Halifax Pop Explosion - Ruth Minnikin

myspace

Here’s the deal. Other than Joel Plaskett, Ruth Minnikin probably has the most music cred of any Nova Scotian. Her career is quite remarkable. She signed to a major at 17. She guested as a vocalist on musician on over 45 records. She was/is part of some of the best bands to ever roll out of Nova Scotia (The Gutheries & The Heavy Blinkers), but her amazingly unique voice can be heard on bands as different as Old Man Luedecke and The Russian Futurists. But more important than any random fact I could toss out is that her country/folk/American style is as good as you are going to find these days.

To be completely honest, I’ve always held off from writing about Ruth (and her brother Gabe) because we went to the same school. We all went to Grosvenor Wentworth. But instead of trying to force some tale of friendship or childhood memory to jump start a review, I always struggled because I actually wasn’t really close to either. It’s hard to write about music written by someone you know, but I find writing about someone you wish you had known better even harder.

At 17, I was listening to rap and Thrush Hermit (only because we hung out with Joel, Ian and Rob daily), so trying to process the type of music Ruth was playing was beyond me. It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered her back catalog and realized how talented she was. As warming as a woolen sweater, but still somehow as playful as a child full of wonderment, Ruth’s music transcends genres and eras. With bursts of French horn, well placed mandolin and accordion, Minnikin's country folk is able to turn your world view from cold greys to sepia tones.

I’ve never seen her play live, but I’ve spent hours listening to her breezy, backyard tracks (just take a listen to Nanny Jones and you'll hear what I'm talking about). She a terrific story teller – her intimate, tell you a secret style reminds me of Laura Gibson - and the type of artist that can stroll into a club as an unknown and leave with a room full of new fans. HPX is providing us all a chance to see her and The Sunparlour Players in a tiny little club is enough to make me smile and certainly enough to get me to write about a Nova Scotian act deserving of much more acclaim.