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Sarah MacDougall launches her new album

Sarah MacDougall is a rarity. Most artists, after finding success, move to a major centre, but MacDougall did the opposite. A year ago, the 32-year-old singer/songwriter relocated from Vancouver to Whitehorse.
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Sarah MacDougall is a rarity.

Most artists, after finding success, move to a major centre, but MacDougall did the opposite.

A year ago, the 32-year-old singer/songwriter relocated from Vancouver to Whitehorse.

It wasn’t a difficult move to make, she said.

After two years of near constant touring, she didn’t have a home in Vancouver, only a storage locker.

And while she still maintains that locker, she doesn’t have plans to leave the territory any time soon.

“The Yukon provided a bit of a break,” she said. “Some peace, quiet and nature.”

It also reminds her of home.

Originally from Sweden, MacDougall, whose father is Canadian, moved to Vancouver a decade ago.

The Yukon always fascinated her.

“Maybe it’s because I’m from a Nordic country that I have an attraction to the North,” she said.

And since arriving here she hasn’t been disappointed.

“I like that you still have a lot of sky,” she said. “The mountains are still mountains but not over whelming.”

However, moving to such a remote place does come with some challenges.

“If you’re in Toronto you can put on a show in a different town every weekend and come back home, but here you can’t really do that,” she said. “You have to go for at least a month.

“It makes touring a lot more expensive, but for me it’s worth it.”

And MacDougall has been on the road a lot lately.

She recently returned from a tour of Europe and Ontario promoting her second album, The Greatest Ones Alive.

Most of the album was recorded in Vancouver, but two of the songs were written and recorded here in the Yukon.

Though the album was released three months ago, it’s getting it’s official territorial release this weekend at the Yukon Arts Centre.

For the concert and CD release party, MacDougall will be joined by a full band that includes Bob Hamilton, Dave Haddock, Micah Smith, and Lonnie Powell.

MacDougall describes her music as lyrically driven folk rock, though she said, it’s difficult to pin down.

“It’s a mix of different styles,” she said. “Lots of influences from all kinds of genres.”

So far the album has garnered rave reviews.

As a Swede and a Canadian both countries claim her as their own.

And now that she’s a Yukoner, there’s one more region vying to claim her.

The CD release concert takes place Saturday, on-the-wing at the arts centre.

The show will feature several local acts including Meredith Bates, Annie Avery, Awna Teixeira, Kim Beggs, Kim Barlow, and Gordie Tentrees.

It starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.

Contact Josh Kerr at

joshk@yukon-news.com