Mary Egan, a local independent singer/songwriter, is set to release her new album Some Days are Diamonds on June 20, in Duncan, at the Craig Street Brew Pub.
The release will also feature Dead Eyes Open unplugged, and vocalists Schayde Dame and Lindsay Elzinga.
Egan will also be bringing her talent to a few Cowichan Lake events in the coming weeks. She will be performing and emceeing at this year’s Honeymoon Bay Days on June 30 starting at 6 p.m. during the open stage before the fireworks.
Local fans can also watch her perform at the Canada Day celebrations in Lake Cowichan on July 1. She will be performing from the bandshell in Central Park between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Egan will also be taking part in the Summer Nights events beginning on July 7. She will be performing with Tanya Gillespie in the bandshell in Central Park on July 14, beginning at 8 p.m.
Egan worked with such musicians as Peter Mitchell and Josh Garbish and has performed in venues across B.C. and Alberta. After performing for years with Bijoux Du Bayou, Egan has embarked on a solo musical adventure.
Egan’s music is country at its core, but this new album also contains a mix of other genres such as rock, ska, folk and reggae.
Egan has lived in Lake Cowichan her whole life, having participated in events such as the Great Lake Walk for many years, and says that it is important for her to help showcase local youth who have also been bitten by the music bug.
Currently, last year’s winner of Lake Cowichan Idol, Lindsay Elzinga, is singing and recording with Egan, along with Logan Wallace, a young guitar player from the area.
“I wish someone had done that for me when I was younger,” she says. She feels that the experience gained from playing with live musicians has a lot to offer younger artists.
Egan has also performed in many of the Kaatza Lakeside Players productions over the years, including Mama Drama in 2007, and Maria, The Sound of Music in 2002.
“In fact, Dena was my singing teacher when I was little. I’ve worked with her on numerous things,” she says.
Egan says this album is the first she has written herself and she feels that having done so she is finally on the right track with her career as a musician. “I’ve been singing others’ songs for a long time,” she says, and adds that it has been a learning curve to come to understand that she does not need to be paying out royalties to other musicians to fulfill her passion for performing and recording.
Be sure to head out to her CD release party on June 20, or catch her at one of the many events she will be performing at in the Lake Cowichan area throughout the summer.