Canadian Folk Powerhouse DALA to Play at BloomU
DALA is coming to Bloomsburg University on Friday, April 5 as part of the Celebrity Artist Series.
Best friends Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine formed DALA in 2002 when they met in their high school music class. Since then, they have released five albums and toured extensively across North America. The Canadian acoustic, folk-pop duo make use of their now trademark vocal harmony, blending Sheila’s lush alto voice and Amanda’s sublime soprano with their talents on guitar and piano. The Peterborough Examiner has said that “DALA can trade a melody line and leave one wondering who is taking the lead, and simply leave you behind when the harmonies kick in.”
Hailing from Scarborough, Canada, DALA draws upon influences such as The Beatles, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan to craft their fresh, yet classic sound. They started building a fanbase by singing for anyone who would listen, turning first-time listeners into instant fans. Every live performance is a completely unique experience for the humor and down-to-earth stories that make up the between-song banter.
“We go to some emotional places in our music… Humor serves as a relief from that, says Walther.
DALA’s fourth studio album “Everyone Is Someone” was released in 2009 to critical acclaim, earning them their fifth Canadian Folk Music Award nomination and a Toronto Independent Music Award for Best Folk Group. The song “Horses” was nominated by NPR in the US as one of the “Top Ten folk songs of 2009″. Girls From the North Country, a live CD/DVD released in 2010, won Canadian Folk Music Award Vocal Group of the Year as well as a JUNO nomination (which is the Canadian version of the Grammies), and was broadcast by PBS outlets throughout North America.
DALA’s latest album “Best Day,” was released in June of 2012. It was nominated for three Canadian Folk Music Awards: English Songwriter of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year and Producer of the Year.
The DALA girls will perform in Carver Hall’s Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium on Friday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale for $14 for BU students, $29.50 for adults, and $16.50 for children.
Nicholas Cellucci is in the class of 2016 at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. He is studying Mass Communications and is a BUnow staff writer in addition to serving as Executive Producer for BUnow Radio.
