Swift’s much respected musical reputation has been established with years of touring and recording with the acclaimed blues-jazz group Hot Toddy Trio. With nine albums to their credit and a career that spans over 15 years, the group has played numerous Canadian and International folk, jazz and blues festivals.

Like his first recording, Blue Sky Day was produced by Swift and Halifax-based engineer/producer Charles Austin (Joel Plaskett, Buck 65, Matt Mays). Featuring 11 original songs and a cover of “No Depression In Heaven”, it offers a distinctive blend of roots, blues, rock, folk, country and rag style.

Special guests on the album, include acclaimed multi-instrumentalist J.P. Cormier and blues-roots artist Matt Andersen along with Swift’s band percussionist Geoff Arsenault (Ray Bonneville, Mary Jane Lamond), Brian Bourne (Rawlins Cross) on bass and Chapman stick, guitarist Chris Corrigan (Rita MacNeil, Mary Jane Lamond) and keyboard master Bill Stevenson on piano and organ.

With the release of Blue Sky Day, Swift will perform at the Olympics in Vancouver, Folk Alliance in Memphis, ECMA Concert Series in Sydney, album release concerts in Halifax, Fredericton, Saint John, Moncton, Charlottetown and Toronto.

The Trews were on an indie music junket to the east along with other artists and were given the opportunity to play an acoustic set at the Oscar Peterson Theatre in the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. The band had previously stripped down segments of shows for acoustic presentation of their songs but hadn’t approached an entire concert solely from that vantage point. Doing so took some of their audience by surprise and no less intrigued were the band themselves. So compelling was this rearranging of material that they decided to reprise the format for their fans on home turf. John-Angus MacDonald explains, “we thought that it was different enough from what we do to merit its own 90-minute performance. A lot of these songs are strummed on acoustic guitars first anyway. It's where they've come from.”

Colin MacDonald expands further: “we've always had this other side of us, which is 3 acoustic guitars and a hand drum. We used to busk in this way and people would stop to listen to the harmonies. It shines a different light on the band; it's not just the loud, in- your-face bar rock. I don't think there are a lot of bands out there who do the harmony thing, outside of pop groups.”

It followed that The Trews booked themselves into a theatre named for another famed Canadian pianist in Toronto’s Glenn Gould Theatre for two nights in late January 2009. It so happens that among the venue’s appointments of great sound and intimate atmosphere is also a first-rate recording studio. With a long history of chronicling their activities both audio and video, the decision seemed natural to record and film the shows. If the results were good, they would be used in some manner down the road, says John-Angus. “We wanted it to be good first. We wanted it to be worth putting out, worth listening to if you were a fan of the band or were first being introduced to it.”

Following the release of their 2005 self-titled sophomore album, Wintersleep spent months on the road touring through Canada, America and Europe. Upon return to their native Halifax, the band enlisted the ear of veteran producer Tony Doogan (Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian and Super Furry Animals), and hid themselves in studio for April and May of 2007. It was during this time that the ten tracks of Welcome... grew into their final stunning form.

Each song in its own way points to the fact that sometimes looking too hard reveals things best left unseen. But still, hope grows beneath these sable clouds and distant stars, and a light that looms beyond them all. Until then, welcome to the night sky...