"Dala seem bound for a loftier place where substance stands equal to style."
- The Irish Times
Juno nominees and winners of the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year, Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine of Dala have come a long way in a short time. These two best friends met in their high school music class and wrote their first song together in 2002. Since then they have released five albums and toured extensively across North America. Darlings of the Canadian music scene, Dala are now poised to bring their fresh brand of acoustic pop music to the world.
Drawing upon influences like The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, Dala write songs that are both catchy and insightful. Amanda’s ethereal soprano voice blends seamlessly with Sheila’s velvety alto, creating the lush harmonies that have become their trademark.
“Dala can sing! What beautiful flights of melody and harmony, reminiscent of the Everly Brothers, the Louvin Brothers, Emmylou Harris and associates; though Dala can trade a melody line and leave one wondering who is taking the lead and simply leave one behind when the harmonies kick in.”
- Peterborough Examiner
The sheer joy with which they perform is infectious, turning first-time listeners into instant fans. Dala have opened for artists such as Tom Cochrane, Stuart McLean of the CBC’s Vinyl Café, Richie Havens and Arlo Guthrie. No strangers to the festival scene, they have also performed at The New Orleans Jazz Festival, The Edmonton Folk Festival, California's Strawberry Festival and Mariposa. In 2009, they were the only Canadian act invited to play at the 50th Anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival.
Dala’s album “Everyone Is Someone” was released in 2009 to critical acclaim. It earned them their fifth Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, a Toronto Independent Music Award for Best Folk Group, and it was touted by The Irish Post as the Album of the Year. The song “Horses” was nominated by National Public Radio in the US as one of the "Top Ten folk songs of 2009".
In the summer of 2010, Dala's PBS special “Girls From The North Country” was broadcast across North America. This concert features Dala's own songs weaved around classics by Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Gordon Lightfoot. The live cd and dvd for "Girls From The North Country" earned Dala the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for "Vocal Group of the Year". The live album was nominated for a 2011 Juno Award in the category "Roots and Traditional Album of the Year: Group".
Dala's new album "Best Day" will be released in June of 2012