Fortunate Ones’ new holiday offering was born out of the ashes of a tough year; one that has been life-altering for so many, in so many ways. Produced by Canadian music legend, Alan Doyle, “Hold on to Christmas Day” is cautiously hopeful and immediately joyous. It is a send-off to the rollercoaster that has been 2020. It is a deep exhale and a toast to a fresh start, equal parts elegy and anthem.
“We’ll learn to look back on the year come and gone and bury it’s memory like snow on the lawn, and we’ll tip all our glasses to carrying on, if we hold on to Christmas Day.”
This year has been difficult but with their familiar optimism, Fortunate Ones remind us that “a year’s just a circle round the sun – the good and the bad ones gone and so many yet to come.”
No strangers to holiday music, in 2016 Fortunate Ones’ original Christmas song, This Empty Street from their All Will Be Well EP was singled out by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as one of his favourite new Christmas songs.
Fortunate Ones is a contemporary folk duo from Newfoundland . Celebrated for their harmony-entwined songs of hope, resilience and the human condition and their joyfully disarming live shows, they have toured relentlessly for 7 years, bringing their open-hearted performances to thousands of people along the way. Catherine and Andrew have been busy since the release of their JUNO-nominated debut album The Bliss in 2015 – thousands of miles, hundreds of shows, award winning albums and scores of fans have all been hallmarks of the success the duo has experienced since their humble beginnings in St. John’s.
Their debut album, The Bliss was nominated for a JUNO Award, garnered two #1 singles on CBC Radio 2’s Top 20 , won the 2016 rising star ECMA, the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Award for vocal group of the year and four 2015 Music Newfoundland and Labrador Awards. The title track from their sophomore album, Hold Fast, hit #1 on the CBC Music Top 20 and remained on the chart for 10 weeks. The album also took home three Music NL Awards in 2018: pop artist of the year, video of the year for “Northern Star” (directed by Jason Levangie) and album of the year, was nominated for four East Coast Music Awards: album, group recording, songwriter, and fans’ choice entertainer of the year and a 2019 Canadian Folk Music Award for vocal group of the year.
“Fortunate Ones are fully contemporary, yet when you watch them you can’t help but feel you’re watching the ‘next in line’ of great Newfoundland entertainers.”— Tom Power, Host CBC q
“Fortunate Ones is a rare gem. Two voices singing as one.”— Alan Doyle, Great Big Sea
