Biography

Revitalized. Re-energized. Reborn.

Music will always be essential to the makeup and mode of expression for Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah Smith. It is the language she uses to spread joy, to affirm and to inspire. Renowned for the passion she brings to each live show, to each recording session, to her writing and indeed her life, Smith is beloved by her fans for the intimacy and authenticity she brings to her craft, and the way each one of them can identify with the way she brings her own truth to every note, every lyric and every interaction. 

After a quarter century of being known as a darling of, London, Ontario, and equally as the hardest working roots/rocker in Canada, Smith made some dramatic, but ultimately soul-restoring changes to her life involving a change in locale, and a shift in the way she approaches life. 

The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic brought with it the time to reflect on her life and career. The outcome of these deep ruminations was a decision to seek solace, peace and spiritual revival. The choice led her to make the journey to the westernmost part of the continent, setting up a new homestead nestled in the lush greenery of British Columbia’s Pender Island. Smith has since come to revel in the quietness of the tall trees, the sea breezes and the majesty of pure nature. It has restored her entirely – mind, body and spirit. And those who love her words, music and shows are the beneficiaries of this revival.

Amidst the tight-knit community of like-minded folks, Smith has rediscovered the importance of balance between her life as a recording and touring artist, and that of a simple living, breathing human. She has come to value the inspiring power of being part of a community, the simple tasks and joys of daily life, and the peace and spiritual contentment that comes from constant communing with nature.

Besides understanding the crucial importance of ‘down time’, the new, more equitable lifestyle has rekindled Sarah’s creative and artistic instincts, but also opened her up to new avenues of expression, new modes of writing, and instilled a deep desire to share and mingle her artistry with others.

The songs that are emerging since the move out West in 2020 are the outcome of several open-ended collaborative sessions with similarly inspired musicians, yet are still infused with the essential components that are hallmarks of a Sarah Smith composition – truth, passion, connection, and conviction.

After becoming a cult legend as part of the proto-Punk band, The Joys, Smith began to forge her own path in the 2010s, with this risk affirmed by both critical acclaim and adoration from fans across Canada, and abroad in the United States and Europe.

The acclaim was well earned based on her sometimes raucous, sometimes plaintive, but always sincere and energized live shows. The songs that have always emanated from her immense talent are infused with a potent depth of emotion and authenticity. She has chronicled the loves and losses of her life throughout her recording career on a series of evocative solo albums, including the acclaimed Stronger Now (2012), The Journey (2014), 11 (2016), A Christmas Wish and Live in Concert (both released in 2018) through (2019’s) Unveiling and Sarah Smith & The Lovers of London (2021). She also released thirty co-written songs, all remote collaborations during the pandemic, on Songs From When The World Went Still (2021).

An in-demand performer, Sarah has played on stages both massive and intimate, sharing the bill with the likes of Melissa Etheridge, Nancy Wilson, KT Tunstall, Emm Gryner, Joel Plaskett, Sass Jordan, Bif Naked, David Wilcox, 54-40, Carole Pope and many more notable artists.

Each new song, each new album is a glimpse into Sarah’s personal journey as a human, as an artist, as she navigates through the peaks and valleys of her life. Her compelling and often brutally honest selfexamination is mirrored through her powerful live performances, with both the output of her creativity and her engaging live experiences offering a real and profound connection with her audiences.

Whether entertaining an audience in her hometown of London, Ontario, or in her adopted home province of British Columbia, or indeed on her many international sojourns to Europe – everyone witnessing a Sarah Smith performance feels a kinship and can readily identify with her feelings, experiences, heartaches and joys.

Her hard-won sense of peace, the revitalization of her heart and creative spirit is leading Sarah to challenge herself even more – to seek out new roads to travel musical and literally. The rootedness she now feels on Pender Island is evoking a desire to bring her music further afield, with Scandinavia and perhaps Australia and New Zealand in her sites.

On stage, Sarah Smith is a force of nature – from placid to ferocious, from fierce to loving. As a recording artist, she captures the breadth of the human experience through her own life, transmitting the gamut of emotions to her listeners. However one experiences it, a time in the presence of Sarah and her music is both unforgettable, and life-affirming.