Foster’s Dinner Concert series concludes with Canada’s Queen of Americana Lynne Hanson
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
Foster’s Dinner Concert series concludes with the highly anticipated appearance of Lynne Hanson in concert beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 23. The series has been wildly successful in connecting Canadian singer/songwriters with appreciative audiences eager for the music and stories told.
Hanson’s music is said to be “porch music with a little red dirt,” meaning the lyrics are pretty gritty with a nice mix of folk and blues. When she first started out, she was inspired by singer/songwriters like Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young. As the youngest of eight children she listened to the record collection of her siblings and their influences affected her.
“I tend to write a lot of emotional stuff. They are not always my stories but they tend to be rooted in what it is like to be a human being. A lot of what it’s like to be a human is emotion and that tends to be the focus of my writing,” said Hanson.
She typically starts writing songs on guitar beginning with a chord progression that develops into a melody and lyrics start to emerge. Her songs are driven by the music.
Her most recent album, Just a Poet, is very intimate and personal dealing with relationships and mental health issues, being able to find the light once you’ve lost it.
“It goes back to what it’s like to be alive. Someone said about my songs that I was writing what was in their head,” Hanson said.
The title track, “Just a Poet,” had her thinking about how the music business is now and how difficult it is in the current landscape. Like many of her musical companions, questions without answers left her feeling challenged in ways not experienced before. Themes of what humanity means are relevantly explored.
While her songs are gritty, her stories are humorous and will keep the audience entertained. The accolades for Hanson’s work are many and include Canadian Folk Music Award nominations and a win for English songwriter and ensemble of the year as The LYNNeS (with Lynn Miles). She has received the Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award recognizing excellence in songwriting presented by the Ontario Arts Council. Her style is casual and comfortable making for an easy and intimate concert at Foster’s.
“You get energy from the audience, there’s a feedback when it happens. You play a song and it affects people and it connects with people so there’s this energy that passes back and forth. I don’t think there’s any substitute for a live performance. You can listen to a record, and it might sound perfect but there’s something really cool about the live presentation of songs, you can’t replicate it except to be there in person,” said Hanson.
Her goal is to make the audience laugh, cry, make you think. She is looking forward to coming to Stratford for the first time and sharing music and stories with those in attendance.
The dinner concert series features a three-course prix fixe menu, tickets are $99 per person or, for the concert only, $25. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.fostersinn.com and select the menu option Buy Concert Series Tickets.