Born and raised in Alberta. I am a registered nurse.. just graduated with my Bachelor of Nursing Degree. I have a tatoo on my right ankle. Most importantly I am the proud mom of two wonderful children and the wife of a great man.
My debut album
"Ties that Bind" was released last May. It's played a lot on internet radio and around the world on regular radio as well. I had the help of
John Reischman and The Jaybirds for the music.. all the songs are my originals except the instrumental which John wrote. My son Dylan played mandolin on that tune and he was only 11 at the time.
ALBUM REVIEWS
"It is a sheer pleasure to play your CD on the show. It is not often that we receive a CD from a "new" artist with such a fine talent for songwriting, and the back up band is not too shabby either. The CD has solid musicianship and good spirit. There are a variety of moods with excellent pacing. Fine work."
Arthur Berman, "Pacific Pickin" - CITR 101.9 FM, Vancouver
This is an excerpt from a review that appeared in the Feb 2007 issue of
BLUEGRASS NOW magazine:
"Blackbird, Beneath the Willow and Hearbreaker are very strong songs featuring dynamic performances by all participants, with Lovers' Fate possessing all the elements of a bluegrass classic. What she (Ferris) has in abundance is conviction in her lyrics, and the home-hewn vibrancy essential in this acoustic music. Worth tracking down."
Donald Teplyske, "That High Lonesome Sound", 97.7 CK-FM, Alberta
"I consider Heather Ferris right along the likes of other up and coming female Bluegrass artists like
Donna Hughes and
Becky Buller, both of which also write and perform their own songs. The instrumentalists on this album are stand up musicians, including her young son Dylan who is one of those kids that can pick up anything and make music with it."
Uncle Billy Dunbar, "Country Unplugged Bluegrass Radio", K-107 FM and KG98 FM, Central Iowa and on World Wide Bluegrass.
"When I get CD's in the mail, there's always one that stands out from the others I get every week. When I got Heather's CD, I put it in the machine and from the very first word and note on the CD a smile came to my face. A debut CD for Heather, she has gathered some of the finest musicians the west coast of Canada could ever want to have. John Reischman and the Jaybirds back her up on this first effort and I can say the band compliments her singing thru the whole album. A gem to anyone's collection and a must for people who like fresh new songs done with style."
Kickin' Canadian Grass With Your Host, Terry Poirier "It's Canadian, it's American, it's World Wide, but most of all, it kicks grass!!"
The following review appears on
MusicNewsNashville
"Canadian songbird and songwriter Heather Ferris will tie you up in good solid bluegrass for an enjoyable experience. Starting with an original Blackbird - Heather's refreshing clear voice - sounds authentically bluegrass - and most tunes on this project are penned by her personally. She is a singer as well as songwriter - all wrapped into one loving and beautiful person. Her homespun lyrics - are exceptional and she knows how to round out a good tune. This project is her heart poured into songs that you will want to learn to play yourself.
Heather's son
Dylan is just 12 yrs old and a mandolinist - his gift would make most adult pickers envious. Not only on the mandolin but just about anything with strings. His maturity belies his young age. Heather's husband Bob also plays banjo with their family band - the
Rusty Bucket Pluckers. Dylan accompanies John Reischman on the song Nesser. I really love the tune Ridin' the Dog and Nesser, as well as Blackbird and the title track - Ties That Bind. She is hotly requested on internet radio - as the internet audience is one of the first to discover this great original music collection.
John Reischman - (friend of Heather's) and his band guests on her debut project and make this offering really something special. John and his Jaybirds really help Heather's lyrics, sparkle, under their magical weave of old time bluegrass strains. Heather has woven ties into your heart - with her raw talent - lyrical sensibility, and good old fashioned fun. Hers are certainly "Ties that Bind" your heart."
Gracie Muldoon ~ Muldoon in the Afternoon
With 9 of 10 songs from the pen of Heather Ferris this is a unique CD of bluegrass music. Heather has excellent songwriting skills with imagination and depth of feelings.Heather gets together with John Reischman and the Jaybirds to produce a fine mix of music and vocals.Heather and 'Jaybird'
Trisha Gagnon blend vocal harmonies with great compatibility and a good example is on the cookin' bluegrass tune Heartbreaker. Heather's sense of humour comes out in force on the novelty tune "Kiss My Attributes Goodbye"..putting a spin on the heartbreaker-he-done-me-wrong tradition.A special added bonus of the CD is an instrumental tune written by John Reischman, Nesser, played by Heather's teenage son Dylan Ferris on mandolin..very tasty.Ties that Bind is a terrific project with a top-flight back up group "The Jaybirds" and original songs adding to the bluegrass genre.
George McKnight~ Uptown Bluegrass
Not a prolific writer, Heather has to wait for "divine inspiration" for the words to make their appearance. She describes her song writing as "it's almost like someone else writes the song and delivers it to me". She's been woken up in the night with a song and two of her best ones were written while cleaning the toilet. She attributes that inspiration to the lyric fairies living in the plumbing! She gets to try out her newly written tunes with her family band before setting them loose on unsuspecting folks.
