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The Be Good Tanyas

Biography

The Be Good Tanyas are an acoustic trio from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, formed in 1999 and rooted in the folk and Americana traditions.[1][2] The band's origin story is uniquely Canadian, beginning in the Kootenay Mountains where Frazey Ford and Samantha Parton met while working on seasonal tree-planting crews in the early-to-mid 1990s. After discovering their mutual love of music, they parted ways but remained connected. Ford later met Trish Klein while both were attending music school in Nelson, British Columbia, where they participated in open-mic nights and honed their craft. By the late 1990s, each member had explored diverse musical styles—Ford had performed in a trip hop band in Montreal and co-founded the soul/folk band Saltwater June with Klein, while Parton had toured America with spoken word poet Chris Chandler and performed in her country-duo side project, The Illegitimate Daughters of Johnny Cash. Chance reunited the trio in Vancouver in the winter of 1999, leading to the formation of The Be Good Tanyas.[1]

The band's early years were marked by humble beginnings and unexpected success. They began playing weekly at a local thrift store in exchange for clothing, describing themselves as "a hillbilly garage band" that played traditional songs alongside original compositions.[2] Their breakthrough came with their debut album, Blue Horse, released independently in November 2000. Though independent record stores initially helped promote the album, it was the Canadian Broadcasting Company's (CBC) frequent airplay that brought them into the spotlight, eventually attracting the attention of Nettwerk Records.[2] Blue Horse was named one of 2002's Top 50 albums by Britain's Q Magazine, establishing the band's reputation for lush vocal harmonies and deceptively simple arrangements that blended old-time music with contemporary sensibilities.[1][2] The group followed with Chinatown in 2003 and Hello Love in 2006, gaining popular and critical success across English-speaking nations including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[2]

In late 2004, the band announced plans for a temporary break from touring, reflecting their philosophy that this music was meant to be played "in your living room with friends after dinner."[2] The group took a more extended hiatus beginning in 2008, during which members pursued solo projects and other musical endeavors.[4] Frazey Ford released her debut solo album Obadiah in 2010, while other members explored collaborations—Trish Klein formed Po' Girl with Allison Russell, and Samantha Parton worked with co-founder Jolie Holland on recording and touring projects.[5] Though their active recording and touring period was relatively concentrated, The Be Good Tanyas left an indelible mark on the Americana landscape, creating some of the best Appalachian-influenced music of the early 2000s and establishing themselves as significant figures in the Vancouver folk and old-time music communities.

Fun Facts

  • The band's name comes from a song called 'Be Good Tanya' by Obo Martin, which Jolie Holland introduced to the group.[2]
  • Frazey Ford and Samantha Parton initially met while working on seasonal tree-planting crews in the Canadian Kootenay Mountains, where they lived a vagabond lifestyle replenishing forests damaged by the lumber industry.[1]
  • The band's first paid performance experience was busking outside the Lilith Fair, where they earned more pot than hard cash.[3] Their first festival gig at the Maine Island Folk Festival drew about 400 people, and Klein recalls they 'totally bombed.'[3]
  • The band started their career playing weekly at a local Vancouver thrift store in exchange for clothing, describing themselves as 'very jangly, always on the verge of falling apart.'[2]

Members

  • Jolie Holland (from 1999 until 2001)
  • Frazey Ford
  • Trish Klein
  • Samantha Parton

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

  • Bob Dylan - Early musical influence on Trish Klein's taste and development (Dylan's songwriting and folk traditions) [1960s-1970s influence on Klein's formative years]
  • Leonard Cohen - Early musical influence on Trish Klein's taste and development (Cohen's songwriting and folk traditions) [1960s-1970s influence on Klein's formative years]
  • Libba Cotten - Traditional music influence; songs covered by the band (Traditional folk repertoire) [Early 2000s]
  • Bessie Smith - Traditional music influence; songs covered by the band (Traditional blues and folk repertoire) [Early 2000s]
  • Woody Guthrie - Traditional music influence; songs covered by the band (Traditional folk repertoire) [Early 2000s]

Key Collaborators

  • Jolie Holland - Co-founding member and frequent guest performer; left early in touring but remained connected to the project (Blue Horse (debut album), early performances) [1999-2001 (official), ongoing guest appearances]
  • Bill Bourne - Singer-songwriter who invited the band to tour with him early in their career (Six-week tour through American Midwest and New Orleans) [Early 2000s]
  • Allison Russell - Collaborated with Trish Klein in the side project Po' Girl (Po' Girl project) [Post-2008 hiatus]

Artists Influenced

  • Jolie Holland - Co-founder who introduced the band to the song 'Be Good Tanya' from which they derived their name; continued solo career and collaborations (Solo recordings and collaborations with Samantha Parton) [2001-present]

Connection Network

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Influenced
Mentors
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Discography

Albums

Title Release Date Type
The Wanderings Of The Avener 2015-02-20 Album
The Wanderings Of The Avener 2015-01-19 Album
The Wanderings Of The Avener 2015-11-06 Album
Chinatown 2003-03-11 Album
The Wanderings Of The Avener 2015-08-25 Album
Hello Love 2006-10-10 Album
A Collection (2000 - 2012) 2012-07-17 Album
The Wanderings Of The Avener 2015-02-23 Album
Blue Horse 2019-06-28 Album
The Wanderings Of The Avener 2015-08-25 Album
The Wanderings Of The Avener 2015-01-19 Album
Blue Horse 2019-06-28 Album
Mellow Christmas Acoustic 2020-11-05 Album
The Wanderings Of The Avener 2015-11-06 Album
The Wanderings Of The Avener 2015-11-06 Album

Top Tracks

  1. Waiting Around To Die (Chinatown)
  2. Draft Daughter's Blues aka Ootischenia (Hello Love)
  3. When Doves Cry (Hello Love)
  4. The Littlest Birds (A Collection (2000 - 2012))
  5. In My Time Of Dying (Chinatown)
  6. Human Thing (Hello Love)
  7. It's Not Happening (Chinatown)
  8. In Spite Of All The Damage (Chinatown)
  9. For The Turnstiles (Hello Love)
  10. Rain And Snow (A Collection (2000 - 2012))

Tags: #folk

Heard on WWOZ

The Be Good Tanyas has been played 1 time on WWOZ 90.7 FM, New Orleans' jazz and heritage station.

DateTimeTitleShowSpotify
Nov 28, 202522:33When Dove's CryThe Rhythm Roomw/ Allan "Alski" Laskey