An artist embodying the roar of the sea with a pure and delicate voice, Rose Morrison has seen, and done, a lot in her almost 25 years as a professional musician. The versatile fiddler from Baddeck, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia has recorded and toured with Oscar and Grammy Award winner Glen Hansard, Irish folk legend Breanndán O Beaglaoich (Breanndán Begley), and celebrated Scottish-Canadian tenor John McDermott. She’s performed twice at Carnegie Hall, recorded three albums and won three East Coast Music Awards.
On her latest album, The River She Knows, Rose explores new territory, and after living away from Cape Breton for more than a decade, discovers a new connection to the land and how it shapes her music. While she has firmly established herself as a fiddler drawing from a deep well of fierce, untamed wildness, Rose has also been writing songs for years, though rarely singing or playing them for many people – until now.
The songs on this album have been written over the past four years, but began to find life when Rose stepped into the studio with producer Dave Gunning in November 2021. The focus track, “The River She Knows,” was inspired by a conversation with a genuine friend who taught Rose to be still, walk the river, and connect to the good around her. For Rose, the river is a place that holds deep knowing.
Stream “The River She Knows” here : https://soundbox.lnk.to/TheRiverSheKnows
“My previous two releases were instrumentals and allowed me to establish myself as a fiddler and composer,” says Rose Morrison. “I was still very much exploring my sound. It has taken time to understand the fierceness and wildness with the delicate light and ultimately trusting my sound. I am rooted in traditional Cape Breton music, drawing from the lilt and air of my ancestors, but always collaborating and exploring something unknown.”