Teresa Doyle

A folk singer hailing from Belfast on Prince Edward Island, Canada, she draws her material from a deep connection to the Celtic heritage of that community, blending inherited tunes with fresh material of her own. Music entered her life in 1982 when she began performing a cappella versions of traditional songs from the Atlantic Canada region. Over the years she has performed at numerous folk festivals across her home province and in Europe, though during the 1990s those appearances were limited largely to weekends while she and her husband operated an organic farm in Belfast. Her first recording appeared in 1987 on her own Bedlam Records label under the title Prince Edward Isle Adieu, showcasing the bold, lightly irreverent yet consistently sincere approach she brings to the folk repertoire. The album Forerunner took its inspiration from a symbolic event preceding a death and examined the amateur folklore her father had pursued during her childhood; tracks such as “Haul The Jib,” which recounted a ghost boat, and “Iridescent Blue,” named for the color of a ghost’s dress, reflected that interest. Cut in Montreal, the sessions featured former members of Tailor’s Twist—Kim Vincent on fiddle and Jon Goodman on Irish pipes. Her third release, the 1993 album Stowaway, gathered songs drawn from the experiences of the Micmac people and early settlers; its title track recounted the tale of a Scottish woman who emigrated to Prince Edward Island in the early nineteenth century, was rejected by her own community, was taken in by local Micmacs, mastered their herbal knowledge, and eventually returned to her original group as a healer. The project exemplified Doyle’s practice of mining written folklore to create new pieces rather than drawing solely on the existing body of folk songs. She also devoted extended periods to studying Gaelic under the Rev. Gael Matheson in Caledonia so she could perform pieces such as “Eilean An Aigh (Isle Of Content)” in their original language. For the album she assembled a complete ensemble, with production and vocal support from Oliver Schroer; the musicians included Northern Ireland’s Loretto Red-Tahney on penny whistle and flute, guitarist Ray Montford, bassist David Woodhead (of Stan Rogers fame), drummer Rich Grenspon, harmonica player Carlos Del Junco, trumpeter David Travers-Smith, and Keith Murphy on keyboards and accordion. She later completed a tour of Japan that concluded with a concert at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo.