About

Although she grew up in Vancouver BC, Madelyn’s heart is in the rural tales of Americana music. This duality of urban and country is ever present in her work, as she pulls inspiration from groups like I’m with Her, Joni Mitchell, and First Aid Kit and blends these sounds with lyrics about growing up in an urban centre. 

 

Praised by Americana UK as “a wonderful example of grafting new perspectives onto folk and country roots,” Madelyn’s debut album Concrete Country was released in May 2023. Supported by Canada Council for the Arts, FACTOR Canada, and CreativeBC, she co-produced the album with producer and sound engineer Andrew Conroy (Die Mannequin) in the heart of Vancouver at Flash Recording. With haunting vocals and lyrics that are astute and earnest, Concrete Country evokes a nostalgia for the city while exploring the challenges of urban life: gentrification, increasing cost of living, and loneliness. An ode to home that is full of love and frustration, Concrete Country is a striking, thought-provoking, and heart-warming collection for lovers of folk anywhere.

 

After celebrating Concrete Country’s release with a sold out show at Vancouver’s Fox Cabaret, Madelyn toured her record across southern British Columbia. On the way, she performed at Tiny Lights Music Festival in Ymir BC with her all-women folk quartet: Sydney Tough on upright bass (Frankie and the Juicebox, Earth Tones), Madeleine Elkins on electric guitar (Frankie and the Juicebox, Spindle), and Katie Stewart on fiddle (History of Gunpowder, Spindle). In the Fall, Madelyn traveled to the Yukon, playing shows in Whitehorse and Dawson City. Her live performance captivates audiences through song and story, as Madelyn shares the history of her family’s three generations in Vancouver.

 

Born from a love for music that traditionally characterizes rural geographies, Madelyn’s blend of urban and country invites listeners to appreciate and challenge the cities in which we live. Country music is beloved around the world despite its specific rural American context. “I wondered,” says Madelyn, “if country music could make me feel nostalgic for a place I had never lived, why shouldn’t it evoke that same feeling of attachment for the home that I do know?”