With a voice that has been called powerful, soaring, and haunting, and a natural aptitude for writing songs that are thick on mood and meaning, emerging singer/songwriter Ashlea Jonesmith is on her way. Twenty-ten and eleven have been breakthrough years for Jonesmith and her partner, Oliver Wives who have been touring across Canada and more extensively within Ontario and BC, and stepping into the Canadian festival scene with debuts at the Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival, Lillooet’s Music at the Miyazaki House concert series and Islands Folk Festival in Duncan, BC.
Originally from Bracebridge, Ontario, Jonesmith now resides with her husband and collaborator, Oliver Wives on Denman Island, BC – a tiny island in the Straight of Georgia.
Oliver Wives began playing with Jonesmith in 2008, before she recorded her fist studio album, The Things That Stay With Me, on which Wives provides much instrumentation. As a touring duo, Wives offers melodic bass lines and pleasing harmonies to Jonesmith’s heartfelt song.
Jonesmith began her song-writing career early in life and was introduced to the festival scene at fifteen when she was chosen as a local act to play at Mariposa Folk Festival in 1998. Throughout her post-secondary studies, Jonesmith performed often at local establishments in Toronto Ontario and later Nelson, BC, where she met Oliver Wives and a slew of other musicians and singer/songwriters who would inspire and challenge her in …
With a voice that has been called powerful, soaring, and haunting, and a natural aptitude for writing songs that are thick on mood and meaning, emerging singer/songwriter Ashlea Jonesmith is on her way. Twenty-ten and eleven have been breakthrough years for Jonesmith and her partner, Oliver Wives who have been touring across Canada and more extensively within Ontario and BC, and stepping into the Canadian festival scene with debuts at the Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival, Lillooet’s Music at the Miyazaki House concert series and Islands Folk Festival in Duncan, BC.
Originally from Bracebridge, Ontario, Jonesmith now resides with her husband and collaborator, Oliver Wives on Denman Island, BC – a tiny island in the Straight of Georgia.
Oliver Wives began playing with Jonesmith in 2008, before she recorded her fist studio album, The Things That Stay With Me, on which Wives provides much instrumentation. As a touring duo, Wives offers melodic bass lines and pleasing harmonies to Jonesmith’s heartfelt song.
Jonesmith began her song-writing career early in life and was introduced to the festival scene at fifteen when she was chosen as a local act to play at Mariposa Folk Festival in 1998. Throughout her post-secondary studies, Jonesmith performed often at local establishments in Toronto Ontario and later Nelson, BC, where she met Oliver Wives and a slew of other musicians and singer/songwriters who would inspire and challenge her in new ways, ultimately changing her sound from that of a quiet, somewhat generic folk-songbird to that of a gutsy, confident and distinctive performer-songwriter.
Later this year Jonesmith will release a much-anticipated EP of new material. Her writing style has evolved since she began recording “The Things That Stay With Me,” and with the EP “Hurricane” she will surprise her listeners with a grown-up new feel. This year will also see Jonesmith and Wives back in the studio working on the next full-length album, and across Canada again, this time participating in Via Rail’s On-Board-Entertainment program between Vancouver and Toronto, and picking up venue shows in Toronto, Montreal and Muskoka.
Jonesmith maintains her own website and blog where she writes frankly about her life as a touring performer, and as a modern-day pioneer, homesteading off-grid on a regenerating clear-cut with a tiny cabin and a lot of five-gallon buckets.
“As haunting and beautiful as the land she so clearly represents, Ashlea Jonesmith's exquisite voice and compositions capture the natural spirit of Canada and her burgeoning body politic...a revelation and a joy to the ear.” – Dan Blair, Owner, MatchVox Studio, Toronto.
"Ashlea sings from the heart with songs that are intensely personal yet universal in emotional and spiritual appeal. She exudes fun, friendship and passion in her music." - Tom Kremer, festival coordinator, Lose Yer Shoes Folkadelic Festival
“A powerful, emotionally charged voice and a distinct sincerity that is reminiscent of what great country music used to be.”
"With all the new music that you may happen to hear, you may want to take a second listen when you come across the voice of Ashlea Jonesmith. Her heartfelt songs with beautiful, simple, and true melodies, swiftly seep into the soul. It was a pleasure and privilege to work with Ashlea and to have had the chance to experience the unique openness of Ashlea's call." – Jamie Matsukubo, Producer, MatchVox Studio, Toronto.
