Season's Greetings to you!

Posted by Marny's webmaster

Seasons Greetings to you! My dog, Reg, is real proud of his Christmas scarf so I thought I'd send you a shot of us together.

This has been a great year for me here in Girl Singer Land. Some of the highlights from 2005 include:

• four Saskatchewan Country Music Awards
• a writing weekend in Peachland, BC led by Roy Forbes and Bill Henderson
• singing my song, "Who's That Man", for Queen Elizabeth
• a trip to Halifax, NS to write with RyLee Madison as well as spend some time with my radio promoter, Paul Kennedy, and, of course, eat a ton of seafood
• performances at the Professional Bull Riding in Regina (singing performances, not bull riding, although riding the bull looked fun)
• being invited to perform with Regina's Prairie Gold Chorus at their Centennial Concert celebration
• performing for the Centennial dance for my hometown of Lumsden, SK, with my friends, Shifty Morgan, backing me up
• singing O'Canada at the Labour Day Classic game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in front of 30,000 screaming football (and some MDC) fans
• various festivals around Saskatchewan including Carleton Trail Jamboree, Craven Country Music Jamboree, Flatland Festival, Remember Forget's Summer Festival
• great times with my girls and handsome husband at the beach
• the Ranchman's in Calgary, where I discovered bottle cap shooters, YUM!
• traveling to Ottawa with a few other Saskatchewan artists to celebrate our Centennial at the National Archives Library
• playing at The Pump Roadhouse!!!
• hearing my songs on the radio
• great casino dates in Prince Albert, Yorkton, Regina, Moose Jaw - and Bear Claw Casino at White Bear coming up for New Year's Eve

Yes, it's been a great year. I'm working on making 2006 even better. I'm writing to prepare for another album. Whether or not that will be out in 2006 is still hard to say. I am publishing a book that I am very excited about. I'm having my song, "Linger", illustrated into storybook form by a fantastic artist, Megan Mansbridge.We expect to have a spring release. For more info on the song, check out my website www.girlsinger.ca. You can read how that song came about, have a listen, read the lyrics and while you're at it, get my album...if you haven't already.

I hope you all have a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you.

Merry Christmas!
Marny Duncan-Cary

Girl Singer News

Posted by Marny's webmaster
Hello there everyone! Hope you're having a great fall. Life has been very busy here at our household. We are at the end of a huge renovation on our home and after three months of sleeping in the 1976 Aquarius motorhome with my man, my girls and Reg (our Great Dane), we are finally back into our own bedrooms. Yee Ha!

Lots of great shows coming up from now until New Year's and lots of new material as well.

To check out more on Marny visit www.girlsinger.ca.

upcoming shows

Catch Marny at the following...

October 28 & 29: The Pump Roadhouse, Regina SK (Hallowe'en Party on the 29th!)

November 3, 4 & 5: The Ranchman's (look out, Calgary AB)

November 14 & 15: The Library & Archives Canada Auditorium for Saskatchewan Celebrations, Ottawa ON (it's rumoured that the Prime Minister is on the guest list for November 14!)

November 18 & 19: The Painted Hand Casino, Yorkton SK

November 23: Perform Both Canadian and American National Anthems at the Canadian Cowboys Association Finals Rodeo during the Western Canadian Agribition, Regina SK

What A Summer!

September 1, 2005

Pinch and a punch, first of the month. Yikes! How did September get here so fast? We had a great summer here in these parts. Man, it went fast! I had some fantastic gigs. July started with a Candada Day performance in Wascana Park here in Regina. Tons of people out in the park that day to see a huge list of performers including Great Big Sea. July 2nd was the Centennial Celebration in my hometown, Lumsden. Lots of family and old friends home for that and it was so much fun singing at the big dance. My good friends Shifty Morgan backed me up on that gig.

The next weekend I was up at the Carlton Trail Jamboree just north of North Battleford. What a great place that is. The hills make a natural ampitheatre. The following weekend was the Craven Country Jamboree. Yee Ha! So happy they went back to country and by the attendance there, so were a ton of other people. I had the opportunity to join some other great Saskatchewan Acts on the mainstage for a couple songs which was an honour. I closed the beer garden with a set at 1:00AM on Friday night. It was amazing! They told me there were 14,000 people in there. Tons of fun singing in front of a crowd like that. I wanted to body surf, but I figured there was too much alcohol consumption out there to make it back to the stage safe and sound. Maybe next time I'll do it.

