Glenn McFarlane is coming home, and he’s bringing a bunch of songs with him.
He sings about dulse, chicken bones and lobster rolls, with a passion and conviction that only a native New Brunswicker can.
Glenn is originally from New Brunswick, but now lives in Brampton, Ontario. His mother’s family is from Hampton and his father’s is from Bayside near St. Stephen.
Glenn and his brother Keith are returning to these parts as part of his Prodigal Son(g)s Tour.
“We’ll be playing songs about New Brunswick in New Brunswick,” explains McFarlane. “We’ll even be doing a show on New Brunswick Day!”
He’ll be playing the Shiretown Publican in Hampton on Friday, August 2nd starting at 7 pm, and the Arts and Culture Park in Quispamis on Wednesday August 7th, also starting at 7 pm. In between, he will indeed be playing the Chocolate Festival in St. Stephen on New Brunswick Day (August 5th), just down the road from his dad’s place. He opens the tour at the Tay Creek Folk Festival on July 26th, and finishes it on Grand Manan Island on August 9th.
“It’s great to play in places that actually know what dulse is,” said McFarlane. Usually he needs to explain it to his Ontario audiences before handing out a sample while he sings about it.
Glenn plays mainly acoustic guitar, but adds in harmonica, kazoo, accordion and mandolin. His brother Keith plays percussion instruments and provides backing vocals. Together they play a high energy show or fun and funny songs with a definite East Coast flavour.
“I’m not only singing songs about dulse and chicken bones,” clarifies McFarlane. “I’m also singing songs about other topics that are important to New Brunswickers, like music, family, sports, friends, hugs and beer.”
Glenn is a longtime member of the band Brown Ale, a Celtic and East Coast duo that has performed at many festivals and events across southern Ontario. For this tour, he will be playing many songs from his first solo CD Food for Thought, as well as his other fun songs inspired by his native province.
For more information about McFarlane and his music, including tour dates, song downloads, videos and lyrics, please visit www.glennmcfarlane.ca.
