The Pearl Company

Singer/songwriter Juanita Wilkins launches her new CD, “Four Corner Town” at The Pearl Company on Saturday July 19, at 8 pm. Tickets are $15 per person and are available at the door, or by calling 905-524-0606. The Pearl Company is located at 16 Steven Street @ King William in Hamilton.

“Four Corner Town” is Wilkins’ second full length solo CD, and is a delightful collection of original songs that celebrate and sometimes lament the state of things in rural Ontario.

Wilkins is an emerging Roots artist, quickly becoming recognized in the folk community as a singer/songwriter with a great depth of talent. Her songs are frank and accessible, offering a fresh approach to timeless stories – moving, insightful and intelligent lyrics coupled with hummable melodies that leave you singing along in your head for days after a performance. Add to the strong songwriting a beautiful, powerful three octave vocal and solid guitar playing and you’ve got a performer that does not, ever, disappoint.

The songs in “Four Corner Town”, recorded and co-produced by James Gordon, is Wilkins’ celebrate and sometimes lament the state of things in rural Ontario. “A few songs into the recording process, James noted that we had a theme going,” says Wilkins, “and I had to admit that’s how things were shaping up. I had been moved to write a few songs about the area where I live and the women and men who live and farm here, and found that the reception the songs were getting, both in city and country, was overwhelmingly positive.” So, she kept on in the same vein, with James Gordon contributing one of his songs that fit the theme, and “Four Corner Town” was born.

Not all of the songs are specifically about farming, but all have in common Wilkins’ trademark writing style – great storytelling that catches the imagination immediately, even if you’ve never heard the song before. “I get a big kick out of seeing people trying to sing along with songs I know they are hearing for the first time. I know that they ‘get’ it right away. I’m kinda proud that nobody has to scratch their head and wonder what the heck that last song was about.”

As well as a busy schedule of concerts and club dates, Juanita is the music director for the Minto Arts Council, an award-winning volunteer organization that quite successfully promotes the arts in the Town of Minto (Wellington County). And, this year, she breaks into the Folk Festival circuit with her first appearance at Summerfolk in Owen Sound, ON.

Here are some quotes: “Juanita Wilkins has the ability to engage, hold and enchant an audience with her marvelous songs and her beautiful voice. She is a true professional with a great story to tell and tremendous courage.” Jane Harbury

“Juanita immediately impressed me with her incredibly strong voice and poignant and witty lyrics. … As a singer, her voice gives you goosebumps and as a songwriter she enables you to become one with the people and places she writes about. She is also very funny…. Her performances never disappoint and always raise you to energetic heights leaving a smile in your heart for days,” Carolyn Bigley, Georgian Bay Folk Society