The weekend following that was the Flatland Music Festival in Regina. I had my girls join me on the stage for a couple songs there. They were a huge hit. Kinda stole my thunder those little hens. Actually, I get them singing with me whenever the gig allows. They're great little singers and so damn beautiful. I call them my retirement fund.

The rest of the summer found us in Forget, SK for the first annual Remember Forget Summer Festival. We played at the Regina Beach Yacht Club, Kennossee Lake Golf Course, Canada Summer Games and this weekend I'm gearing up to sing "O'Canada" at the Labour Day Classic Football Game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Should be tons of fun.

I hope life is good for you. Take care and it would be great to hear from you.

Marny

what a summer!

Posted by Marny's webmaster

Marny had a great summer with some fabulous performances around Saskatchewan. Highlights included hitting the mainstage and beer gardens at the Craven Country Jamboree in front of 14,000 fans; the Canada Summer Games Mainstage; the Flatland Music Festival (Regina); the Canada Day Celebrations in Wascana Park, Regina; as well as the Centennial Celebration in her hometown of Lumsden.

To listen to and/or buy Marny's summer single Banner Road, visit www.girlsinger.ca.

To check out Marny’s latest journal entry visit www.girlsinger.ca.

upcoming shows

Here are some of the public performances Marny has coming up in September:

September 4, 5:00 pm: At the Labour Day Classic Football Game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Regina, performing O Canada

September 9-12, Canadian Country Music Week, Calgary, AB

September 14, Innovation Place, Saskatoon, SK

Girl Singer News

Posted by Marny's webmaster

"Banner Road" Hits Radio!

Marny releases "Banner Road" to radio on June 7!

Phone your local country station and request this summertime fun song. To listen to Banner Road, find out the story behind the song, and to buy the album (thanks for supporting independent music), visit www.girlsinger.ca.

Upcoming Shows

June 15-17, Western Canada Farm Progress Show, Regina Exhibition Park
- Shows each day in the Westeel Tent at 3:30pm
- Performances of both the Canadian and American National Anthems prior to the Professional Bull Riding in the Agridome on the 15 & 16 and then a show directly following the Bull Riding each night. Yee Ha! Marny might slap on her chaps for this one. OLN (Outdoor Live Network) will be broadcasting the PBR - tune in if you're too far to come out and see Marny sing the National Anthems.

June 18, Guest artitist with the award-winning Prairie Gold Chorus as they "Explore The Heart Of Saskatchewan". Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts, Doris Knight Hall.
Cocktails 7:00-8:00pm
Show 8:00pm
Lunch 9:30pm
Tickets $30.00, call 306-545-6556

June 23-25, Northern Lights Casino, Prince Albert, SK. Show starts at 9:00pm each night.

Singing For The Queen

May18, 2005

It was an honour. It was exciting. It was intense. It was amazing. Mostly it was scarey fun singing for the Queen, her husband and about 600 other guests at the Premier's Luncheon held in Lumsden. It took some major yoga the weeks prior to be able to stay grounded and do what I was invited to do. My song, "Who's That Man", helped get me this prestigious gig. It's the 60th year of the vet and the Queen and her husband hold the veterans close in their hearts. I was invited to sing "Who's That Man" for them to offer an angle to WWII that isn't often talked about. For those of you who don't know, this song is about my dad as a four year old boy finally meeting his dad for the first time when he returns from the war. You can hear "Who's That Man" right here on my website under music and if you like it just click over to merchandise and get yourself a copy. Enough self promotion.

