photo: © Suzanne Nolan
The JansenSisters were awarded Best Performance this spring at the Calgary Folk Festival Songwriting Competition in the Sonic Youth category for their song, Second Home, a catchy toe-tapper they wrote about an island camp they frequent annually off the West Coast.
The three oldest sisters: Cassidy, Micah and Alixx, write songs about their own experiences, the lives of people who have intersected with theirs and songs that reflect the family values that they have been raised under.
Their youngest sibling, Jenna, is often invited into the performance to play the cajon or shakers or add another harmony.
In addition to performing originals, they enjoy covering a variety of artists such as: Coldplay, Dala and Kina Grannis and have performed a number of Celtic Folk songs for St. Patrick’s Day events, Celtic folk clubs and the Water Valley Celtic Festival.
The JansenSisters have been honing their harmonies over the past 7 years as they have steadily added various instruments such as the upright bass, banjo and harmonica to their performance.
This is what the Long and McQuade judges had to say about the JansenSisters song, No Typical Girl, which won the Head to Head Music Showdown in 2013:
It was the infectiously hypnotic acoustic guitar track that caught our attention right off the top… and then the backups in the choruses. The vocal harmonies here are complex and beautiful. Topped off with great songwriting and lyrics supporting a pertinent message, this was an easy choice for us to choose as the winning entry of their category.
