1-866-915-1308 Buy Great Big Sea Tickets, Get Concerts Schedule information and more
Great Big Sea band is from Canada that has made a name of its own as a folk rock group. The band originated in Newfoundland and Labrador and performs some lively rock renderings of the folk songs of Newfoundland like sea shanties. These folk songs have originated from the 500 years of Irish, French and English heritage that Newfoundland prides of. In addition to the folk songs, the band also performs its own creations. The first official performance by the band was on 11th March, 1993 at the ceremony of the Irish Descendants, held at Memorial University in Newfoundland.
>> More
About Great Big Sea
The original band members of Great Big Sea were Alan Doyle and Darrell Power in the vocals and also played bass, guitar, bones, Séan McCann also in the vocals and in guitar, bodhran, tin whistle. Bob Hallett’s responsibility included in addition to vocals, playing accordion, concertina, whistles, fiddle, mandolin, bouzouki and bagpipes. For the first few years, the band toured for nearly most of the days of each year. But in 2003, Power retired from the band. The band included MacFarlane and Murray Foster as additional members in its performance.
The band had a great success in its career. In each of the year between 1996 and 2000, the Great Big Sea won the Entertainer of the Year award given at the East Coast Music Awards. To pave the way for others to win the award, the band decided against nominating themselves at the East Coast Music Awards. The band has been nominated several times for Juno Awards. The first concert DVD and videos collection by the band called the Great Big DVD was released in the US and Canada in 2003. It was released in Europe in 2004. Their next release was the traditional album called The Hard and the Easy which was a collection of all the favorite party songs of Newfoundland. The title of the album has taken a line from the song "Tickle Cove Pond”. By the end of 2005, the band started releasing many podcasts over the Internet that shows them jollying with each other along with different songs of the group. It has released many pod casts since then.
On February 9, 2006, a major accident occurred as the bus the band was traveling tilted on one side in to ditch as it was passing on the Trans-Canada Highway, to the east of Vancouver, near the town of Abbotsford. Everyone was fortunately unhurt, except the driver who had minor head injuries. The band performed that evening, within hours of the accident and also at other venues. Great Big Sea released their next concert DVD, called Courage & Patience & Grit. The composition was recorded in Belleville in Ontario. The title of the DVD is from a line of their song called "Tickle Cove Pond".
Great Big Sea started working for their next album called Fortune's Favour in the summer of 2007. The album is scheduled to be released in June 2008 and it is to be produced by Hawksley Workman.
Discography
2008: Fortune's Favour
2006: Courage & Patience & Grit (live)
2005: The Hard and the Easy
2004: Something Beautiful
2002: Sea of No Cares
2000: Road Rage (live)
1999: Turn
1998: Rant and Roar
1997: Play
1995: Up
1993: Great Big Sea