My maternal grandmother came from England and she has always shown interest in the monarchy, but I've felt quite removed from the whole thing. But to be able to see The Queen up close and watch her people work around her was fascinating. Security was intense. I was told that there were a couple dry walk throughs involving 57 people from Buckingham Palace, Ottawa, the protocol office in Regina and who knows from where else months before the Queen arrived. Every minute of the luncheon was sheduled. I think I sang at 2:07. I didn't actually meet her, but her table was right in front of me as I was singing. She looked beautiful, kinda like a grandma and her husband looked very handsome. They both appeared to be interested in my song. I had Ray Bell playing guitar with me and the performance went very well. I remembered the words, the chords, but should have remembered to breath a bit more. I had a lot of people come up to me after to say they loved the song. Too bad I didn't have a merch table there. Next time, I'll ask for that in my contract (just kidding).

Thank you so much to the people in Lumsden planning the Queen's Visit, the protocol office in Regina for putting my name and music forward to the Premiere for approval and pushing for me to perform "Who's That Man", "O'Canada" and "God Save The Queen" for The Queen. It was a huge honour that made national and international news that could only happen because of the help from the local people that know and love my music. I appreciate their support so much and I really hope I did them proud.

Take care and I hope to hear from you soon.

Marny

Getting Ready

May 17, 2005
Hello there. Thanks for checking out my website. Well, only one more sleep until I get to sing for the Queen. I am so excited. I'm honored that I get to sing a song that I wrote about my family history with war to the Queen and her husband, The Duke of Edinburgh as well as 600 other invited guests. I was at the rink last night for the official rehearsal for tomorrow's lunch. The place looks fantastic. I've never seen my local rink look so clean and so fancy. It's obvious folks have been working hard to prepare for the Queen's visit. There was a certain buzz in the air at the rink last night. Lots of smiling going on and laughter. Nervous laughter maybe, but joyful that our town is hosting the Queen for lunch. Everybody involved wants things to be just right for her. This "getting ready" thing is so fun. So I sang my song and it felt good. Her table will be only a few feet away from me. I'm trying so hard to stay grounded and not be goofy and flighty when I see her so close. There's at least a couple sides to me. One is a cool, gathered goddess and another is a big goof ball, kinda like a teenager. I'm expecting the grounded girl goddess to rise up tomorrow at noon. The goof ball teenager can push her way through after the Queen leaves Lumsden.

I have to be there at 11:00 am tomorrow. Once I get the girls off to school, I plan to do a major yoga session. Lots of focusing and meditating going on. Then I'll get good looking and head out. What do you think about a white suit? I plan to kick some serious ass tomorrow. Pray for me.

I'll let you know how it goes. Take care.

Marny

Girl Singer News

Marny with Trish Derbyshire, a kidney and pancreas organs recipient.

Posted by Marny's webmaster

National Organ Donor Awareness Week Marny was on hand to sing a couple songs to help kick off National Organ Donor Awareness Week, April 18.

Marny feels strongly about this cause, as she herself only has one kidney. Please talk to your family about your wishes.

Her Majesty Beckons

Marny is thrilled to announce that she has been invited to sing for the Queen of England during the Premier's Lunch, Wednesday, May 18.

Listen for an interview with Marny on CBC Radio One's "Roundup", Tuesday May 17 between 3:00-3:30 pm.

Before Marny knew anything about the exciting opportunity, the powers-that-be were listening to Marny's music and doing a background check to see if she would measure up. They then invited Marny to sing her song Who's That Man for the Queen. The song, which appears on Marny's debut album, is about some of her family history with war.

Wish her luck. She will be writing about the experience in her web journal, so check that out a couple days after May 18, '05! To find out more about the song or to purchase the album, check out www.girlsinger.ca.

Hello Nova Scotia

Marny is heading east to Nova Scotia from May 19-26. She'll be doing a radio tour as well as a couple acoustic performances with well-known Nova Scotia singer/songwriter RyLee Madison. Should be a lot of fun and no doubt there will be some songwriting happening!

Regina Performance

Marny finishes off May at The Pump Roadhouse in Regina, May 27 & 28. If you're in the area, come on out, do some dancing, have some fun and say hi!

Spring in Saskatchewan

Hello there! Thanks for checking out my website. Spring is trying so hard to happen here in Saskatchewan. I went for a walk this morning, the sun was shining beautifully and the birds were singing their songs, but man, was it cold. I had to wear long underwear, turtle neck, scarf, mitts, toque and a couple jackets. Yikes! Please send us some heat, God.

