Lonnie Ratliff returned several times, leaving messages of interest, stating that he liked Lynn's voice and inquiring whether she was interested in recording. He particularly liked Chisholm's version of Hank William's May You Never Be Alone.
"I didn't pay any attention at first," Lynn Chisholm said, but did some research and learned that Ratliff was a record producer and songwriter who had worked with singers such as Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks and Canadian country legend Dick Dameron.
At the end of August, Ratliff phoned Lynn Chisholm saying he would like her to consider making a demonstartion cd and see where it goes. Lynn agreed to the suggestion, but because school would be starting soon she said it wouldn't be possible before this summer.
Ratliff understood, and the two began to work together through internet. Ratliff had six original songs in mind, four he had co-written. All of the songs, Lynn says, are upbeat country numbers. By Christmas their agreement was finalized, and Ratliff emailed the working tracks for Lynn Chisholm to download and then to place her voice over those tracks . Ratliff critiqued the songs and the singing along the way.
The producer also asked for a copy of Timing, which he wanted to showcase on internet radioat 365 internet Radio out of Nashville, as well as at Western Heart Promotions. Timing began getting airtime, particularly I Can't Help It and May You Never Be Alone. Soon Lynn Chisholm was hearing from listeners in Europe and Australia and beyond.
"I've made connections with those fans. They wanted CDS, and they want to hear the dmeo, " says Lynn.
Lynn's visit to Nashville will be filled with work, but it will be a labour of love. She arrives in Nashville on Friday, July 11th an begins working the next morning. The weekend will be in a small studio perfecting the arrangments, and on Monday the site moves to the Smoke House Studio. Among the musicians who will back Lynn in the studio are Jason Roller, who has recorded with Joe Diffie, and Roger Morris, a keyboardist who has worked with Kenny Chesney, Alabama and Tom Jones.
In addition, Lynn Chisholm is on the list to perform at Tootsie;s where Willie Nelson got his first song-writing gig, and upon whose stage have stood many if not most of the greatest legends in country music.
Along with working on the recording, Lynn Chisholm will also be an excited fan walking in awe along Music Row and attending the Grand Old Opry.
When the recording session is finished, Lynn will return home to Port Hood while Lonnie Ratliff shops the demo for a record deal.
Back here, Lynn Chisholm expects to take the recording to a production studio in Halifax and have it mastered as an EXtended Play ( EP), and make it available to fans local and beyond.
While Lynn Chisholm will be leaving for Nashville on Friday of next week,on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday July 7th -9th she will be back at the Red Shoe from 5:00-7:00 pm and fans can drop in to wish her well and to listen to the voice from Port Hood that was heard all the way down in Nashville. - THe Inverness Oran-July 2, 2008

Country music fans were out in large numbers on Sunday afternoon to listen to Lynn Chisholm sing cuts from her new album, Follow Your Heart, which she had done all the way to Nashville in storybook fashion, bringing the fruits of the persuit home to share with Inverness County family, friends and fans.
On Sunday, the official release of Follow Your Heart was met with thunderous applause
For years, Lynn Chisholm has been singing country standards at concerts around the county, solo or in duet with her father, Duncs Mac Donald, or her daughter, Rhiannon. In 2006 she recorded Timing, a collection of country songs that her daughter Genna, a deejay with 101.5 the Hawk posted on MY Space.
The songs attracted thousands of hits, hundreds of favourable comments, and a curious inquiry from a Nashville record producer, Lonnie Ratliff. Lynn had a quality of voice he was looking for. After establishing that he was a legitimate producer with an impressive array of country stars to his credit, he and LYnn reached an agreement where she would go to Nashville to record a CD. All the songs on Follow Your Heart have been written or co-written by Ratliff.
This past summer Lynn Chisholm made the trip to Nashville and a series of recording sessions. The result is a solid-sounding country album filled with strong rendered in Lynn 's wonderful voice and supported by high quality Nashville musicians. At least three songs on the record, Midnight At The Old Soldiers Home, Leaning On A Rock That Never Rolls, and The Tree, have the potential of becoming successful singles.
In a living room setting on the Strathspey Place stage Lynn welcomed the audience. Supported by lead guitarist J.R Fontain, and bass player Neil Campbell, Lynn turned the first half of the show over to the singing of great country standards ranging from Silver Threads and Golden Needles to YOur Cheaten Heart to Linka On My Mind ( in duet with Duncs).
In the second half of the show, Lynn Chisholm performed six cuts from Follow Your Heart, singing to the music track of the actual recording. From her opening selection of Midnight At The Old Soldiers the audience was entranced, and as she moved through the selection they grew more and more personal.
Two of the songs she dedicated to recently deceased loved ones, Shadows, a song about Alzheimer's was her mother-in-law who passed away. For her grandmother, Lexina Mac Donald, she sang The Tree while on the video screen in black and white family photographs turned like pages of a family album, an emotional experience for the many in the audience who have a small-town familiarity with each other.
In choosing Lynn Chisholm as the voice for his songs, Lonnie Ratliff obviously felt the affinity between the two. It was a wise choice, and if country radio stations are listening for something fresh, Lynn Chisholm and Follow Your Heart can provide it for them - Inverness Oran-Frank Mac Donald

