Singer-Songwriter Ria Mae

June 15, 2013
Bluebird North Halifax
The Music Room

Review by Ekaterina Sushko

On Saturday night, Ria Mae shared a songwriters’ circle with Ann Fearon, Christina Martin, Keith Mullins and Mel Farrimond at The Music Room in Halifax. She invited Arts East music reviewer, Ekaterina Sushko, to come check out the show. Ekaterina  shares her impressions of the night.

Approaching the Music Room, I can hear the music flowing and someone’s soft voice can be heard. Who’s singing? Ria Mae…The voice and the sound of the guitar take me somewhere despite the fact that I cannot hear the words clearly. The tone of that voice is carrying me away…So when the girl working the door invites me to enter the room, it takes me a while to realize where I am. What’s inside?


The Music Room resembles a small theater with its balcony; however it is a theater where the audience mixes with the actors—songwriters in this case.

Ria and four other brilliant songwriters complimented each other throughout the night and each added some spice to the atmosphere. There was no fear of uncovering some personal stories and sharing the experience of songwriting. It was enjoyable to hear how the songs were written and what it actually takes to write a song.

The thing you can’t help noticing about Ria is, not only does she have a beautiful voice, but she also has a great sense of humour. In the breaks between the songs, jokes were coming out naturally so the audience felt at ease, as if all the spectators were a part of the songwriters’ circle, too.

Ria’s songs have quite a different mood compared to those more conventionally romantic. From lines like, “I’ll be your medicine and you will be mine,” to really naughty (or sexy) phrases like, “Take your clothes off,” definitely fired up the audience and stayed in people’s heads after the show was over.

No one really wanted to leave. I guess we could have spent a couple hours chatting with the songwriters. Remarkably, Ria is very natural and easy to talk to. There is something unique about her that is hard to describe–something only experienced by watching with   your own eyes and listening with your own ears. 

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