Naiman excited about her upcoming concert featuring original music at Hillside Farm

A great venue, fantastic musicians, and a lovely afternoon await those attending Hannah Shira Naiman’s concert at Hillside Farm.

Naiman’s second Huntsville performance, and first at Hillside Farm (2295 Hwy 60), is taking place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 30.

However, she isn’t a stranger to the venue, where she has witness other artists’ performances and is excited to play there herself.

“Every time I’ve seen a performance there, the sound has been amazing,” says Naiman. “I think that it is in large part due to Bill Stewart, who has been doing the sound at the venue. Acoustics aside, just visually, it’s a stunning venue and anywhere you turn, you’re looking at the audience or out the back door, it’s a lovely space.”

Naiman will be performing original songs that have a style reminiscent of Appalachian music, with some influence from traditional English music and ballads. The audience will be treated to clawhammer banjo, fiddle, acoustic guitar, and bass.

“There will be some really lovely tight harmonies between myself and Nathan Smith, who will be backing me up on fiddle,” says Naiman. “And the guitar player is my father, Arnie Naiman, so that will be nice as well.”

Growing up in a house where both her parents were musicians, Naiman was introduced to a musical life at birth. Her father, a renowned clawhammer banjo player in his own right, passed his skills along to his daughter.

“In my house, music was always a thing, my parents often when I was little would put me to bed to band rehearsals and drag me out to square dances,” says Naiman. “I would fall asleep on a pile of coats in the backroom while they were playing for dances.”

However, it wasn’t until her adult years that Naiman really sunk her heart and soul into music – specifically the banjo as a way of reconnecting with her musical upbringing.

In her creative soul, Naiman is inclined to take the lead on artistic endeavours. She can’t be just part of the scene; she needs to be the one creating it. As such, Naiman was both a dancer and dance choreographer before diving into being a musician in the mid-2000s.

“Once I started playing the banjo and I picked up the fiddle again – I had taken a long break since I was a kid – the more I played them, the more I wanted to write music on them,” she says. “And here I am.”

The Hillside Farm performance will feature many songs from Naiman’s third record, Wheels Won’t Go, which features music inspired by her move from Toronto to Northern Ontario, the COVID pandemic, and her experience of new motherhood.

To keep with the motherhood theme, Naiman’s concert has free entry for “Babes in Arms,” so mothers and fathers can bring their babies and toddlers to enjoy the afternoon. The rest of the ticket prices are very reasonable – $22.95 for Huntsville Festival of the Arts members, $27 for adult non-members, $25 for senior non-members, and $20 for youth.

To buy tickets, visit: Hannan Shira Naiman Concert.

“Hillside Farm is beautiful, live music is beautiful,” says Naiman. “I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than to listen to acoustic music in a beautiful setting like the Hillside Farm.”

After the show, the Naimans (Hannah and Arnie) will be leading a jam that will begin at 4:30 p.m. and run about an hour or so. Everyone is welcome to come to the jam.