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The Ennis Sisters set to perform in Airdrie on Saturday

The trio looks back at a 25-year career while performing a variety of songs from their catalogue in Airdrie.
ES Spring 2022 sm
Karen, Maureen, and Teresa (l-r) Ennis perform at Airdrie’s Bert Church LIVE Theatre on April 30

The Ennis Sisters are celebrating their 25-year career during their current tour that brings them to Airdrie’s Bert Church LIVE Theatre on April 30.

Their first album was released on cassette in 1997, marking their start in the music business. 

Teresa Ennis, the oldest sister of the Celtic trio, said the value of music itself has changed since they first started making music.

“Obviously the internet was a major change in the world but especially in music – having to reinvent yourselves and having to find a way now to make money and create value around music,” she said.

Karen Ennis reflected back on a time when the sisters’ main goal was to get a record deal. The Ennis trio signed with Warner Music Canada and Rounder Music in the U.S. in order to get their music out. 

Karen noted everything from knowing how to produce videos to getting a hit song on the radio has changed.

“You have to go online and find a playlist now to find other genres because on pop or mainstream radio, it’s a lot of the same exact sounds,” she explained. “The goal now is to get on a playlist, not to get on the radio.”

Most recently, the sisters worked on a new record during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is set to be released in June. 

Many of the songs were written over the phone and sharing recordings during the start of the pandemic. Fortunately, they were able to get together with their producer Alan Doyle (of the Newfoundland-based folk-rock band Great Big Sea) to record the album during the second lockdown of the pandemic.

“We decided to go into a studio and it was actually an inn that we turned into a studio,” Teresa said. “It took a month to record 10 original songs with Allan and we tried to play everything ourselves and record as much as we could in our own little bubble.”

Recording the album was a learning experience for everyone, she said, as they relied on their skillsets developed over the past 25 years. Both Teresa and Karen credited Boyle for pushing the sisters out of their comfort zones.

Boyle also produced their second-last album, Keeping Time, which came out in 2018.

“He is just such an incredible producer, musician. He’s got amazing ears, and he’s just somebody who brings the best out in you,” Karen said. “He just really knows how to give you confidence in that studio sort of situation, which is what you need.”

Karen added that after working with her sisters for 25 years, they’ve settled into a comfortable place, and they wanted to challenge themselves to make this album a little bit different.

Maureen Ennis is the primary songwriter in the group and wrote the majority of the songs for the latest album. Karen noted the three would go over every song and arrange it and change around vocal sections to put the “Ennis sisters stamp” on it.

While they don’t often listen to their own music once they’ve recorded it, Teresa said this project is one she’s very proud of.

“I’m finding new things in the songs and I really enjoy listening to them,” she said.

One of her favourite songs on the album is written about their 25-year career called ‘We Got the World’, which Teresa described as being about following the dream and keeping with it, no matter the circumstances.

“It’s really amazing that we’ve lasted this long,” she said.

Karen added her favourite song on the album is a number written by Maureen and Dave Gunning, called Sing the World Better.

“[Gunning is] an amazing singer/songwriter out of Nova Scotia,” she said. “ [The song] was written over a year ago but the message in it – especially today with everything that’s going on – [is] just one of those universal positive powerful messages.”

The Ennis sisters are currently travelling with a world-class pianist, Wade Tarling, who adds a different sound to their performance. 

“Before, we would kind of gravitate toward Celtic, bazuki, accordion instrumentation, but the piano brings a whole different feel to it and we’re still playing the Celtic instruments,” Karen said. “We’re still playing whistles and accordions and have step dancing.” 

Aidrie’s audience can expect a mix of the music the Ennis Sisters have created throughout the last 25 years, including songs from 13 different studio albums. Songs could include everything from the first song they learned, Red is the Rose, to their popular radio hit in the early 2000s, It’s not About You and their not-yet-released album called Onward.

“We’re trying to include a broader mix from our catalogue in this show. There will be step dancing and we also throw in lots of stories from being sisters and working together and travelling together and the whole sisterly dynamic,” Teresa said. “It’s a really entertaining show and people seem to really enjoy it.”

Tickets for the April 30 show at Airdrie’s Bert Church LIVE Theatre can be purchased online at tickets.airdrie.ca.


Masha Scheele

About the Author: Masha Scheele

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