The Wailin' Jennys
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2016) |
The Wailin' Jennys | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Genres | Folk, bluegrass |
| Years active | 2002 – present |
| Labels | Jericho Beach |
| Members | Ruth Moody Nicky Mehta Heather Masse |
| Past members | Cara Luft Annabelle Chvostek |
| Website | thewailinjennys |
The Wailin' Jennys are a Canadian music group. They have released several albums and received two Juno Awards. The group has been featured several times on the American Public Media program A Prairie Home Companion and their album Firecracker peaked at number two on the Billboard Bluegrass charts, in 2006. Their album Bright Morning Stars peaked at number one on the Billboard Bluegrass charts, in 2011, and Fifteen peaked at number one on the Billboard Bluegrass charts, in 2017.
History
The group was founded in 2002, when a Winnipeg guitar shop called Sled Dog Music brought Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta and Cara Luft together for a joint performance. The show was well received and the owner, John Sharples, scheduled a follow-up performance[1] and suggested they "go on tour and call themselves the Wailin' Jennys."[2] The group's name is a pun on the name of country singer Waylon Jennings.[3]
The band released a self-titled EP and an album, 40 Days, in 2004;[4]
The group now consists of soprano Ruth Moody, mezzo Nicky Mehta and alto Heather Masse. In previous years, the Jennys have also toured with fiddler and mandolinist Jeremy Penner, who is from Ruth's former band, Scruj MacDuhk. Other band members have included Annabelle Chvostek, a singer/songwriter from Montreal and Ruth Moody's brother Richard on viola and mandolin. Both Penner and Moody have appeared on The Wailin' Jennys' albums. In 2007, Chvostek left the group and was replaced by Heather Masse, a Maine-born singer and member of the band Heather & the Barbarians.
The Wailin' Jennys have won two Juno Awards for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (Group) in 2005 for 40 Days and in 2012 for Bright Morning Stars They were also nominated for the same award for Firecracker in 2007.[5]
Discography
Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Grass | US Heat | US Indie | US Folk | ||
| 40 Days |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Firecracker |
|
2 | 23 | 27 | — |
| Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera House |
|
3 | 25 | — | — |
| Bright Morning Stars |
|
1 | 7 | 24 | 10 |
| Fifteen |
|
1 | 1 | 17 | 12 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Extended plays
| Title | Album details | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Grass | ||
| The Wailin' Jennys EP |
|
— |
| iTunes Session |
|
7 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||
References
- ^ "Sled Dog Music". Sled Dog Music. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
- ^ Notes the 2005-05-21 episode of A Prairie Home Companion, viewed 2006-10-10
- ^ "Wailin' Jennys overcome name confusion | The Wailin’ Jennys | Singers / Songwriters". Thewailinjennys.com. 2002-08-14. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
- ^ "Folk Fest - Wailin' Jennys' Cara Luft Breaks Folk-Fashion Rules". Georgia Straight, by Shawn Conner on July 15, 2004
- ^ "Yearly summary: 2005 to 2012". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 2014-12-31.
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External links
- Official website
- Ruth Moody
- Nicky Mehta
- Cara Luft
- Annabelle Chvostek
- Heather Masse
- David McPherson (September 2006). "The Wailin' Jennys set off a 'Firecracker'". Country Standard Time.
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
