Where I Need to Be Wins ECMA for Rising Star Recording of the Year…Thank You!

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

KIM WEMPE’S STAR RISING FROM COAST TO COAST

Prairie born songwriter’s career taking off thanks to East Coast support

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

Oh Heart on “Crash & Burn”, January 28th – 10pm ET on Showcase

Kim Wempe – Oh Heart (Alternate Take) by kimwempe

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

ummm…excitement? YES PLEASE!!!

Wow Wow Wow!!!

What a month, what a summer, what a time….I just found out that I got a Music Nova Scotia award nomination for Folk Recording of the Year for my “Where I Need to Be” digital EP I put out in May!!!!!!!!! I’m so excited it’s ridiculous!!! Voting opens September.17th but it’s only open to Music Nova Scotia members! (It’s not much to become a member so check it out!! http://www.musicnovascotia.ca/) If you haven’t checked out the EP yet then you should!! It’s on iTunes and available at all of my shows!!

Alsoooo…I uploaded my “Where I Need to Be” video for the “iLove Nova Scotia” contest!!! To vote, and I hope you do because I reallllly need your help, please visit http://bit.ly/ilovens!!! You can vote as many times as you want, just reopen your browser!!!

Other news…well…there have been many setbacks with the recording of “Painting With Tides”, and after much thought, I’ve decided to officially release in Spring instead of this Fall. I still need to do a lot of work and if we miss the Fall deadline, then it’s Winter and I don’t think the feel for this album is very Winter at all!!!! It has spring written all over it!! For those of you who were really lookin’ forward to the album, I’m very sorry you have to wait another 8 months or so!! I hope you understand and once again I’m so sorry! For now…it’s just my EP that I am working on promoting, getting out there, and touring! And if you got the “All Access Pass” digital EP, which is only available at my shows, then you get all the exclusive monthly downloads, new every time, with live cuts and touring footage! I highly recommend these! I love sending them out every month and getting responses.

On other news still! The “Guess Who’s Driving Tour” hits New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario in November just after Music Nova Scotia Week in Yarmouth!! Dates for this tour will be coming soon!! I’m looking forward to seeing even more of Canada with Carmel and hitting the road once again! This means that me and Carmel will have only missed two provinces on our tour! Hopefully we get to those two very soon and then we’ll have cleared Canada!!

I’m also looking forward to attending so many events coming up in the exciting months ahead!!! I love Fall! Atlantic Film Festival, Wolfville Deep Roots Festival, Celtic Colours, Halifax Pop Explosion, and then Nova Scotia Music Week, which Carmel and I are showcasing on the Saturday!!! These are all killer festivals and you should check them out if you have a chance!!! Amazing music at all, guarunteed!!!

Well folks! Congrats to everyone who got Music Nova Scotia Award Nominations today!!! I wish you all the best of luck and thank you to Music Nova Scotia for all your support! ;P Also thank you to everyone who helped me out and supported me over these last two years and made the “Where I Need to Be” EP possible! Adam Lomas, Scott Ferguson, Krista Keough, Kurt Firla, Mickey Quase and Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture, and Heritage, my family, my friends, and so many others…thank you!

Continue to support live music wherever you may be…it keeps the world goin’ round and a smile on our faces…

Lotsa love and yes…excitement!

Kim

I feel summer coming…

Well folks…I think summer is on it’s way, well unless you’re in Alberta and just got a couple centimeters of snow, but I’m sure it will melt people! No worries!

Anyway…yesterday it was 27 in Halifax! We went down to the Seahorse for Music Nova Scotia open mic night and everyone was out…the patios on Argyle Street are out, kickin’, and busy! I walked home in a tank top and enjoyed the summer breeze, humidity, and views of Halifax…Man I love this city!

I woke up this morning all bright and early, thinking if I would have had one more drink at the Seahorse, I might not be feelin’ so hot this morning! Went on to Canadian tire and for the second day in a row they said “We’re all booked up, not today.” I guess I’m driving with winter tires on for a bit because everyone is in this same mad rush to get those puppies off! But I do tend to jinx things so since I made a little fun at the Alberta snowfall, I could be laughing if we get some type of crazy winter storm that blows in. Then again…nope…I don’t think I would be laughing so much as cursing…loudly. lol….

So…the gig at the Company House on Saturday was amazing! Such a great time and I can’t stop listening to Ana Egge’s new disc “Road to My Love”! We got this gig on video so maybe some clips to upload to the dropcard in the next few months if ya got one ;P If you don’t, you should probably pick one up from one of my shows coming up. Just sayin lol!

I’m off to Antigonish today to rehearse for the show at the Justamere Cafe tomorrow night! The show is just over half sold so make sure you buy tickets and reserve ahead of time! I have special guest musicians Donald MacLennan on violin, mandolin, and harmonies, and Greg Hann on drums. It’s our little trio and it’s going to be a great night! The show is going to start at 6:00 and go over a dinner time setting, and I think the Justamere may have a new little menu? If not yet, they will soon and they’re menu is awesome either way! If you’re around Antigonish, come on out and join me and the boys! If you’re not, enjoy your weekend and the sun and the summer breeze….and the fact that you can walk around without a coat on in flip flops. I’m stoked!

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

Peace from the East…
Kim