Yesterday I told you about the interesting spin on the Songwriter's Circle that is touring the Maritimes starting tonight (Friday). Who's Song Is It Anyway? features four Atlantic Canadian songwriters in concert, but instead of presenting their own songs, they are going to do each others' material. So, each performer will do a song by the other three, and there will probably be some collaboration along the way, anybody is free to join it at any time. The musicians are Andy Brown from New Brunswick, Chris Kirby from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia's Kim Wempe and PEI's Tim Chiasson.

There's also a unique, fan-friendly number that will be the fourth played for each artist. People planning to attend the shows were asked to submit what they felt was an interesting song title to the website for the event. The writers picked the title they thought was most interesting, and went off and wrote a song around it. So we're going to get four different, brand-new songs, all with the same title. It's a surprise for sure, nobody has been told what the winning title was as yet.

If you're still on the fence about attending, here's a little profile of one of the performers, a look at Kim Wempe, whose latest album is called Painting With Tides. Wempe represents Nova Scotia, and as you'll quickly find out at one of her shows, she's very proud of that, because she's chosen the province out of a deep love. She's actually only lived there since 2007, a university move, but she quickly felt settled and at home. She grew up in small town Saskatchewan, lived a bit in Alberta, and then came to the Maritimes, and is showing absolutely no signs of moving ever again. Several of Wempe's songs are about that move, her past and present Not that she has a problem with her old home; as she sings in "Roots", "I still got a prairie smile".

Something did come to life though, with her move. Her debut E.P. won her an ECMA, and became a favourite performer quickly, plus an in-the-know discovery for music insiders. Her guest list on Painting With Tides was East Coast all-star, featuring Joel Plaskett, Thom Swift, Old Man Luedecke, Dale Murray, Carmel Mikol, drummer Geoff Arsenault and Rawlins Cross bass player Brian Bourne. But with all those talenting players, the best instrument on the album is Wempe's voice. Rich, a little deep, and very heartfelt, Wempe grabs your attention and brings you into her stories, a rare feat. I don't think her recordings do the live experience justice yet; in fact in some ways the less musicians the better, to let you focus on her singing and lyrics. The best example of that on the disc is a tune called "Out Of My Closet", which is really just her and Old Man Luedecke weaving in and out. You'll get a good opportunity to see her in a spare acoustic setting on this songwriter's tour.

Oh, self-promotion time: I'll be hosting the three New Brunswick shows. Here are those dates again:

Friday, Dec. 2 - Vintage Bistro, Hampton NB
Sat, Dec. 3 - Arena Complex Theatre, St. Andews, NB - 8 PM
Sun. Dec. 4 - Charlotte St. Arts Centre, Fredericton, NB - 8 PM
Mon. Dec. 5 - Al Whittle Theatre, Wolfville, NS - 8 PM
Tues. Dec. 6 - Shannon Studio, Civic Centre, Port Hawksbury, NS - 7:30 PM
Weds. Dec. 7 - The Carleton, Halifax - 9 PM
Thurs. Dec. 8 - Harmony House Theatre, Hunter River, PEI - 8 PM