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Samantha Martin brings exciting blues-gospel vocals to Harvest Fest

Fri, Sep 18, 2015.

The Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival is well-known for introducing new, exciting acts to the East Coast that wouldn't normally tour in this area.  They might be from Los Angeles or New Orleans, or some of the best Canadian groups that have missed out on the Maritimes so far.

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This year, one of the most exciting to take the stage will be the Toronto group Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar.  The four-piece band is known for its excellent blend of roots, blues and gospel music, and exceptional vocals.  Martin is the chief writer and singer, but loves to share the spotlight with the other three:  guitarist Mikey McCallum and vocalists Sherie Marshall and Stacie Tabb. "It's so exciting to play with this group of people, their showmanship is amazing," she confirms, taking a break from packing for the van trip to Fredericton.  "We've even worked out dance moves for a song, it's definitely a show."

Delta Sugar came about by accident, and by public demand.  Martin was already in a group, Samantha Martin and the Haggard, but in 2013 the eight-piece suddenly found themselves too big.  "We were at Folk Alliance, and had to do a private showcase where the rule was no drums, no bass allowed," she explains.  "So we decided to pare it down and go for a Staple Singers kind of vibe, and do our more blues and gospel material.  The person from the Calgary Folk Fest was so excited about the four-piece gospel format that she wanted Delta Sugar instead of the Haggard to come out there.  So we decided that four pieces was easier to tour than eight pieces, and we went with it, and the audience response was amazing.  We still do The Haggard around Toronto."

The group evolved into a style that featured sounds Martin loved from vintage soul, gospel and blues of the South.  There are rich harmonies, gritty lead singing, ringing and rough guitars, everything played with deep passion.  "It's the sound that spoke to me, those triple-part harmonies, the tremolo guitar, that early Southern Americana," she says.  "I was listening to a lot of Muscle Shoals stuff and Stax, and definitely the early gospel stuff on Vee-Jay Records.  I love the sound, the message, even if you're not religious, it's uplifting. I'm fortunate enough that I can execute it."

Martin is being humble there, but the fact is, she has one of the most powerful and distinctive voices to emerge in Canadian music.  She could front any type of band, and in the past has done everything from Janis Joplin-styled blues to Zeppelin hard rock.  She fits in so well with this material, audiences assume she grew up with it, and that the songs are old classics. "If you listen to the lyrics for our heavier gospel tracks that I've written, you'll notice that the lyrics are not really religious," she explains.  "At the Kitchener Blue Fest this year for example, we did the Gospel Breakfast, and a lot of people came up to me and asked me, "What church do you go to?"  First I have to explain to them I'm from Edmonton, Alberta, because they assume I've been brought up from the Southern U.S. to play this.  Then I tell them I don't actually go to church, I feel like a bit of an imposter sometimes, but this is the music I write and believe in.  I'm not saying I'm a gospel artist, I'm saying I'm a singer-songwriter, and I write blues, gospel-blues-tinged soul music."

Whatever you call it, it's stirring, inspiring and dramatic.  The album Send The Nightingale was released in February, and features the very sound festival goers have started to love. The Harvest audiences get to see what the fuss is about on Saturday, Sept. 19.  There are two shows for the group, including a free one in Officer's Square at 2 PM, plus an appearance at the Hoodoo House, at 8:45 PM.

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About Bob Mersereau

Rockin' BobBob Mersereau has been covering music, and the East Coast Music Scene since 1985 for CBC. He's a veteran scene-maker at the ECMA's, knows where the best shows and right parties are happening, and more importantly, has survived to tell the tales. His weekly East Coast music column is heard on Shift on Radio 1 in New Brunswick each Wednesday at 4'45. He's also the author of two national best-selling books, The Top 100 Canadian Albums (2007) and The Top 100 Canadian Singles (2010).

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