busted flat records
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Tia McGraff
Tia McGraff is coming home for the launch of her latest record. The singer-songwriter from Port Dover, Ontario has been based in Nashville since 1999, finding success on Americana radio, TV and with audiences in the US, the UK and here at home.
Her current tour will be highlighted by a stop in Port Dover on June 7, where McGraff will launch Day in My Shoes (Busted Flat) for hometown fans. The tour will also take her to Wales, the UK, Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, and Yosemite Park, California.
McGraff co-wrote each of the tracks on Day in my Shoes with her husband and acoustic guitarist, Tommy Parham. They met when McGraff moved to Nashville in 1999, and became a writing and recording team a year later.
Keith Render of Country Music Round-Up calls McGraff’s style, “a woozy concoction of easy listening music that sparkles with sublime and sophisticated inspired country sounds. Playing songs from the heart, Tia's delightful alto vocals take the music to celestial heights. Sweet and sour, gentle and enraged, she leaves no emotion untapped or disturbed. It’s enchanting and compelling listening.”
McGraff’s approach to writing, recording, and live performing is simple, “I want to reach out to those who are searching for something,” she says. “I hope listeners find themselves uplifted, inspired and feeling a greater sense of purpose. If we are in a true place of love, that’s all God wants -- and that’s all there is -- there’s nothing else.”
Randy Bachman (BTO and Guess Who) worked with McGraff on her last album. “Tia McGraff is a fantastic singer with her own vocal personality which reminds me of an early Linda Ronstadt. She is a very intuitive songwriter who knows what a song needs to make it tick. She’s a joy to work with. It’s just a matter of time until that magic moment when everyone agrees it’s Tia’s time.”
McGraff’s message is heard through the song “Catfish Deacon,” sure to be a crowd-pleaser, which tells the story of a small-town philosopher who doles out advice from the hood of his Cadillac, to the more somber “Second Chance,” about a couple seeking each others’ forgiveness for transgressions.
Like many North American singer-songwriters, McGraff blurs the lines between genres and draws from many different influences. Her sound has been compared to Lucy Kaplansky and Gretchen Peters.
McGraff’s 2005 album Outside Of The Circle was hailed as a collection of life inspiring songs that planted her firmly in the Americana and singer-songwriter genre. Her previous indie albums, Small Town Life and Jewel's Cafe, were recognized by fans and critics in North America and Europe. There was a nomination for indie album of the year in Europe, and airplay on CMT.
Helen Mitchell, of Folks and Roots, encourages fans to catch McGraff’s upcoming tour, “I don't think it will be long before Tia has outgrown [smaller] venues and seeing her perform in such intimate locations will be a distant memory. I suggest that before this happens, you grab the next opportunity with both hands.”