Murray McLauchlan… Hourglass

Murray McLauchlan is one of Canada’s most highly regarded singer/songwriters, and with good cause. Over a 50-year career, he has released 20 albums and been awarded 11 Junos. His songs Farmer’s Song, Down by the Henry Moore, Whispering Rain and Sweeping the Spotlight Away are now considered Canadian standards. Murray is also a painter, an author, an actor, a radio host; he’s been bestowed an Honourary Doctor of Laws and appointed to The Order of Canada. That’s quite a ride. For many years Murray’s touring had been restricted to Lunch At Allen’s, whose members also include Ian Thomas, Marc Jordan and Cindy Church. But with the release of his critically acclaimed Hourglass, he’s back on the road treating concert goers to a seamless blend of old and new.

Here’s what he has to say: “As a songwriter I know that it’s not enough to sit in your kitchen and write. Your songs need to be heard. Music is a communicative art and if it isn’t brought in front of people there is no way to tell if that end has been met. I like to think of a concert tour as a kind of roving gallery to test your art and your ideas. I try to do my very best to make it worthwhile for folks to be there and to perhaps look at things in a new way when they leave.”

And this, in a nutshell, is the Murray McLauchlan concert experience.