Twilight Hotel

One of ' 9 to Watch in 09'-Performing Songwriter

Twilight Hotel named one of ’9 to watch in 09’ by USA Publication Performing Songwriter Magazine

‘9 to Watch in 09’

Alt-folkies Twilight Hotel boast gorgeously matched voices, smartly crafted songs and a hell of a record, extending far beyond the cold and lonely prairies of their native Manitoba, Canada.

Brandy Zdan’s and Dave Quanbury’s sublime harmonies, stellar songwriting and dark, vintage vibes are splendid and rough-hewn on 2008’s Highway Prayer, with legendary Canadian singer/songwriter/producer Colin Linden at the board. The album not only won the Western Canadian Music Award for Outstanding Roots Album (Duo/Group), it also debuted at No. 2 on the Euro Americana chart last June.

Now with a slate of high-profile appearances under their belts and a showcase slot at this year’s SXSW, the husband and wife’s intriguing creative chemistry is sure to turn more than a few heads in the U.S. And, in the spirit of the truly independent artist, they’ve journeyed this far without any North American label association.

Twilight Hotel-Please don't mention the dreaded f-word: Folk

The Winnipeg Sun by Darryl Sterdan
Roots duo Twilight Hotel are one of those acts whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And both those parts were pretty impressive to begin with. On their own, Dave Quanbury and Brandy Zdan are solid singer-songwriters — but when they got together as Twilight Hotel, something special happened. Hey, don’t take our word for it; their second CD Highway Prayer earned them a Juno nomination. And their heavy touring schedule is also helping spread the word. Speaking of touring, they’re heading back out on the road again — but not before playing a hometown show tomorrow at Times Change(d). And not before Brandy was nice enough to answer some of our dumb questions.-read on

Live Review from Juneau, Alaska

A live show review from their performance at the Atlin Art & Music Festival:

This Winnipeg duo featuring, Brandy Zdan & Dave Quanbury intrigued me with their program bio and even more so with their live set. Speaking of their latest album, Highway Prayer, produced by fellow Canadian bluesman Colin Linden, the write up describes,

Highway Prayer (WCMA Outstanding Roots Album Duo/Group)… continue’s the duo’s provocative love story showcasing their characteristic dark twang and noir cabaret all the while centered around their rich harmonies.

I couldn’t help but think of Tom Waits (incredibly lyrical stortelling and twangy instrumentation) but mostly was impressed by Zdan’s guitar playing and blues crooning (though I really loved when she played accordian too) and found myself trying to think of a blueswoman to compare her too but was at a loss. There are a lot of great videos on YouTube of these guys performing live as well as music videos.

Jonas Lamb, Juneau, Alaska