-----Like: Terrorists building a bomb and falling in love at the same time. Or brave soldiers returning down the highway after dying in Afghanistan. Or how close she came to drowning on a carefree Florida holiday. Or a funny fantasy inspired by the
Life of Pi.
-----She calls her first full-length album To Make It Make Sense. And, somehow, despite (or maybe because of) the changes in mood, she does make her songs make sense. And that’s been recognized by her choice last year as Young Performer of the Year at the Canadian Folk Awards, and two 2010 Niagara Music Awards for Album of the Year and Top Female Vocalist. She won the Niagara Songwriting Award the previous year.
-----Ariana Gillis shines on stage, and — when you watch her — you’ll figure she’s been singing in public all her life. Not quite true, but she’s part of a musical family who live in a small town in Niagara, the wine-growing area of southern Ontario. Her dad, David, is an award-winning guitarist (with CDs of his own and a dual career as master musician and freelance art director); who usually performs with her, and also produced and arranged the new album.
Learning lessons about life early
-----Growing up, Ariana faced a life-threatening bout with double pneumonia, and as she slowly recovered after months when she gasped for every breath, she decided that songwriting and singing and performing was, for sure, her future.
-----She’s succeeded, and brilliantly. But rather than the endless round of pubs and bars most new performers have been raised in, she’s worked the coffee houses, folk clubs, house concerts, and festivals. Recent summers have been a testing ground – two of the most respected festivals in Canada, Mariposa and Hillside, gave her major chances to impress their audiences, and she made hundreds of new friends at the Stan Rogers Festival in Canso, NS, including Cheryl Wheeler and Kathleen Edwards.
-----She’s also becoming something of a celebrity on YouTube. Her simply shot version of the Metric song Eclipse (All Yours) is closing in on 100,000 views, together with more than 300 complimentary comments. A sunnier, happier video, shot two years ago, of Blueberry Ocean, offers a different aspect of her personality.
The new CD makes sense
-----To Make It Make Sense followed a well-circulated demo recording she made when she was 16. The new CD is full of surprising songs, and features some surprising older music fans who wanted to help. Among them: Ace guitarist Kevin Breit, fiddler Anne Lindsay, drummer Gary Craig, bassist Rob McBride, keyboard stalwart Rob Gusevs, and long time friends and supporters like Rob Lamothe and Mark McIntyre.
-----There IS a “buzz” about Ariana – based on the quality of her songs, the unique voice she brings to the stage, and her performing chops. At the end of all this, there are a few quotes from musicians who have caught her magic.
-----Every half dozen years, a newcomer arrives on the scene, and people jump to attention. Meanwhile, everyone in the music business — and that most certainly includes the people who go to listen to live music and buy or download CDs — are all meant to be looking for the next really good thing.
A lot of early believers think that Ariana Gillis may just be it.
Over the last few years I have had the opportunity to hear and observe Ariana Gillis perform in several varied venues — a showcase of young artists at the OCFF conference, an intimate nightclub, a folk festival workshop stage. I've been in this business for well over 35 years and consider myself a pretty good judge of talent.... she's got it all!." – Wendell Ferguson
"Beautiful, dynamic vocals; strong songs and stage presence –
this gal's going places!" – Suzie Vinnick