Hey folks!

It’s pretty hard to contain my excitement today… in case you haven’t heard, Where I Need to Be won Rising Star Recording of the Year at the 2010 East Coast Music Awards in Sydney, Nova Scotia last night!

As exciting as it is… it’s also incredibly humbling to receive this award. It’s hard to believe that at last year’s ECMA’s I was totally under the radar and this year was the craziest, busiest, most exciting and gratifying experience.

There are so many people I have to thank for helping me make this record, get it out there and (surprise, surprise!) have it recognized with this award. First, the two HUGE thank-you’s I forgot in my speech last night… Mickey Quase and the Department of Tourism Culture & Heritage for all their support for this project. The second, to the Galaxie Rising Star program for the support that comes with this award…a much needed financial boost to help me get my music heard. Thank you all so much! I also want to thank my manager, Adam Lomas, Scott Ferguson who recorded and produced the record and all the musicians who played on it, my man Warren, my unbelievably supportive family, Music Nova Scotia, the ECMA, all the amazing East Coast musicians who continually inspire me, the radio stations that are playing the songs, everyone who has supported me by buying the album… the list goes on…. thank you all soooo soooo much! And thank you to the East Coast for making me feel so at home here that I know it’s where I need to be.

I’m going to take a bit of a break now to relax, finish my new record, and plan for the next few months. Keep checking back here, become a fan on Facebook, follow me on Twitter or sign up for my email updates to find out when the new record will (finally) drop and when I’m heading back out on the road.

And… if you don’t have a copy of Where I Need to Be yet… click here and enter the code “risingstar” for a 10% discount on the limited edition “EP + Signed ECMA Poster” package. The code expires on Saturday!

You can also head over to kimwempe.com/help to preorder the NEW record (which I’m pretty sure is going to be killer)!

Thanks again everyone….can’t wait to see you soon.

much love,

Kim
xo

February 19, 2010

HALIFAX, NS – February is a busy month for Kim Wempe, and one she’ll probably never forget. The Halifax folk/roots artist recognized for a voice as fierce and powerful as a North Atlantic storm has been thrown into a whirlwind of her own, crisscrossing the country with a series of winter festival dates and a two-week residency at Atlantic Canada House for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Pavilions.

But it doesn’t end there. The Saskatchewan born songwriter, whose most recognized song tells her story of falling in love with Atlantic Canada and her move to Nova Scotia, returns from her last Olympic gig just in time to finish rehearsals for performances at the East Coast Music Awards where her May 2009 release Where I Need to Be is nominated for Female Solo Artist and Rising Star Recording of the Year.

“The support for emerging artists on the East Coast is amazing,” says Wempe. “Everyone appreciates music, it’s such an important part of culture out here, and that is reflected all the way up to industry organizations like Music Nova Scotia, the ECMA and the funding partners.”

After a digital release of the record in May, Wempe hit the road with pal and musical soulmate Carmel Mikol (the pair formed their bond travelling together to last year’s ECMA’s) on their “Guess Who’s Driving?” Tour – an ambitious series of more than 50 dates from Newfoundland to Gabriola Island, BC and back to Nova Scotia. The adventure netted them new friends and fans, endless stories and a Canada-wide co-write that will be featured on Kim’s upcoming full-length release, Painting With Tides.

Kim hibernated in Halifax’s Echo Chamber with producer Charles Austin (Joel Plaskett, Thom Swift, David Myles) through January to record the new album which follows her more alt-country Where I Need to Be with a folk/roots sound and added influence from some of Atlantic Canada’s best players including Joel Plaskett, Thom Swift, Chris ‘Old Man’ Leudecke, and David Bradshaw. Currently in mixing, the record has so far been funded by fan support and the Province of Nova Scotia through the Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage and is currently available in one of five custom pre-order packages at http://kimwempe.com/help.

While no release date has been set for Painting with Tides, Wempe is offering free downloads of three tracks from her ECMA Nominated Where I Need to Be. The entire EP can be downloaded for $4.99 or fans can purchase a limited edition CD + poster package with an instant digital download for $9.99 + shipping. All are available at buy.kimwempe.com where the record can also be streamed for free.

Kim’s music is also featured on this year’s ECMA Rising Star compilation (Where I Need to Be: The East Coast Love Song), the Atlantic Film Festival Music & Image Compilation (Oh Heart) and Spincount Music’s Best of the East Coast Volume One digital download card (Out of My Closet).

