it’s been nearly a year since the move to montreal.  after a long stretch in the country planting garlic and driving the old yellow snowmobile around to see where the foxes peed and moose stomped through, my wife and i have returned to a lovely cosmopolitan grind.  but this city is only revealing gentle layers so far, and there’s inspiration hiding…  poorly. it’s a place that humbly oozes its character.  and i’ve been a willing recipient.  through the winter, riding my bike in the snow and under the vanhorn bridge to my studio just past beaubien in the mornings.  i had an old hero to impress.  the soundtrack to my first real apartment (the place without bugs, but with a toilet and sink) was the dears first record, ‘end of a hollywood bedtime story’.  and some 20 years later, i’d signed myself up to work with the brilliant mind behind that record, murray lightburn.  as the battering ram of cold and snow waged its old war on the city, i kept a determined pace of daily writing with one goal…  to impress this guy.  it’s funny what happens over years of writing songs.  you chase all kinds of ghosts to see what you can rattle loose…  and in this soon to be 376 year old city, there’s a million of them with pockets full of mysteries yet to be picked.  in the alleys and the stuffy second floor spaces over bars where the bands that broke out of this town incubated and fell in love and fought and created dreams.  i’ve been thinking a lot about the lovely cruelty of passing time.  they’re pulling up saint-catherine street here, and under the concrete and pavement finding plumbing that dates back 200 years.  the city’s water systems moaning over cleaning out particulate that would have settled itself before the cars that bounce around this place were ever dreamed up.  i’ve chased being new for 20 some odd years.  in the music business, we like what’s new.  so what happens when you wake up 43, stroking your chin with a far away look in your eye, and considering your 16th record?  i’ve almost never stopped to smell the roses.  i look back now with a curious nostalgia about my momentary grip on what felt like almost world domination.  the zeitgeist knows where you belong, and if you linger too long in the hallways after closing, it’ll spit you out and drop you to where you’re supposed to be.  and i feel now, more than ever, where i belong.  the ideas and passions still burn hot in me.  like when my grandma hawksley was nearing the end of her life she visited the old school house i’d bought with my first small burst of money from music, the schoolhouse she’d gone to as a child.  she leaned against her walker looking at the two glorious old pines that book ended the entrance path and said that “she’d climb these trees today if she could”.  the spirit is willing but the flesh is…  is always changing.  i heard a show on the CBC about somebody’s “body of work”…  i don’t remember who it was, but for the first time i considered it.  i know i’ve got one, i’ve never dusted it off to have a gander at it.  for me, today’s triumph has always been tomorrow’s forgotten memory.  so i’ve had the charity to give it a look.  the funny thing is, the audience has always been there as a companion piece to these years.  and many of you have stayed around to see what i was going to do next.  i cannot thank you enough for the blessing of your attention all this time. the bug to write songs still burrows deep.  it’s a plague on the eyes and the ears.  that there’s a song in everything.  in every moment.  it’s just about seeing it, even the benign, with fresh sight.  so as the summer takes its rest on us, i put the last finishing touches on a new record that i couldn’t be more proud of, and i pull out an old one and christen it to the true music lover’s format of long playing vinyl record…  i’m learning it’s ok to be proud of its “bull in a china shop” innocence.  i’ve got gigs planned for the autumn in cities in europe and the UK that i’ve loved and that have loved me back.  and i’ve got old and new irons in the fire to keep my wanton imagination and energy distractions when they need it.  in short, i love making things.  bless you for being there to listen to, watch or read the things i’ve made over the years.  it’s an honour.  a great, great honour.  so happy summer to all (and happy winter to those in the southern hemisphere)…  the creative life is a long one.  there’s something shimmering in everything, even the ache, and we can keep loving it and talking about it all together for as long as we feel we want to.  bisous!

 

tour.

Norway, UK, France

We are excited to announce that Hawksley Workman will be heading out on a solo tour this September, dates are below, tickets on sale now.

September 4th, Bergen at Lille Ole Bull (tickets)
September 5th, Oslo at Cafe Mono (tickets)
September 6th, Manchester at Night People (tickets)
September 7th, Glasgow at King Tuts (tickets)
September 13th, London at The Borderline (tickets)
September 14th, Lille House Concert (Sold Out)
September 15th, Paris at Les Etoiles (tickets)

 

We are excited to announce that Hawksley Workman will be taking Almost a Full Moon back on the road this December, performing shows in Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon and Ottawa.

Hawksley’s classic Christmas album, Almost a Full Moon was released 16 years ago, and is a musical celebration of Christmas, community, family and singing.  It has become a holiday season staple for many, original songs to be sung on the first snow of the year, while making soup, or when 3 generations find themselves doing dishes, all at once.

