Love’m or Leave’m in Kelowna

May 28, Kelowna –

Songwriters Leslie Alexander and Jenny Allen are about to “Love’m or Leave’m” at The Minstrel Cafe in Kelowna on May 28. The two songbirds have joined forces to test-drive the songs they will be recording on highly anticipated new discs in the fall.

Leslie Alexander, who was raised on a sheep farm in Alberta, couldn’t wait to come to the big city. When she did, she made some mistakes which landed her on the streets of Vancouver where she ended up singing songs about them for spare change. Producer John Ellis heard them and put together Leslie’s first CD, Bird on the House which was an album about street life and redemption. Tom Zillich of Westender said of the album, “One of the best indie releases I’ve heard”.

Leslie began singing in coffee houses and in 1999, she toured Western Canada with a bunch of girls and sang about the contrasts between her rural home and her new home in Vancouver’s east side. These songs became her second recording, Savage Country which featured artists such as Harry Manx, Sam Parton and Linda McRae. Savage Country was aired on Campus, CBC, BBC and Australian National Public Radio. In 2004, it was the #4 most-played Canadian folk/roots album on the CBC’s Galaxy Satellite Radio. Since then she has appeared on concert and festival stages across Canada and her recordings are being licensed to film and TV. She recently returned from a 2-month North American winter tour.

Jenny Allen, who is also an Albertan, is a folk-festival favorite, with fans stretching all across the country and down into the US. She has opened as a solo artist for acclaimed artists including Taj Mahal and Shawn Colvin and has released two independent CDs, Something to Say and If I Fall, both of which have received rave reviews. She is famous for winning over audiences with her raw candor and crazy wit as well as direct, emotional song-writing and performance.

In 2003, Jenny met Lin Elder and Lori Reid at the Banff Festival. The three were independently following their solo career paths but decided to join up as a group, which they named The Fates. Since then, the three, as a group, have been performing sophisticated folk-pop for enthusiastic audiences across Canada and their rich harmonies have become a trademark. Their 2004 debut album, Til We Have Faces garnered many kudos.

Leslie and Jenny joined in Vancouver to sing along with Jane Siberry’s famous encore, Calling All Angels and came up with the idea to support each other on a spring tour. Two of Western Canada’s finest singer-songwriters together on stage is a rare treat and you won’t want to miss their one-night-only performance.