Stream Where I Need to Be
Pre-Order Painting With Tides

Myspace: myspace.com/kimwempe
Twitter: kimwempemusic
Or search “Kim Wempe” on Facebook

Buy tickets for A Kim Wempe Valentine’s Show with Carleton Stone in the SUB Cafe, Bloomfield Centre on StFX University Campus (February 14, 2010).

Doors: 7:30pm
Showtime: 8pm SHARP!

Admit One
(One Ticket)
$15

Couple
(Two Tickets)
$20

*Online ticket purchases are subject to a $1.00 PER TICKET service charge.

Looking to buy multiple tickets? Select a ticket type below (Admit One or Couple) and click ‘Buy Now’. On the next page you can change the quantity you wish to buy. (Remember: If you select “Couple (Two Tickets)” below you will be purchasing tickets in packages of two!)

Tickets purchased online may be picked up at the door on the day of the show after 7:30pm.

Note: To claim tickets purchased online, the PURCHASER (cardholder or Bank Account owner) must present to staff at the door a valid Photo ID that matches the name on the card or account used to purchase the tickets. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Tickets

Admit One (One Ticket) $16.00 Couple (Two Tickets) $22.00

Hey folks!

I just got some really exciting news and wanted to share it with you.

One of my favorite songs, “Oh Heart” is going to be on TV! After being placed on the ECMA/Atlantic Film Festival’s Music & Image compilation in November, the director of the show Cra$h & Burn (Thursdays on Showcase, 10pm ET or online at showcase.ca/video) asked if he could use it in a scene!

We just worked out the details and it will be on this Thursday night. Crash & Burn is a new Canadian TV show about our favourite people in the world…insurance adjusters lol. That’s all I’ll say… tune in to check out the show on Thursday night! (11pm for us on the East Coast!)

Oh Heart comes from my Where I Need to Be EP which is up for a couple of nominations (Female Artist & Rising Star Recording of the Year) at the 2010 East Coast Music Awards. It also won Folk Recording of the Year at the 2009 Music Nova Scotia Awards. It should be playing in the box at the top of this page as you read this, or you can check out Oh Heart on the listen page or download it from iTunes (it’s part of my Digital EP). You can also get a signed CD copy of the whole Where I Need to Be EP right here.

I also performed Oh Heart in one of my sets at the In The Dead of Winter Festival last year (see it on the videos page or scroll down to the bottom of this post). It just so happens that I’ll be playing a show at the 2010 IDOW Festival THE SAME NIGHT the song is on TV! I’ve also got shows coming up at the IDOW Wakefield Festival (Feb 6th/7th) at the Blacksheep Inn and the Winterfolk Festival (Feb 12th, 13th) in Toronto on The Danforth. Then I fly right back to Nova Scotia to play a special Valentines Show in Antigonish at StFX University (more on this soon…). Then it’s off to Sydney, NS March 4th – 7th for two shows at the ECMA’s! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone I met the last time I played these towns and meet some new people too so pick up your tickets soon and tell your friends!

See you soon…

Much love,

Kim
xo

Track 1 – Where I Need to Be (Radio Mix)
http://kimwempe.com/music/Kim%20Wempe%20-%20Where%20I%20Need%20To%20Be%20%28Radio%20Mix%29.mp3

WHERE I NEED TO BE (Buy Now)
YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7VrDpVmJzY
Free download of Where I Need to Be at.kimwempe.com/eastcoast

“… When Kim opens her mouth she lets loose a powerful force pouring out her emotion with a style that has Janis Joplin written all over it….” ~ Dan MacDonald, Cape Breton Post

TORONTO – MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH, 2009 – Powerhouse songbird KIM WEMPE can’t contain her excitement after her big win this weekend. After doing it up right at the MOLSON CANADIAN NOVA SCOTIA MUSIC WEEK’S official showcase this past Saturday night in Yarmouth, it was announced Sunday that she is the 2009 Award-winner for FOLK RECORDING OF THE YEAR, for her stunning May release, Where I Need to Be.

I guess you could say that the phrase “Go big or go home” applies here. Travelling from her Saskatchewan prairie roots to the rolling hills and crashing tides of the East Coast, KIM WEMPE has emerged as one of the freshest, most unique performers on the Canadian music scene. And now she can add “award-winning” to her list of accomplishments, having garnered FOLK RECORDING OF THE YEAR at this year’s Nova Scotia Music Week Festival and Conference, held in Yarmouth from November 5-8, 2009. Bruce Guthro and Jimmy Flynn hosted the event, the largest Nova Scotia Music Week awards show to date, with performances by Joel Plaskett, Classified, Brian Borcherdt, Grand Dérangement, In-Flight Safety and more.

