Elizabeth Shepherd debuts "Suits & Ties" from her Montréal project

"Suits & Ties" is off songwriter/pianist Elizabeth Shepherd's ambitious Montréal recording and book project. 

Writes Elizabeth Shepherd...

"Five years ago, I set out to interview people - complete strangers that I met on the street, at the market, in the subway - you name it. I asked them to tell me something about their story, their Montreal. I collected all kinds of tales - some humorous, some tragic, some outright bizarre. I then sifted through the interviews and narrowed them down to 11, which I then turned into songs. The bulk are in French, and some are in English. Each song tells someone's story, and refers to a specific location in Montreal. From there, the project exploded; I realized that I could place each of these locations that I was singing about on a map, and that they were all within walking distance of each other. I decided to create a 50-minute walk that, in the time it takes to listen to all 11 songs, would also physically take the listener through each of the places the songs were about - so people can actually walk the album, so to speak."

For those who can't be in Montreal, the 4-time JUNO nominee teamed up with filmmaker Stefan Verna to create what Stefan calls a "visual album" which will be projected behind the band as they play.

While Elizabeth's book about the project comes out with the vinyl release on Feb 8, the Montreal album is available digitally right now. The project charts an informal oral history of the city, focusing on stories that have been largely left out of the official narrative, like the history of jazz and the achievements of Montreal's black community, the gay rights movement which was pioneering in Canada, and much more. Watch the "Suits & Ties" video following the list of Elizabeth's upcoming shows.



Tour dates
November 28: Penticton, BC - The Dream Café
November 29: Canmore, AB - Artsplace
November 30: Calgary, AB - Lolita's
December 1: Saskatoon, SK - The Bassment
February 2: Val-David, QC - Église de Val-David
February 8: Toronto, ON - The Music Gallery: CD, LP and BOOK LAUNCH
February 9: Montreal, QC – Le Ministere CD, LP and BOOK LAUNCH
February 20: Quebec City, QC - TBA
March 7: Cranbrook, BC – Auntie Barb’s
March 8: Kaslo, BC – Langham Theatre
March 9: Vernon, BC – The Vernon Jazz Club