"Lynn's music gets to the essence of what life is all about" - Charles Adler, Global TV. Known for memorable, emotionally-rich songs inspired by everyday experience, Lynn Harrison is a Toronto-based singer-songwriter with a growing following across Canada and in the United States. Born in Dallas Texas and raised in Winnipeg Manitoba, she elevates true stories of love, loss and compromise in songs that are moving and memorable. An accomplished guitarist and singer, she is at home performing anywhere from a concert hall to a subway corridor. She has released three independent CDs, "Lynoleum" (2001), "Learning Curve" (2003) and "Broadview" (2006) and has appeared on numerous compilation CDs including one that also includes Bruce Springsteen and Aimee Mann.
Lynn Harrison - Bio
A prolific writer of songs with “a timeless quality” (Jim Marino, CFMU) Lynn Harrison moves listeners, whether she’s singing in a concert hall, a living room, or a busy public space.
In songs that are carefully-crafted and immediately memorable, Lynn’s voice rises above the noisy distractions of today’s crowded entertainment world. “It’s my kind of music,” one subway passenger exclaimed when he discovered Lynn, who holds a licence as a subway musician in Toronto. “And everyone would like it!” It’s the warmth and wisdom in the songs that shine through, along with the welcoming quality of Lynn’s voice and the sweet simplicity of her melodies.
An accomplished singer and guitarist, Lynn has performed widely throughout Ontario, Eastern Canada, Manitoba and New York, in festivals (Stan Rogers Festival, Winterfolk), clubs and community events. Often praised for her ability to illuminate the everyday (“At last, a singer- songwriter who dares to be different by daring to be normal,” Jeff Robson, CJUM) Harrison takes the “precious moments of life and turns them into musical jewels” (Jan Vanderhorst, CKPC). Charles Adler of Global TV said simply: “Lynn’s music gets to the essence of what life is all about”.
Like her well-loved previous recordings, “Lynoleum” (2001) and “Learning Curve” (2003), both of which enjoyed widespread airplay on CBC and public radio, “Broadview” is a collection of simple songs about the big picture. Although “Broadview” is named after a street near her Toronto home (Lynn was raised in Winnipeg and born in Texas) it offers a perspective on life anywhere: wherever people fall in love, cope with losses and search for meaning.
The life-affirming quality of Lynn Harrison’s music (along with her focus on community and social justice) has led community organizations such as Toronto Hospice and the Credit Valley Hospital to commission their own Lynn Harrison songs. "Every Hand" for Credit Valley won an award for its inspirational quality and accompanying video. An experienced writer-for-hire, some of Lynn's most popular songs ("I Would Recognize You", "Luminous Veil" and others) were written "by request".
Lynn’s songs have been chosen for eight compilation CDs to date, including one that also includes Bruce Springsteen, Aimee Mann and Grace Slick (“Songs Inspired by Literature”, 2001) and she has received numerous songwriting honours (John Lennon Songwriting Contest, Unisong and others). Once a songwriter for Canadian Sesame Street, Lynn Harrison now visits schools regularly throughout Ontario’s Durham Region with the SASS Program (School Alliance of Student Songwriters) where she acts as a mentor to young people writing their first songs.
In addition to writing songs and singing, Lynn is at work on a inspirational book for artists working outside the commercial mainstream called Singing to Nowhere Station. It began as a blog of Lynn’s first year as a subway musician, a story featured in a full-page article in The Toronto Star, December 2004.