My friend Julie first introduced me to The Wailin’ Jennys, and I’m really grateful to her for that. The Jennys are from Winnipeg, and have influences from Bluegrass, Country, and Traditional Scots-Irish tunes. In a lot of ways, perhaps, it’s both apt and misleading to say that the Jennys are a sort of countrified Indigo Girls. But I think that the emphasis on vocal harmonies, and attention to craft, make it a moderately-successful analogy. In any case, their sound features big, goosebump-inducing harmonies, and their performances (as you can see below) are both commanding and gentle. Not the usual combination, to be sure, and one that is well worth embracing…