"You only pass through once, if you plan to leave your mark; follow your dreams, follow your heart."
Follow Your Heart, title track from Lynn Chisholm's forthcoming CD.

Follow your heart and you'll live your dream. That's the sound advice offered by Lynn Chisholm as she fulfills a lifelong dream this month.
Oran reader may remember Fran MacDonald's feature with the Port Hood singer last month as she prepared to embark upon a trip to Nashvilleto record.
It all began after the release of Lynn's first full-length CD last year when her daughter Genna, a deejay at The Hawk Radio station in Port Hawesbury, created a My Space page to showcase Lynn's music. Lynn's fan base soon expanded to include an established Nashville producer named Lonnie Ratliff.
Chisholm and Ratliff corresponed throughout the past year with Lonnie determined to set up a recording session with Lynn. They decided to set a summer recording date after Lynn, a student program assistant, finished up her school year. Chisholm and Ratliff traded working mp3 tracks throughout the winter, and he provided feedback and pre-production advice. The songs were all Ratliff compositions or songs that he co-wrote with other writers
Lynn and her husband Cyril arrived in Nashville on July 11th and were picked up at the airport by Ratliff. She went righ to work that Saturday at Ratlfiff's Dixianna Studio.
Saturday evening Cyril and Lynn had the pleasure of attending a Grand old Opry performance where Ricky Skaggs and his band were the headliners. On Sunday they continued their tour of Nashville's attractions, the highlight of which was Chisholm's performance at the legendary Tootsie's Bar, another dream come true for Lynn.
"When I walked out of Tootsie's after performing, I ask myself, am I really here? I was so happy, I just walked out and jumped in the air? After that, we went to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. We could've spent all day there, and Sunday evening we had tickets for the General Jackson Riverboat" Chisholm added.
On July 13th Lynn and Ratliff's impressive group of session musicians met at another recording studio 40 minutes outside of Nashville called The Smokehouse.
"It was such an amazing experience to work with this fine group of professionals. I was quite nervous at first, but they were so great to work with and went out of their way to make me feel comfortable," she added.
Some of those musicians included Steve Holland on drums, Vaughn Lofstead on guitars, Dave Martin on bass, Rodger Morris (Alabama) on keyboards, Jason Roller ( Joe Diffy) on fiddle, Perley Curtis (Loretta Lynn) on steel guitar and dobro, TJ Klay on harmonica and Christy Cornelius on harmony vocals.
With the recording sessions, proceeding smoothly, Ratliff had more great news for Chisholm. It was sure they would be able to record 10 tracks for a full lengh CD rather than just a demo. Lynn was thrilled.
Now, that the recording is finished, Lynn is waiting for the master copies. She hopes to have artwork, design and production work complete soon at Blue SKy Productions in Halifax. Once manufacturing is completed in Toronto, Lynn expects to have her intitial 1,000 copies of the new CD on the store shelves here in Nova Scotia sometime later this month.
The CD will be titled Follow Your Heart after one of Lonnie's song titles. " That's what I did, followed my heart, so its an appropriate title," Lynn added. The CD produced and arranged by Lonnie Ratliff will also be distributed through Westwood International Records. For more information or to listen to some sample tracks visit www.myspace.com/lynnchisholmmusic . - Inverness Oran-John Gillis August 6, 2008

Cape Breton country singer Lynn Chisholm and friends will celebrate the release of her new CD at Mabou's Strathspey Place on Sunday, Oct. 19th at 2 pm.
The album Follow Your Heart was recorded in Nashville, and can be heard at myspace.co/lynnchisholmmusic. Admission is $15. For more info go to www.strathspeyplace.com - The Chronicle Herald- Friday Oct. 10, 2008