Sarah Harmer debuts haunted, wintry “St. Peter’s Bay”

Listen to “St. Peter’s Bay” HERE and read more at Folk Alley HERE

“St. Peter’s Bay,” the second song from award-winning singer-songwriter and environmentalist Sarah Harmer’s new album,  ‘Are You Gone’ (February 21st, Arts & Crafts), is out today. A haunting juxtaposition of the swell of emotions at the end of a relationship against the drama and hardness of winter, “St. Peter’s Bay” (the album opener) introduces Sarah’s first full body of work in ten years as a darker, edged-out evolution of the “razor-sharp songwriting chops” (NPR Music) and “plainly hooky” melodic sensibility (Rolling Stone) that earned Sarah’s debut album ‘You Were Here’ unanimous praise in 2000. 

Listen to St. Peter’s Bay HERE, and read more at Folk Alley HERE

A cinematic love-letter to wilderness and the depth of human feeling - with a surprising backstory - Sarah said: "I wrote St. Peter's Bay on the plane to Prince Edward Island for a Hockey Day In Canada theatre show, but the hockey part is only a prompt. The song is about the end of a relationship, set against the frozen shoreline of Lake Ontario. I thought what better way to start the record than with black and white pioneer era sound, and a tale of love burning down to its final ember.”

“St. Peter’s Bay” follows first track “New Low,” a rollicking, empowering electric guitar-laced call-for-uprising, inspired by the increase in community action that Sarah saw in the wake of the 2017 shooting at a Quebec mosque, the Women’s March, and Climate Rallies. Written directly after a setback in her community’s fight for fossil fuel divestment, “New Low,” together with “St. Peter’s Bay," reflects the distinct sounds and alternately political and personal messages that form the sonic and thematic breadth of the new album.

Motivated by the beauty of life, the urgency of the climate crisis, and the question of loss, ‘Are You Gone’ is a meditation on the idea of presence, and a bookend to the questions posed on ‘You Were Here.’ That album made many year-end critics’ lists (TIME called it the best debut album of the year), and earned Sarah performances on The Late Show with David Letterman and Ellen, a nomination for the Polaris Music Prize, and nine JUNO Award nominations and two wins to date. 

This February, to celebrate the release of ‘Are You Gone,’ Sarah will be playing her first tour in a decade, and all dates are below.

PRE-ORDER ‘Are You Gone' HERE

Sarah Harmer 2020 TOUR DATES

WED, FEB 26 - Birchmere - Alexandria, VA

THU, FEB 27 - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA

SAT, FEB 29 - Joe's Pub - New York, NY

SUN, MAR 1 - City Winery Boston - Boston, MA

TUE, MAR 24 - Market Hall Performing Arts Centre - Peterborough, Canada

WED, MAR 25 - Market Hall Performing Arts Centre - Peterborough, Canada

FRI, MAR 27 - Algonquin Theatre - Huntsville, Canada

SAT, MAR 28 - The Empire Theatre - Belleville, Canada

TUE, MAR 31 - The Danforth Music Hall - Toronto, Canada

WED, APR 1 - The Danforth Music Hall - Toronto, Canada

FRI, APR 3 - London Music Hall - London, Canada

SAT, APR 4 - War Memorial Hall - Guelph, Canada

TUE, APR 14 - Meaford Hall Arts And Cultural Centre - Meaford, Canada

WED, APR 15 - Orillia Opera House - Orillia, Canada

FRI, APR 17 - Charles W. Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts - Parry Sound, Canada

SAT, APR 18 - Collège Boréal - Sudbury - Greater Sudbury, Canada

SUN, APR 19 - The Machine Shop - Sault Ste. Marie, Canada

TUE, APR 21 - The Garrick Centre - Winnipeg, Canada

WED, APR 22 - Broadway Theatre - Saskatoon, Canada

FRI, APR 24 - The Starlite Room - Edmonton, Canada

SAT, APR 25 - Bella Concert Hall - Calgary, Canada

SUN, APR 26 - Hume Hotel & Spa - Nelson, Canada

TUE, APR 28 - Sid Williams Theatre - Courtenay, Canada

WED, APR 29 - Tidemark Theatre - Campbell River, Canada

THU, APR 30 - Capital Ballroom - Victoria, Canada

SAT, MAY 2 - Vogue Theatre - Vancouver, Canada

MON, MAY 4 - Triple Door - Seattle, WA

TUE, MAY 5 - The Old Church - Portland, OR

THU, MAY 7 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA

FRI, MAY 8 - McCabe's Guitar Shop - Santa Monica, CA

TUE, MAY 12 - Soiled Dove Underground - Denver, CO

FRI, MAY 15 - Old Town School of Folk Music - Chicago, IL

SAT, MAY 16 - The Ark - Ann Arbor, MI