Tickets are on sale now!

December 7th, Calgary at Theatre Junction Grand (tickets) – 2nd show added
December 8th, Calgary at Theatre Junction Grand (sold out)
December 9th, Regina at The Exchange (tickets)
December 10th, Saskatoon at Emmanuel Anglican Church (tickets)
December 11th, Saskatoon at Emmanuel Anglican Church (tickets) – 2nd show added
December 13th, Ottawa at First Baptist Church (tickets)

 Almost a Full Moon Tour Poster 2017

Tickets have now gone on sale for The Writes of Spring tour, with musical friends Tim Baker (of Hey Rosetta!), Amelia Curran, Donovan Woods and Hawksley Workman.

April 25, 2017 – London, ON @ Aeolian Hall (sold out)

April 26, 2017 – Picton, ON @ The Regent Theatre (tickets)

April 27, 2017 – Peterborough, ON @ Market Hall (tickets)

April 28, 2017 – Ottawa, ON @ National Arts Centre (tickets)

April 29, 2017 – Creemore, ON @ Avening Hall (sold out)

April 30, 2017 – Ridgeway, ON @ The Sanctuary (tickets)

May 1, 2017 – Creemore, ON @ Avening Hall (sold out)

May 2, 2017 – Bayfield, ON @ Old Town Hall (sold out)

May 3, 2017 – Hamilton, ON @ Hamilton Public Library (tickets)

WOS_poster_Feb 2017
Tim Baker is the writer and frontman of acclaimed Newfoundland group, Hey Rosetta!. The Juno nominated singer is best known for his intimate, poetic lyrics and powerful live vocal delivery, garnering Hey Rosetta! multiple awards along with their numerous sold-out Canadian tours.

Amelia Curran is a Juno Award winning singer-songwriter from St. John’s, Newfoundland.  Her knife-sharp lyrics possess an unrivaled eloquence garnering her acclaim as Canada’s master contemporary songstress.  Amelia’s latest album Watershed will be released in April 2017 by Six Shooter Records.

Donovan Woods was raised in the small city of Sarnia, Ontario, to the sounds of country music, with a healthy dose of folk and pop, a combination that instilled in him a strong belief in the power of a memorable melody, the importance of everyday language and the impact of a well-crafted song. His acclaimed fourth album Hard Settle, Ain’t Trouble received a 2016 Polaris Music Prize nomination, landed him on the CBC Music “Best 25 Canadian Albums of the Year” list and won him the Canadian Folk Music Awards “Songwriter of the Year.”

Hawksley Workman is singer and songwriter. Performer, producer, poet, and playwright. Multi-instrumentalist and an ambitious, ever-busy global ambassador of Canadian culture and creativity. A staple of the Canadian arts scene for over 17 years, Workman boasts a catalogue of 16 solo releases. The accolades amassed include JUNO nods and wins and widespread critical acclaim. He has most recently published a children’s book for Penguin Random House, based on the lyrics of his beloved Christmas song “Almost a Full Moon”.

Hawksley Workman has announced that a limited edition vinyl pressing of his classic Christmas LP Almost a Full Moon will be available in Canada for Record Store Day Black Friday, November 25, 2016 and online at Maple Music.

The vinyl includes a special 11×11” Lyrics And Chords Songbook of the original album tracks, as well as a free download card for the LP which includes two bonus tracks: “Watching the Fires” and “Silent Night”.

Copies of the vinyl will also be available for purchase on the Christmas Tour (dates below).

Almost a Full Moon Track list

  1. Claire Fontaine
  2. Learn How To Knit
  3. First Snow Of The year
  4. Merry Christmas (I Love You)
  5. Common Cold
  6. 3 Generations
  7. A House Or Maybe A Boat
  8. Almost A Full Moon
  9. Watching The Fires (CD And Digital Only)
  10. Silent Night (CD and Digital Only)

Almost a Full Moon Tour

12.05 – Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre SOLD OUT
12.07 – Vancouver, BC @ St. James Hall SOLD OUT
12.08 – Edmonton, AB @ Citadel Club Theatre SOLD OUT
12.09 – Edmonton, AB @ Citadel Club Theatre SOLD OUT
12.10 – Edmonton, AB @ Citadel Club Theatre SOLD OUT
12.11 – Edmonton, AB @ The Club at the Citadel Theatre SOLD OUT
12.13 – Fredericton, NB @ Wilmot United Church (Tickets)
12.14 – Halifax, NS @ St. Matthew’s Church SOLD OUT
12.16 – Hamilton, ON @ Library In The Round Series (Tickets)
12.17 – Huntsville, ON @ Trinity United Church SOLD OUT

Christmas Tour

We are very excited to announce Hawksley’s Almost a Full Moon Tour on the 15th anniversary of the release of his Christmas LP “Almost a Full Moon”.  Tour dates are below, tickets go on sale this Friday August 19th.

