Ottawa born, Burlington raised & London aged, this south western Ontario songwriter and singer, performs mostly original material.
As a member of the folk duo
Sirens,
Jo-Ann Lawton earned a C.F.M.A. {
Canadian Folk Music Award} nomination (for
Best Vocal Group) in 2007.
Sirens disbanded in September of 2009.
Jo-Ann Lawton is now performing solo gigs at coffee shops, concerts, house concerts, folk clubs, fairs , festivals and the like.
How it happened:
Jo-Ann Lawton came “late” to the folk music scene, acquiring her first guitar in the early 80's, whilst in her 3rd decade (20 something).
Jo-Ann is self taught, and has no formal musical training. Her diploma in Fine Art from Fanshawe College hardily prepared her for the direction her adventure in music was to take her.
By the late 80's and early 90's much of her musical efforts were put into working with others in trios (
No-In-Betweens [1988-1993] and
Sirens [1995-2002-2009].
Sirens was originally a trio, featuring
Jo-Ann Lawton, Donna Creighton and Nora Galloway.
Jo-Ann was singing and performing her music as a solo performer, and Nora had joined her to sing backup harmonies for several concerts. Donna joined them later to create the trio,
Sirens. Originally
Sirens performed only
Jo-Ann's music, but with
Jo-Ann's encouragement Nora and Donna also started to write songs. They recorded 2 CD's together. The 2nd of those CD's with the all-Canadian folk label
Borealis www.borealisrecords.com/
After Nora left the trio in 2002, (she followed a bluegrass dream with
Foxtail (www.foxtail.ca) / several other performers {including Jennifer Thorpe and Amber Cunningham} stepped into the breach. But none of them stood the test of time. After some soul searching, Donna &
Jo-Ann decided to carry on together “alone”. They performed across North America & recorded 2 more CD's, one of which earned them a nomination for a
Canadian Folk Music Award. Sirens were four-time winners of the London Music Awards, Best Folk/World/Celtic group and two-time recipients of the Jack Richardson Folk/Roots award.
Jo-Ann co-conceived, co-produced and performed in
Hearts Made Great / with
Orchestra London, which might run again close to Remembrance Day.
But in September of 2009, after 14 years together, but almost 2 years of not doing any collaborative music, Donna Creighton &
Jo-Ann Lawton decided to officially disband as a Musical Duo, and they will no longer be working together. Despite the many accolades from fans, and the near National fame achieved in 2007, with a
Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, Donna and
Jo-Ann had gone separate ways, with individual projects and personal and family matters taking precedence over their collective musical endeavours for the previous two years, and the time had come for both of them to move on.
Jo-Ann Lawton was a solo artist long before she conceived playing with trios or duos. She now pursues, once more, a “solo” career.
Whether singing harmonies with others or working alone,
Jo-Ann is a consummate performer. She has a voice that will hush a drinking crowd (though she rarely plays in bars){unless they are Folk Clubs}
About 90% of the music
Jo-Ann performs is original material. Her song writing, influenced by the musical stylings of the 40s, crosses the boundaries between contemporary folk, rock-a-billy, blues and country. Her songs cross the oceans from poignant heart-wrenching ballads to upbeat sing-a-longs with a dash of humour. You will never be bored listening to
Jo-Ann’s music.
She also can be persuaded to run 'song writing workshops'.
Jo-Ann has recently instigated “one-on-one” 'song writing workshops', just herself and the prospective song writer. Contact her for information on this at jonige@sympatico.ca
/
Jo-Ann Lawton now has a "... .com" website at
www.jo-annlawton.com/ and also on myspace at
www.myspace.com/joannlawtonsolo/
The Music on this site
All the songs you can hear on this site are
penned by
Jo-Ann Lawton. Though several of the songs on the site are recorded with two or three voices,
all these songs are also performed by
Jo-Ann Lawton as a solo artist. These few songs give you just a flavour of the talent of
this Artist.
Sailors Wife : this version is the original
Sirens trio with
Nora Galloway.
Jo-Ann Lawton proves the power and maturity of her craft with “Sailor’s Wife”, an original which sounds like something the forsaken women of forgotten villages have been singing for generations. Jeff DeLuzio, Scene Magazine
Marg and Benny from
Jo-Ann's
Solo CD.. In his youth, Paul MacCartney suggested a plateau for getting old as being "64". This song is a delightful little ditty of two folk who fall in love in their twilight years (at 64). It's a true story, in that Marg & Benny are real people.
Clickety Clack from
Sirens’ Live at the Ugly Mug CD.. This version of Sirens featuring
Amber Cunningham. Watch out for the train!!
Darker Side of Love is another
love ditty from
Jo-Ann's
Solo CD {Beg to be Different}
The Videos on this site
(i)
Jo-Ann Lawton sings
"Sitting at the Table" at Sirens CD Release Party, Aeolian Hall London Ontario.
Song origin:
Jo-Ann used to know and often visited with an older lady {who is now no longer with us}, and one day, "over a cup of tea", she confessed to a lifetime of abuse that she had suffered. This song touches many people, especially those who have suffered through abusive situations.
(ii)
Daddy's Farm Song from
Jo-Ann's
Solo CD.. a tribute to her late Father, and his demise under the onslaught of Alzheimer's Disease.
