artist Tara Dawn Solheim

Five years in Japan infused Tara Dawn Solheim’s music with the pop and lively animation of Japanese culture. Tara Dawn, cleverly coined “Taradon – a dinosaur” by CBC’s Grant Lawrence, has been busy working on a new album since returning to Canada in summer 2011. The new album will be a bridge between the blues/pop sound she played with her band in Japan, Tarantula, and the new material she has been writing in her home province, Saskatchewan. The songs move between the bright lights and crowded trains of Tokyo and the silent calm of a prairie field.

No newcomer to writing, Tara began her career as a spoken word artist and poet. She has been commissioned to create original poetic performances for CBC, various dance shows and local festivals including the Cathedral Arts Festival, the Her-i-cane Women’s Art Festival, and the Regina and Brandon Folk Festivals. From 2004 to 2005, she worked with the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina to develop and host a poetry and jazz performance series called the Seldom Sessions.

During her five years in Tokyo, Tara Dawn performed with and wrote for a number of bands including Tarantula (blues/early rock), =7 (Japanese jazz/rock), Mac's Blues (blues), The DNT (hip hop) and Ooze Out out of D.R.C (hip hop). She did instructional singing videos for JOYSOUND, a major karaoke company throughout Japan. Her music was featured in Japanzine, 2009 The Gaijin Sounds Competition, highlighting the best foreign musicians in Japan.

After years in Japan, she decided it was time to return to her home and native land. Born in Saskatoon, she is currently based in Regina, Saskatchewan. Her original music draws on blues and jazz from the 1920's and 30's and early rock and roll. Her songwriting has been influenced by a range of artists from Bessie Smith, Nina Simone, Chuck Berry, Joni Mitchell to Buddy Holly. Her lyrics are haunted by wind and sky.