VINYL RELEASE:

In celebration of this anniversary, we will also be releasing a limited edition vinyl pressing of Almost a Full Moon, which will include a special Lyrics and Chords “Songbook” of the original album tracks, as well as a free download card for the album, including the two bonus tracks “Watching The Firesand “Silent Night”.

TOUR DATES / On Sale Now:

12.05 – Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre (tickets)
12.07 – Vancouver, BC @ St. James Hall (tickets)
12.08 – Edmonton, AB @ The Club at the Citadel Theatre (tickets)*
12.09 – Edmonton, AB @ The Club at the Citadel Theatre (tickets)*
12.10 – Edmonton, AB @ The Club at the Citadel Theatre (tickets)*
12.13 – Fredericton, NB @ Wilmot United Church (tickets)
12.14 – Halifax, NS @ St. Matthew’s Church (tickets)
12.16 – Hamilton, ON @ Hamilton Public Library In The Round Series (tickets)
12.17 – Huntsville, ON @ Trinity United Church (tickets)

BOOK RELEASE:

Hawksley is also officially announcing the release of a very special illustrated children’s book titled, Almost a Full Moon. Based on the lyrics of a song from the album of the same name, Almost a Full Moon is a warm-hearted tale of family, community, food and home and is illustrated by Jensine Eckwall, who helps bring beauty and a hint of magic to Workman’s evocative lyrics. The book will be published September 6, 2016 by Tundra Books (a division of Random House Canada). Pre-order is available here here.

 

*Edmonton: Beyond The Stage series passes available now, individual show tickets available Sept. 15, 2016.

tomorrow, i’m about to do something i haven’t done, in what feels like, quite a while…  pack up for a proper Canadian tour.  yesterday things around the house were tidied up, gardens tilled over (and a new one started), rain barrels turned upside down, squash picked and summer chairs packed to the back of the garage.  thanksgiving day couldn’t have been more benevolent in warmth, sun and the last glimpses of rich colour.  which gets me thinking about thanks.  when i think about packing up the band, a gathering of friends, some of who have been with me on the road since i started in the late 90s.  i’m thankful for their wit, compassion and brilliance.  and when i think about 16 years on the road, i think about the eyes and ears that have been in those audiences over the years, and thanks is just the beginning.  i’m grateful for the years of keen interest and passion for my music.  for the gentle hearts singing every word along with me.  for the patience while i splash around, genre-bending and exploring.  for taking the words to heart and for, just generally, giving me and my music, a place to belong.  i am indeed, forever thankful.  i look forward to crossing this gloriously wild country during these last hints of autumn, while we wait, together,  for the inevitable arrival of winter.  so, let’s make some soup…  and i’ll see you soon!  h.

Hawksley Workman’s “Winter Bird Tour” has been announced!

Hawksley is taking his band on the road for the Winter Bird Tour. The tour is named for the song on Old Cheetah, an ode to freezing and thawing, one of the great Canadian metaphors for love and life. Instinct is everything.

See the tour dates and Official Winter Bird lyric video below!

Winter Bird Tour

October 1st – St. John’s, NL @ The Rock House (Tickets)
October 3rd – Corner Brook, NL @ The Palace (Tickets)
October 4th – Woody Point, NL @ St. Patrick’s Church (Tickets)
October 15th – Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre* (Tickets)
October 16th – Regina, SK @ Darke Hall (Tickets)*
October 17th – Swift Current, SK @ Lyric Theatre (Tickets)*
October 20th – Saskatoon, SK @ Broadway Theatre (Tickets)*
October 21st – Red Deer, AB @ International Beer Haus & Stage (Tickets)*
October 22nd – Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Ballroom (Tickets)*
October 23rd – Edmonton, AB @ Winspear Centre (Tickets)*
October 24th – Lethbridge, AB @ Yates Memorial Centre (Tickets)*
October 25th – Canmore, AB @ Communitea Cafe (Tickets)*
October 28th – Kelowna, BC @ The Habitat (Tickets)*
October 29th – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom (Tickets)*
October 30th – Victoria, BC @ Alix Goolden (Tickets)*
October 31st – Mayne Island, BC @ Agricultural Hall – SOLD OUT
November 2nd – Nelson, BC @ Spiritbar (Hume Hotel) (Tickets)*
November 3rd – Medicine Hat, AB @ Esplanade (Tickets)*
November 4th – Lloydminster, AB @ Vic Juba Community Theatre (Tickets)*
November 13th – Ottawa, ON @ Bronson Centre (Tickets)*
November 14th – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre (Tickets)*
November 20th – Waterloo, ON @ Maxwell’s (Tickets)**
November 21st – Creemore, ON @ Avening Community Hall (Tickets)**
November 26th – Hamilton, ON @ Molson Canadian Studio at Hamilton Place (Tickets)~
November 27th – London, ON @ The Aeolian Hall (Tickets)~
November 28th – Whitby, ON @ Live Act Theatre (Tickets)~

*with special guest, Fiona Bevan
**with special guest, Kevin Breit
~with special guest, Donovan Woods

Buy Old Cheetah on vinyl, CD, and digital download here.

Hawksley Workman and Mr. Lonely are going to Australia… Woodford Folk Festival and other dates below!

note from hw

where i’m from it’ll be snowing.  the bears will be at rest.  the chickadees will sing their winter song. cars will be stuck in driveways, and neighbours will help push them out.  chimney smoke will breathe into crisp blue skies.  the fox will forge and deer will nibble the last of the buds.  the huts will cover the lakes. where i’m from it’ll be snowing and cold…  but i’ll be down where the summer is alive and the waves are licking the shore.  see you soon.

Hawksley Workman Australia Tour Dates.

Thursday December 27th to Tuesday January 1st
Woodford Folk Festival Details Here!

Friday January 4th 2013
Melbourne VIC at Northcote Social Club
(Tickets)

Saturday January 5th 2013
Sydney NSW at The Basement
(Tickets)

Sunday January 6th 2013
Cronulla NSW at Brass Monkey
(Tickets)

Hawksley and Mr. Lonely are going on tour this fall!

Saturday October 27th Creemore, ON at Avening Hall – Sold Out

Monday October 29th Winnipeg, MB at West End Cultural Centre – Sold Out

Tuesday October 30th Saskatoon, SK at Broadway Theatre (Tickets)

Thursday November 1st Swift Current, SK at The Lyric Theatre – Sold Out

Friday November 2nd Lethbridge, AB at Southminster United Church – new venue! (Tickets)

Saturday November 3rd Sundre, AB at Sundre Arts Centre – Sold Out

Sunday November 4th Canmore, AB at Communitea CafeSold Out

Monday November 5th Canmore, AB at Communitea Cafe – Sold Out

Wednesday November 7th Vancouver, BC at The Rio Theater – Sold Out

Thursday November 8th Duncan, BC at Cowichan Theatre (Tickets)

Friday November 9th Nanaimo, BC at The Port Theatre (Tickets)

Saturday November 10th Campbell River, BC at Tidemark Theater (Tickets)

Thursday November 29th Hamilton, ON at The Molson Canadian Studio Theatre at Hamilton Place (Tickets)

Friday November 30th Peterborough, ON at Showplace Performance Centre (Tickets)

Saturday December 1st Burnstown, ON at Neat Coffee ShopSold Out

Sunday December 2nd Burnstown, ON at Neat Coffee Shop – Sold Out

Wednesday December 12th Toronto, ON at Trinity St. Paul’s Centre – Sold Out

Friday December 14th Meaford, ON at Meaford Hall (Tickets)

Hawksley is excited to announce that he’ll be heading back to Australia for a solo tour in January!

Here are the cities and dates…

Wednesday 4th January 2012: The Clarendon Guesthouse – Katoomba (NSW)

Tickets: Ph (02) 4782 1322 or www.clarendonguesthouse.com.au

Thursday 5th January 2012: Brass Monkey – Cronulla (NSW)

Tickets: Ph: (02) 9544 3844 or www.brassmonkey.com.au

Friday 6th January 2012: Notes – Newtown (NSW)

Ph: (02) 9557 5111 Tickets: www.noteslive.net.au

Sunday 8th January 2012: Joe’s Waterhole – Eumundi (QLD)

Ph: (07) 5442 8144 or www.musicliveatjoes.com

Thursday 12th January 2012: Caravan Club – Oakleigh (VIC)

Tickets: Ph: 0411 569 180 or www.caravanmusic.com.au

Friday 13th January 2012: Northcote Social Club – Northcote (VIC)

Tickets: Ph: (03) 9486 1677 or www.northcotesocialclub.com

Saturday 14th January 2012: Jive Adelaide (SA)

Tickets: www.jivevenue.com – Ph: 08 8211 6683