Things are good here in Girl Singer Land. Moving along a bit more everyday. I just came back from a great gig in Yorkton, Saskaskatchewan at the Painted Hand Casino. I love going to Yorkton. I like the friendly, small town atmosphere. Quite a farming community. Lots of half tons everywhere you look and quite a few doing burn outs at the traffic lights right by my hotel room – music to my ears at 4:00am. Great shopping in Yorkton also. I think I spent more than I made there this weekend and it seems to be the case everytime I go there.

Big news for me! I’ve been invited to sing for the Queen of England during her Saskatchewan visit. Quite an honor. I will be singing, “Who’s That Man”. Before I even knew the queen was coming to Lumsden, my song and I were going through different levels of approval. The host committee, the protocol office that handles the royal visits in Saskatchewan, and then the premier’s office. All that before I was aware of the entire event. I’m very proud to be able to go and sing some of my family history with war to the Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh. Pray for me, please. I’m working on focusing for the event big time, but I’ve never been around royalty and it might be interesting for me to keep it together and be cool. I know I’ll do it, but sometimes I’m a little giddier than I’d like to be. Breathe, Marny, breathe.

Following my performance for the queen, I’m heading out to Nova Scotia for the first time ever. I’m going to hook up with my good friend, RyLee Madison and do some writing as well as visit a few radio stations. RyLee and I have a performance scheduled at my old friend Darcy’s lighthouse/bed and breakfast. I know it will be lots of fun sharing the stage with RyLee for the first time. I’m looking forward to seeing Darcy again. He was my next door neighbour for a few years growing up and he once gave me a frog for my birthday. I think I was turning 10 or maybe 12. I can still see him and our other neighbour, David, standing on my front step, looking down at the ice cream pail that held the frog. I’m laughing and smiling big remembering that.

Well, I better get my butt in gear. It’s grandparents day for my daughter, Josi, at the school today. She doesn’t have any grandparents here so I’m going to be a granny today. I think I’ll try and find a cane and an old sweater shawl thing and wobble in there for her. She’d be so unimpressed or “disapressed” as she would say – a cross between unimpressed and disappointed.

Take care and I’d love to hear from you.

Marny

New Show Dates Added

Posted by Marny's webmaster

Marny is very pleased to be opening the show for Canadian Country Music Award winning artist, Jason McCoy.

Thursday, April 28, 8:00pm @ the Moose Jaw Cultural Center
and
Friday, April 29, 8:00pm @ Casino Regina

For Tickets call: (306) 565-3000 or 1-800-555-3189

Come see the Girl Singer. She'll spin your pin!

For more information on Marny, or to buy or listen to clips from the SCMA Album of the Year 2005, visit www.girlsinger.ca.

Big News For Marny Duncan-Cary!

Posted by Marny's webmaster

Marny was a big winner at the 16th Annual Saskatchewan Country Music Awards, held in Regina on March 19. At the show, hosted by Tom Jackson, she received

• Rising Star of the Year
• Composer of the Year for her debut single, "Because I Want To"
• Album of the Year for her debut CD, "Reason for Bein' "
• Female Vocalist of the Year
  

Marny is delighted and says, “I’m overwhelmed by the positive response I have received from my peers. Thank you so much! And believe me when I say, I’m just getting started.” For more about the awards, visit www.scma.sk.ca.

Next: There’s a new single on the horizon for Marny! Listen for it in May. To buy or listen to clips from the SCMA Album of the Year 2005, check out www.girlsinger.ca.

Hold your horses, Calgarians! Marny has rescheduled her Ranchman's debut for November.

Take care all, and I’d love to hear from you!

Sad news

I got a call a week ago today early in the morning from my dad. I think it was 6:40 or so. He was quiet on the other end and he just said, "I think you know what I have to tell you." Those morning calls like that - yuck. They're so upsetting, surreal - holy smokes! Where's the truck that just hit me and in the same breath, I saw that truck coming for a long time so why am I so surprised? My Auntie Judy had died. She had been living with, suffering with, dying with ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. She was a treasure to our family. One of seven kids from my dad's side and the only girl. She was 57 years old and so respected and loved by everyone in our family . She was so positive through her illness - never complained - never said, "poor me". She was a model patient and for 35 years she had been a great nurse with most of her career happening in Vernon, BC.

