HOME FOR THE SUMMER
After decades of being away, singer-songwriter Tara MacLean returns to P.E.I. this summer with ‘Atlantic Blue’ at The Guild in Charlottetown
After two decades of living on the west coast, P.E.I. singersongwriter Tara MacLean longed to return home for the summer.
Her yearning was due, in part, to the magnetic pull of Canada’s smallest province and her close ties to her mother and grandmother, who live there, as well as her family and friends who visit each year.
“P.E.I. is a special place. And I wanted to immerse my kids in a true Island summer,” says MacLean, who is finally realizing her dream.
“I was just praying that I would get a summer run for 2017 and now it’s happening,” says MacLean, whose show “Atlantic Blue: A Celebration of East Coast Songwriters” opened July 4 at The Guild in Charlottetown. The show continues Saturdays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays until Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
“And what’s so amazing about it is everyone has been so incredibly helpful.”
In fact, when MacLean arrived in early June to begin the legwork for the show, doors immediately began to open for the Charlottetown native.
“All I did was ask and these amazing people at these companies gave me essential sponsorships for the show. I’ve never felt so supported. Everywhere I turned I received a big ‘yes’ from the community.”
The support she has received has allowed her to direct her full energies into the project.
“Rehearsals are completely blowing my mind,” says MacLean of the show that will feature her singing songs by her favourite East Coast artists backed up by Todd MacLean, saxophone, Cynthia MacLeod, fiddle, Caroline Bernard, vocals/guitar and Mark Geddes, bass and percussion.
“I’ve chosen the exact/right musicians for this. They have been wonderful. Everyone is putting his or her whole heart into it.”
The show will also tell stories about the lives of these East Coast artists through short film vignettes, completed by Jason Rogerson. The opening film is directed by MacLean and Jennifer Abbott, an award-winning Canadian filmmaker, known for her film, “The Corporation”.
“I think people are going to really like the show. There are some surprises in it. And it’s going to be really fun. People are going to feel really connected to the East Coast.”
And what’s special about this show is that MacLean will have her days off to spend time with her children, Sophia, 15, Stella, 11 and Flora, 9.
“When I was asking Lennie Gallant what it was like to come home and play for the summer (last year), he said, the bonus is you get to play music at night and you can go to the beach during the day,” says MacLean, with a laugh.
“So that’s pretty much where you’ll find me.”