The Road Back Home Loreena McKennitt

• 1 Searching for Lambs (Live in Goderich, Ontario / 2023) 03:32
• 2 Mary and the Soldier (Live in Goderich, Ontario / 2023) 04:05
• 3 On a Bright May Morning (Live in Owen Sound, Ontario / 2023) 04:37
• 4 As I Roved Out (Live in Owen Sound, Ontario / 2023) 04:55
• 5 Custom Gap (Medley / Live in Owen Sound, Ontario / 2023) 03:59
• 6 Bonny Portmore (Live in Goderich, Ontario / 2023) 03:42
• 7 Greystones (Live in Owen Sound, Ontario / 2023) 03:31
• 8 The Star of the County Down (Live in Goderich, Ontario / 2023) 03:42
• 9 Salvation Contradiction (Medley / Live in Owen Sound, Ontario / 2023) 04:23
• 10 Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór / Wild Mountain Thyme (Medley / Live in Goderich, Ontario / 2023) 06:13
• Total Runtime 42:39

Info for The Road Back Home

The Road Back Home was recorded during the summer of 2023 when she performed at four folk festivals in southern Ontario. It was a return to her roots, a sort of musical winding back to where it all began. The early songs, the local musicians, the bursts of energy and spontaneity in those local performances are what inspired this new album that will now be on offer to a global audience.

The album features 10 songs, including many pieces that date back to McKennitt’s earliest days on the folk circuit and which have remained unrecorded until now.

The Road Back Home is an homage to what feels like simpler times, offering comfort and familiarity. It’s like going home.

Based in Stratford, Ontario since the late 1980s, several years ago McKennitt serendipitously encountered a group of local Celtic musicians. A meeting of musical minds ensued, resulting in an impromptu collaboration as part of her 2021 Christmas concerts (released in 2022 as her Under A Winter's Moon recording).

These musicians accompanied McKennitt again this summer at the Ontario folk festivals, along with her long-time band mate, cellist Caroline Lavelle. In the spirit of the tradition, one show featured an unplanned guest vocal on “Wild Mountain Thyme” from Canadian singer-songwriter James Keelaghan.

Every note performed by McKennitt and her new cohort of collaborators was recorded, capturing the deep affection and sense of community such musical events foster in the hearts of performers and folk festival devotees alike.

"There are many ways to define the word ‘home’,” observes McKennitt. “It may well be the structure in which we live, but it can also be the cultural expressions of community which somehow reach into our hearts and souls and draw us together without us completely understanding why."

Although recognized today as a cultural cross-pollinator and a ground-breaking leader of the contemporary Celtic Music scene, McKennitt's journey began in the humble folk clubs and the nascent festival scenes of her childhood home in Western Canada.

She recalls it vividly: “My time in Winnipeg would lead me to perform at folk clubs and one of the earliest Winnipeg Folk Festivals. We all got lost in the magic of the music which infused the summer night air. And on Sunday night when the festival came to an end, all the artists gathered on stage, linking arms to sing ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’."

Initially influenced by the 1960s and 1970s revival of interest in the folk music of both Ireland and England, McKennitt revelled in the recordings of the Bothy Band, Planxty, Steeleye Span and Alan Stivell, among many others. It was during these humble beginnings, including a tour of the busking pitches of Vancouver, Toronto, Dublin and London, England, that the foundations were laid for a four-decade career as a multi-platinum recording artist, entrepreneur and concert performer.

She has performed in some of the world’s most-respected and historic concert venues, from Carnegie Hall to the famous Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain and for dignitaries including the late Queen Elizabeth II and His Majesty King Charles III, and other heads of state.

McKennitt’s eclectic Celtic blend of pop, folk and world music has sold over 14 million albums worldwide. Her recordings have achieved Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum status in 15 countries on four continents. She has twice been nominated for a GRAMMY® Award and has won two Juno Awards, as well as a Billboard International Achievement Award. McKennitt was inducted into the Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in March 2023.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennitt
is well known as a composer and singer. In a recording career spanning more than three decades, Ms. McKennitt’s ‘eclectic Celtic’ music has received critical acclaim world-wide, and gold, platinum and multi-platinum sales awards in 15 countries across four continents. To date, she has sold over 14 million albums with a catalogue that includes seven studio recordings, three seasonal recordings, a live in-concert DVD and two DVD documentaries. She’s won two Junos, Canada’s premiere music award, and has performed for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Less well known is the fact that Ms. McKennitt is a highly successful businesswoman who has created an independent record label with celebrated international success.

Born in Morden, Manitoba, Canada, she moved to Stratford, Ontario in 1981, where she initially worked with Canada’s renowned Stratford Festival. In 1985 she established her own record label, Quinlan Road, a move which has made her a rarity in the music industry.

In the early years, Ms. McKennitt ran the operation from her kitchen table, selling her recordings by mail order and producing her own concert tours. Today, she leads her own company with responsibilities that include everything from creating strategic business plans to overseeing marketing and promotion.

Ms. McKennitt’s business acumen is also applied to the three charitable foundations she established. Her Three Oaks Foundation provides financial support to cultural, environmental, historical and social groups.

The Cook-Rees Memorial Fund for Water Search and Safety, founded in 1998, has raised more than $4 million in support of water safety education, as well as search, rescue and recovery operations.

In 2000, Ms. McKennitt purchased a recently-closed public school in Stratford and transformed it into the Falstaff Family Centre. Responding to concerns identified by the local community, the Centre focuses on the needs of families and children in Perth County, Ontario, which is where she resides.

Ms. McKennitt’s passion for business is matched by her passion for human rights. In 2006 and 2007 she was involved in a landmark human rights privacy case in Britain, where the courts ruled in her favour. The judgment, which was upheld by the House of Lords, has helped to advance privacy law around the world.

Ms. McKennitt is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Manitoba. In 2002 and 2012 she was the recipient of Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals and in 2013 she was appointed to the rank of Knight of the National Order of Arts and Letters by the Republic of France.

From 2006 to 2013 Ms. McKennitt held the position of Honorary Colonel of the 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron in the Royal Canadian Air Force and upon completion of the appointment was awarded the RCAF Commander’s Commendationin recognition of outstanding professionalism and dedication.

She also holds honourary degrees from the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg), Sir Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo), Queen’s University (Kingston) and George Brown College (Toronto).

This album contains no booklet.