Sherman Downey keeps it small and beautiful
Have a First Listen to New Beautiful by Sherman Downey
Sherman Downey has been learning how to travel light in the past few years, and his latest album, New Beautiful, is a celebration of the small things in life.
The songs on New Beautiful tell tales of people watching on a front porch, and love in an out-of-the-way gas station.
"New Beautiful is kind of like a new outlook on the music scene for me," said Downey.
A lot has happened since Downey's last album, The Sun In Your Eyes, was released in 2013.
Back then, Downey and his six-piece band, the Ambiguous Case, had won the first CBC Searchlight competition for emerging Canadian musicians.
The band amicably split in 2015, and since then Downey has been performing across Canada primarily as a solo artist, in small music halls and house concerts.
Natural storyteller
The solo life tends to make Downey a keen observer.
He said he constantly jots down notes in his cellphone about things and people he observes while he's on the road or at home in Corner Brook.
"I love developing a character that might react differently to a situation that I would," said Downey.
Even though Downey is into the groove of being a solo artist, he still enjoys the camaraderie and creative energy of playing with other musicians.
Even if I'm strolling around town, I'll find that I'll be humming something.- Sherman Downey
In the future, he hopes to perform a mixture of solo and band gigs.
Meanwhile, Downey is constantly socking away ideas for songs that he can play alone or with others.
"Even if I'm strolling around town," he said.
"I'll find that I'll be humming something."
Do you have a new album of music that Weekend AM should know about for First Listen? Email us, wam@cbc.ca, and tell us about it.
You can hear First Listen on Sundays on Weekend AM from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. (5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in most of Labrador) on CBC Radio One.
Subscribe to the Weekend AM Podcast:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
