Dawson City's Andrea Vincent shares 5 songs that are important to her

Andrea Vincent has heard, and seen, a lot of music.

As producer of the Dawson City Music Festival, it's her job to keep her ear to the ground and find the acts that will pack the big tent every summer.

But even though it's something she does professionally, listening to music still has a huge impact on her personally.

"My songs [for this feature] really run the gamut," she said. "There are lots of different genres and music here, and lots of different eras of my life."

Vincent's first pick is Hugger of Trees from Canadian band By Divine Right, which she remembers hearing at a festival in her hometown of St. John's, Newfoundland, many years ago.

"If I close my eyes now, I am immediately taken back to that moment when the song just kicked in and kicked me in the gut," she said. "I'm transported back to that moment in time, and who would have thought that a decade later I would book them at a festival and we would become great buds. And after I moved to Dawson their drummer, Geordie, would move into my house." 

Vincent's second pick comes from an artist she booked for last year's Dawson City Music Festival, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, a song called Ever New.

"I chose this song in particular because it's very, very special to me," she said. "It really marks a moment in time when I let myself grieve the loss of a loved one. And for me it just really evokes a sense of safety and calm in a time of turmoil, and instills a sense of gratefulness, so I've actually been listening to this song a lot during the pandemic. It's just so gentle and healing."

Sometimes, though, you just want to jump up and down and yell.

"Rebel Girl, by Bikini Kill: I just don't know if there's anything better in the world than just screaming along to this song ... this was absolutely transformative."

Vincent travelled back to Newfoundland for her fourth pick, The Land God Gave To Cain by Pat and Joe Byrne and Bax Wareham.

"Newfoundland and Labrador has its own genre of music, and it has a very special place in my heart," she said. 

"So much of the Newfoundland and Labrador trad music that's out there speaks to the hardships that a lot of generations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have gone through, but very few speak to the fact that we're settlers on Native land. This song does, and it's very, very powerful."

Vincent's final pick was also the newest song, We Were Worn by American artist Aisha Burns.

"This song is so beautiful and it's just the perfect backdrop to another quiet and introspective walk around Dawson."