Blind River given the gift of song for Christmas Eve

Lois O’Hanley-Jones, Patty Dunlop and Debbie Rivard have been a musical trio for over 20 years.

Their musical relationship has not only endured 20 plus years of friendship but resulted in the release of their debut album back in December of 2020.

This year, the trio has recorded a musical gift for their community, a place they are proud to live. The song is called Blind River Christmas Eve.

“Having a song specific to Blind River was important [to us],” says trio member Patty Dunlop, who notes the song was originally written almost five years ago. 

"We wanted the people in our town to have a song they could call their own. However, the song does possess enough generic quality that the imagery and intentions [are relatable to a wider audience]. ” 

Women in Song have always played their original material at their concerts.

"When we were asked to do Christmas concerts, we again wanted to have original [holiday] material in our show."

Blind River Christmas Eve has all the elements that make Women in Song so special as a musical act, including their signature three-part harmonies, overtop a musical fusion of folk, country and pop sound.

"It was our first original Christmas song,” says Dunlop.

“We've released it is a stand-alone song for now. However, Women in Song plan to record a Christmas Album with twelve original songs to be released in November of 2022.”

Dunlop notes that the trio has already written four additional original holiday songs for that future release.

The spark that made the trio actually record and release Blind River Christmas Eve came by way of a call-out from radio station Moose FM in Elliot Lake.

“They reached out to us to provide a song for their Christmas Radiothon,” she says.

“We only had one week to respond so we quickly booked Riverview Studios in Blind River and our producer Ken Zoschke ended up playing the bass and the drums on the song.”

Like many of Women in Song’s tunes, Lois O’Hanley-Jones took the lead in the writing of the song. 

“When it's brought to the table, we collectively refine the song and add harmonies,” says Dunlop.

For the listener, Blind River Christmas Eve has a classic holiday sound and some home-spun lyrical imagery.

“[The song] is supposed to feel comforting and it is supposed to remind you of home … We love, that for the most part, Christmas songs are happy and cheery music. We love that they evoke timeless memories and stays special because they are really only performed and listened to at a certain time of the year.”

Blind River Christmas Eve can be heard on most streaming platforms including iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube.

Of course, the trio’s debut album is also available and can be purchased by contacting Women in Song on their Facebook page, their webpage, or by emailing them at [email protected]. 

In Blind River, the album can be purchased at Barrels of Goodies, and in Elliot Lake at Alpine Flowers.

To read a previous story about Women in Song’s debut album, click here.