Songs & Stories

Join Theatre Hill Bar + Café and Breakwater Books for a weekly gathering in August that brings together local musicians and writers for an afternoon of live folk music and readings. Drop in, grab a coffee or a drink, and settle in for a chance to connect with the creative voices in our community.

FEATURED ARTISTS/AUTHORS:

• August 9: Music by Sandy Morris & Anita Best, Reading by Maggie Burton
• August 16: Music by Lady Lupin, Reading by Angela Antle
• August 23: Music by Salt Beef Junkies, Reading by Clayton Smith
• August 30: Music by Anne Devine, Reading by Allison Graves

THIS WEEK:

Anne is descended from a line of poets, songwriters and literary folk in our province – John Valentine Devine (The Badger Drive), P.K. Devine (Devine’s Folklore of Newfoundland) and her own grandfather, J.M. Devine, wrote the beloved piece, “Pat Murphy’s Meadow.” Anne started her musical career at CBC Television as performer and backup vocals director/arranger/singer for the popular Newfoundland series, “All Around the Circle”! 

After working for 2 years on “Circle”, she continued on to do the first season of the “Ryan’s Fancy Show”, the “Step to Stardom” series and various other CBC TV and radio specials......while also starting her guitar teaching career! 

Anne moved to Toronto at the age of 19 and for four years was very involved with the recording industry and also more CBC national television productions - working with some of Toronto’s finest musicians including Moe Koffman, Colleen Peterson and Ken Tobias.      A special treat was performing for one week at Yorkville’s famous Riverboat as a trio with Newfoundland musicians Brian MacLeod and Dave Nicol.

Upon returning to Newfoundland, Anne continued her involvement with recordings and produced/arranged various local CDs including The Ennis Sisters, Spirit of Newfoundland, Cheryl Hickman and more.

In recent years, Anne became known for her long standing engagement at the Greek restaurant Mama Soula’s, where she sang and played every Friday and Saturday night for 15 years....and then her weekly Saturday nights at The Woodstock for the past 4 years.

Anne is currently performing at various local venues including The Majestic and Slainte, while also active with recordings and continues to enjoy her passion of teaching guitar!

Allison Graves received her BA in English literature from Dalhousie University and her MA in creative writing from Memorial University, where she wrote a collection of short stories called Soft Serve that was shortlisted for an Atlantic Book Award. She received the Craig Dobbin Legacy Scholarship to study at University College Dublin. Graves is working toward a PhD in Irish literature and teaches in the English department at Memorial University in St. John’s.