What I remember most about Judy and find so remarkable is that she was always so interested, genuinely interested in others, especially her family. She never had kids of her own so she took great interest in her many nieces and nephews. She really cared about every one of us and loved to talk and take time to find out what was happening in everyone's life. She took time to make others feel special and important. She was a real gem.

So we traveled to BC to be with my family to pay tribute to Judy. At her request I'm going to sing at her funeral. I knew this was coming and I want to do this, but man, I know it's going to be a tough gig. The songs she wants are "Peace In The Valley" and "Over The Rainbow" by Eva Cassidy. I sing those songs well, but I've been trying to block my emotions for a week so I can go and do what I want to - what she wanted me to do for her. Please, God, give me strength and keep me level and grounded so I can sing my absolute best for her and everyone there who loved her.

On a lighter note, the family supper we had last night was really nice. Why is it that we only all (I mean cousins, aunts and uncles) get together at funerals? That's one of the good things about a funeral, you get to see family you haven't seen for a long time. We had supper at my parent's friends' (Willy and Betty) restaurant. They closed it to the public so we got to have the place to ourselves. Josi, my 9 year old, was playing waitress. She had us all laughing when my aunt ordered Deep Fried Mushrooms. You see, Josi loves mushrooms, but had never ever heard of deep fried mushrooms. When my aunt placed the order with Josi, she tilted her head and asked very seriously, "Oh?! are those good? .... How do you spell that?" And away she went to place the order with the kitchen. She'd also sample some of the food as she was serving it and she did end up ordering herself a huge plate of deep fried mushrooms. The girl cracks me up.

To learn more about ALS, check out www.als.ca Take care and thanks for checking out my website. I'd love to hear from you.

Marny

February 7, 2005

Hello there. It’s me and sorry I haven’t written for a while. Actually, I’ve been writing almost everyday, just not putting it on my website - some of it’s R-rated.

Things are good here in Girl Singer land. January was busy with a couple great gigs. One at The Pump Roadhouse and that’s always fun to play there. The other was in Forget, Saskatchewan. Yes, Forget. The population is 34. The town is small and almost not there anymore except it is so alive with the Ananda Arthouse. The owners, Shannon and Don came in and bought the old rectory from the Catholic Church and turned it into a beautiful bed and breakfast. They run it with Shannon’s parents, Hank and Gida as well as a young woman, Heidi. Folks came from at least an hour rural radius to be at the gig. It was intimate and unforgettable in Forget, Saskatchewan. I hope they have me back soon.

I went on a diet in January and gained 10 pounds. It’s true. I’m officially off my diet and kick me if I ever go on one again.

My youngest daughter, Josi, says she wants to be a famous movie star when she’s older. We encourage her to reach for her dreams so she’s been in a drama class since September and in January, we got her and Mae an agent. There’s quite a bit of film work here in Regina. After sending in photos, the agent agreed to meet the girls to see if we would take our working relationship further. We met her on a Thursday and it went very well. Friday morning Josi’s sauntering around the house wondering why her agent hasn’t called her yet. The girl cracks me up. My little DIVA.

I’m on the host committee for the Saskatchewan Country Music Awards that take place here in Regina from March 18 - 20. I’m learning a huge amount about what goes on behind the scene’s at these events. I strongly recommend every artist be on a host committee at some point in their career. The earlier the better. The amount of volunteer hours required to put on an event like this is overwhelming and I had no idea. The weekend is shaping up great and I‘m very excited about what we have accomplished. We have Tom Jackson, Tim Taylor, Steve Fox and Casey Clarke all coming to take part. Find out more about that at www.scma.sk.ca Oh yeah, you’ll see my name five times under the nominees category - female vocalist - single of the year - composer of the year - album of the year and rising star woo hoo!

I hope all is well with you. Thanks for checking out my website and I’d love to hear from you. Take care.

Marny