Mel Farrimond

Welcome! Bienvenue!

Thanks for visiting!

New music coming soon! And lots of shows! See you out there!

I'm excited to be hosting a monthly songwriters' circle at Port Wallis United Church in Dartmouth. It's my favourite format for a live show, and I can promise you stellar line-ups. Check out the details under the Shows tab. And get your tickets in advance! You won't want to miss these shows!

Summer is shaping up to be a music-filled one! Lots of shows lined up in the coming weeks. And - drum roll, please - I'm currently in the studio working on my EP of 5 songs. Can't wait to share that with you later this year! Laura Rae is producing the songs, and she is uber talented! Stay tuned for updates on that. Hope to see you at a show soon!

2025 has been busy for me so far! I was lucky enough to get a last-minute spot in a workshop in Edinburgh with Gretchen Peters, then I played a private showcase at Folk Alliance in Montreal, went to a workshop in Nashville with Beth Nielsen Chapman, and now I am gearing up for a run of shows - some solo, some with a band. I'm really excited about a little run of shows coming up very soon: Songs and Stories of Scotland and Ireland. See the Shows tab for all the details. Hope to see you out there!

I'm really looking forward to a song circle with Ann Fearon and David Muise Sunday, November 3 at Seaforth Hall. That day is also the deadline to vote, should you choose so to do, for Best Songwriter in The Coast Best of Halifax 2024 Readers' Choice Awards.

I'm happy to say that I have been doing quite a bit of writing recently, as well as some co-writing, and I am getting organized to record and release some new songs very soon. I finally have the time to dedicate to that project, so I'm excited to share some new material.

I also have a few shows coming up - see the Shows tab for all the details. Hope to see you out there!

In other news, I am honoured to have been nominated in the Best Songwriter category in The Coast Readers' Choice Awards. Voting is open until November 3. Thanks for all your support! https://vote.thecoast.ca/

Radio play!

A huge thank you to Robert Campbell for spinning three of my songs on ‘Songwriters from Here and Away’ on Cove FM recently! And he's such a pro. Not only a great musician but a cool DJ, too!

March 2023

Is winter over yet?! I'm ready for some sunshine and a large dose of vitamin D! Looking forward to lighter evenings after this weekend. I've been doing some writing and co-writing over the winter and look forward to sharing some new songs with you soon! I've also been working on my music production skills and exploring the world of writing for film and TV. Another Nashville trip is happening for me in the Spring, including a workshop with Emily Saliers of The Indigo Girls. Can't wait for that! See you out there!

I'm back!

Well, it's been a while, but I'm back! Back from the Road to Stanfest Songwriting Camp, which was wonderful, as always, and back from Stanfest, which made an incredible post-pandemic comeback! I am fired up and writing a new batch of songs, as well as working with some amazing co-writers. It feels good to be emerging - slowly but surely - from the weirdness and multiple constraints of the pandemic. I think we all need a little joy, a large dose of light-heartedness, and, of course, some great music. I look forward to taking in some more live music this summer and to creating some new original songs. See you out there!

Still kicking!

Hi. I haven't posted in a while - life got busy! I'm happy to report that I am writing songs again, after a long hiatus. Been doing some co-writing, too. Looking forward to sharing some new material with you soon.

In the meantime, check out the blog I've been working on, where you'll find some music I love and many more goodies: The MONDAY Blog!

I just started a songwriting workshop with Mary Gauthier and Gretchen Peters, which is incredible! So much inspiration from two of the very best. Stay tuned!

Under November Skies

Here's the video for a song I co-wrote with Joanna Butler, Under November Skies.

Mel's Matinee!

Well, that was fun! Mel's Matinee at The Carleton raised $550 for the Brain Injury Association of NS. That money will go directly to their Music Therapy program. Despite the wintry weather, we had a great turnout! Ian Sherwood, Leona Burkey, and Ann Fearon were my special guests, and they all gave incredible performances. Fantastic songwriters! Keep an eye out for the next in this series!

Shows and new music coming soon!

I'm gearing up for some recording and some shows in the spring and summer. See you out there!

Stay tuned!

Stay tuned for upcoming shows and news!

Music-filled months!

Well, I've had a busy few months, filled with music and magical experiences! In April, me and my Baby Taylor guitar headed to Nashville for an incredible 3-day songwriting workshop with one of my favourite songwriters, Emily Saliers, of the Indigo Girls. This was a bucket list experience for me. So nice to re-connect with some songwriters I met at a previous workshop with Mary Gauthier, and make some new musical friends. I'm hoping some of them will come and do some shows in Nova Scotia soon. Check out Ruth Hill (ruthhillmusic.com) and David Robert King (davidrobertking.com)for starters. In June I kicked off a string of shows with a house concert along with another of my favourites, Ann Fearon. I always love performing with Ann. She's a self-described harmony slut (!) with a beautiful, warm voice and great songs. Next up I attended the Road to Stanfest Songwriting Camp in Sherbrooke Village. What a perfect setting to get inspired and to spend time with fellow songwriters. It was so great to catch up with old musical friends and get to know some new ones too. The instructors - Susan Crowe, Thom Swift, Steven McClintock, Kim Dunn and Doris Mason - were all great fun and amazing to learn from. A highlight for me was singing Kim Dunn's 'Inspiration' at the gala concert. Love that song. After the camp, I headed over to Canso to the Stan Rogers Folk Festival, where a bunch of us got to sing! What a treat that was! And I finally made it to The (legendary) Marina for some late night jam sessions. In July I went to the Acoustic Maritime Music Festival at Kempt Shore for the first time. Loved that too. Great line-up and awesome jam sessions. I played a show in beautiful St. Peters, Cape Breton and got to play at the Lunenburg Folk Festival in August! And on top of everything else, I sang my way to PEI and back three times over the summer on the ferry! So, all in all, it was a music-filled summer. As for the Fall, I'll do a few more shows and hunker down a bit and finish some songs for my next recording. Thanks for checking in! See you out there!