Andrea is an award-winning Toronto folk artist. In October, she released her seventh studio album Quarantine Dreams. On April 22, she’s in town to play a show at Artesian. Here are six songs she considers favourites. /Gregory Beatty
“Carmensita”
Devendra Banhart, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (2007)
Devendra is such an interesting artist, and this song, in particular, is my go-to when I need to shake off a mean mood or lighten up. It actually saved me from losing my mind during the lockdown by helping drown out a very traumatic living situation in the apartment below me, so I always think of it as my little piece of groovy salvation. YouTube
“Ball and Chain”
Janis Joplin, Pearl (Legacy Edition, 2005)
Janis is the reason I wanted to sing. I fell in love with her Greatest Hits cassette when I was 13-years-old and the rest was history. She threw it down for every song… every performance. I wish I’d gotten to see her live. YouTube
“Bring It On Home To Me”
Sam Cooke, Single (1962)
When I want to travel back in time a bit, I let Sam Cooke take me. This single is full of everything that’s good about music: soul, a great melody, memorable hook, and Cooke’s incredible voice. I pretend he’s singing to me. YouTube
“Go Your Own Way”
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (1977)
I own two vinyl copies of Rumours, and was also in the run of a play at a Toronto East-end theatre based on the album, so I got to sing these songs night after night for months. “Go Your Own Way” is a tune you turn up and everyone just jumps in on that chorus. It’s iconic. YouTube
“Blue Moon Revisited (Song for Elvis)”
Cowboy Junkies, The Trinity Sessions (1988)
Margo has always been an inspiration for me as an interpreter of songs and a vocalist, and I’ve been lucky enough to have two of my solo records produced by Michael Timmins. This record introduced me to that low-fi dream world I like to enter into in my songs. This track is so gooey and creates quite the mood. YouTube
“Seventeen”
Sharon Van Etten, Remind Me Tomorrow (2019)
Sharon writes songs I wish I’d written. This song is one that’s seen me dancing in my underwear on top of my bed reminding myself of what it was like to be an adolescent again. She’s so groovy, and I can’t wait to see her live at Massey Hall in August. YouTube