Sirens in the News

Sirens come home to Home County

July 2007

It’s like a mini shared concert, Creighton says. We might do a song swap or just choose a topic. It’s really informal. […] I love this festival, adds Lawton. I think it’s just a beautiful, laid-back, family thing.

Hearts Made Great feels like “live movie”

November 9, 2006

I think we’ve made up something new because we don’t know how to talk about it. It’s not musical theatre, it’s not a concert, it’s not a series of monologues, it’s not a revue. At the same time, it’s all of those things. It’s a complete hybrid.

Hearts Made Great shouldn’t be missed

November 12, 2005

There is much more in my notes about Hearts Made Great and the way it shares so many feelings and thoughts—as experienced by Londoners—of the war on the homefront or the Normandy beaches.

But all that needs saying is this: See it and hear it and feel it.

FAME Review: Sirens – Live at the Ugly Mug Café

September 2005

Although often folk music tell stories, histories/herstories and other cultural-social thematics, it is not easy to blend them with music that is attentive to the universal market — The Sirens have succeedd.

Richardsons allot kudos from classics to country

April 4, 2005

With dozens of London musicians performing or taking home the hardware—or both—the first-ever Jack Richardson Music Awards gala was held last night…. Fan voting determined honourees in 17 categories, announced as part of the gala.

Borderlands covers musical gamut

November 27, 2003

Out in the borderlands, things are always edgy.… It all happens somewhere near the borders of choral, theatrical and music theatre productions.

Borderlands explores new frontiers

November 26, 2003

It’s a concert as well as a theatrical production, but at the same time it’s not musical theatre.… When people think about choir they are not going to be expecting what they see from this group of singers.

Borderlands Project: Music on the edge and thriving

November 20, 2003

Everything you have ever believed about folk and choral performances is about to be challenged. Forget the formal and disciplined display of choirs singing - and only singing.

Sirens, Smilin’

December 21, 2002

When I put Smilin’ on the first time I did not want it to end — ever. Each track led into another that I loved. I was hooked.

Sirens sound at Sarnia pub

June 8, 2002

The list goes from Ella Fitzgerald to Björk when the members of the trio Sirens talk about their musical influences. Saturday, the London-based group with the eclectic tastes plays Sarnia’s Paddy Flaherty’s Restaurant and Pub.

Sirens set to enthrall this evening

June 2, 2002

They’ve been hailed as a powerful force in Canadian folk music, and have enthralled audiences at folk festivals and events such as the 2001 Canada Games.

Sirens to perform at Rome’s next week

May 1, 2002

Our desire is to impact peoples’ lives… we wouldn’t be whole people if we weren’t doing this all the time.

The Lure of Sirens

April 23, 2001

Now, Sirens is set to entice and entertain north shore audiences with their chemistry, offering solid skillful vocals backed up by guitars, bodhran and recorders, Sunday night at the Outpost. In addition, the trio will remain in the area for a time to offer vocal harmonies workshops in several area schools.

Review of Smilin’

April 15, 2000

No tentative vocals here. The feel of this CD is somewhere between lure and attack. These women have strong vocals that are always on pitch. Sometimes they sing solo, sometimes two back up a lead voice, and sometimes they choose a full trio sound.

Harmonies blend in trio

April 14, 2000

It’s very important for us to have the creative element. It knits us together as a group. When the songwriter brings a song to the group, she has specific ideas about where to go with it. But all three have input and the song can often change direction completely.

London’s Sirens Keep Smilin’

November 22, 1999

Two summers ago, Sirens played the Open Stage at the Home County Folk Festival; last summer, they opened the show. In less than two years, Sirens have established themselves locally, and the sound of their voices should carry them much further. They share with their mythic namesake not only commanding vocals, but also a composition of disparate parts.

Review from Home County Folk Festival

July 19, 1999

I was struck by the comradery of the group, and the seeming ease with which they achieve vocal harmony. Sitting casually on Galloway’s back porch, they would jump from conversation and note-taking to performance — and distinctive voices would blend and move and wave together. As they range out of London, playing Summerfolk in Georgian Bay, and booking gigs in the Maritimes, the Sirens will undoubtedly etch a place on the map of contemporary Canadian music.

Reeling with Success, Sirens are Reelin’ in Fans

August 15, 1998

As more and more fans are being drawn to their music, Sirens (Nora Galloway, Jo-Ann Lawton, Donna Creighton) are finding themselves farther and farther from home. The music is eclectic, often hilarious, then moving or driving, thrilling audiences with close, hard-hitting harmonies in songs that are brilliantly written and arranged.

People were drawn to the Sirens by their haunting harmonies

August 1, 1998

The voices of the three Sirens are rich and powerful; blending, merging and harmonizing, they weave a web of sound that carries an audience into another realm. Indeed, it is the folk element, the strong Celtic undercurrent that most distinguishes the Sirens’ music, that gives it the mythic and enchanting quality. And the Sirens are storytellers, balladeers and poets.

Sirens Luring Fans, a Career

March 27, 1998

Rich and famous, the Sirens are not. They are barely known, in fact. But if determination and hard work can change that, then watch out.

Review of self-titled CD

November 13, 1997

Read the label on a bottle of fine Cabernet Sauvignon and it’ll go something like this: rich bouquet, firm and tannic, with a hint of boysenberry/blackcurrant (for flavour) and aged in an oak barrel (for mellow taste). Uncork the bottle, pour yourself a glass and give this disc a whirl.

Sirens Continuing to Lure New Fans

March 1, 1997

Jo-Ann Lawton, Nora Galloway and Donna Creighton discovered quickly that while one is OK and two is company, three can be the best of all. Three can listen to each other and try out new musical ideas. Three can play off the others’ lyrical interpretations. Three can sometimes finish each others’ sentences.