Kim and her current tour-mate Carmel Mikol performed a showcase for the event on the Saturday night, while the bulk of the awards were given out at the Music and Industry Awards brunch at the Rodd Grand Yarmouth on Sunday, where Kim was honoured to close the event with a performance of “Where I Need to Be (The East Coast Love Song).”

Unable to contain herself (and who would?), the giddy young songstress gushed upon receiving the news of her award: “Holy crap, everyone!!! I just won my first award ever!!! Folk Recording of the Year!!! Thank you soooo much, everyone!!! This means the world to me…seriously…I almost cried but I held it together.”

Among the other nominees for her category were Blou -Noël Blou, Brian Vardigans – Springhill, David Bradshaw – No Place, James Hill & Anne Davison – True Love Don’t Weep.

Kim will begin her next tour November 12th at the Vintage Bistro in New Brunswick and is joined by tour-mate, singer-songwriter CARMEL MIKOL. Touring their way across Canada under the umbrella of the “GUESS WHO’S DRIVING TOUR, the dynamic duo will play major centres in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario, where a touchdown at the CN Tower would be the ultimate destination.

Watch video blogs from the road including performance footage at kimwempe.com/ontheroad/
www.carmelmikol.com

MORE ABOUT KIM WEMPE

“Great songwriting meets soulful vocals. Kim Wempe’s ability to deliver to an audience is refreshing and intoxicating. Watch this one and expect great things.”
~ Dwayne Keller (Music Director, 98.9 XFM 102.5 and host of “Sounds Atlantic”)

With a raw and powerful voice, Kim leaves an imprint on your soul and a melody you just can’t shake. Her evocative artistic style, fiercely emotional lyrics and honest onstage performance are one of a kind.

Since her move to the East Coast, Kim has shared stages and stories with some of Canada’s favorite Maritime musical acts, including Jill Barber, Christina Martin, Ryan Cook, Charlie A’Court, Coco Love Alcorn, and Norma MacDonald. Her captivating live show has turned heads and hearts at festivals across the country from Evolve in Nova Scotia to Morfee Mountain in British Columbia and back to Halifax’s In The Dead of Winter Festival.

While Kim’s first full-length album The Last Version (2007) captures a range of toe-tapping rhythms and styles from soulful blues melodies, to jazz-influenced folk tunes, her star is rising with this recent win for Where I Need to Be, not to mention an upcoming album, Painting With Tides, due for release in 2010.

UPCOMING DATES:

November 12 – Hampton, NB (Vintage Bistro)
November 13 – Montreal, QC (The Yellow Door Cafe w/ Michelle Tompkins)
November 16 – Ottawa, ON (Rainbow Bistro – Stacie’s Showcase w/ Paper Lions)
November 17 – Peterborough, ON (The Spill)
November 19 – Kitchener, ON (Encore Records w/ Lynn Jackson)
November 20 – London, ON (London Music Club)
November 21 – Toronto, ON (The Press Club w/ Alejandra Ribera)
November 25 – Moncton, NB (Plan B w/ Ashley Bernard)
November 26 – Saint John, NB (Lily’s Cafe, Rockwood Park Pavilion)
November 29 – Halifax, NS (The Carleton)

-30-

For more information, photos, interviews, please contact:

Beverly Kreller
SPEAK Music
www.speak-music.com
bev@speak-music.com
416.922.3620

Tune in to Breakfast Television at 8:40 on Thursday, November 5th to hear a little more about my east coast love story!

Don’t for get to share your love story or a favourite photo and you’ll get a free download of Where I Need to Be (The East Coast Love Song)! Share it…

Carmel Mikol and I are on the “Guess Who’s Driving?” Tour this month and would love to see you at one of our shows! See what we’re up to in the Guess Who’s Driving Tour Video Blog.

We made it safe and sound to Edmonton. Tonight Carmel and I are playing a show at the Haven Social Club. We’ve also got a very special guest joining us… Ontario’s Wax Mannequin.

Can’t wait to see you all tonight…

kim

Come wish us well as we hit the road for the next few weeks!

Well…the tracks are re-recorded and ready to go on the dropcards. I’m off to the ECMA’S for a blast of fun and wicked music this week! Vote for the fan choice award if you can! (My name is on the ballot!)

There are lot’s of gigs coming up so check out the ‘Shows‘ page! Also…dropcards will be ready for sale on May.1st!!! And there are lot’s of good things like videos, rough demos, live tracks, and of course the newly recorded material on them!! Oh yeah! And the new logo!

I’m super excited and I hope you are too! Can’t wait to see you all around…til then…you know what to do…

“Keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the stars!”

-kim