Tannis Slimmon at Georgetown House Concert

Listening to Tannis Slimmon sing last night at a Georgetown, Ontario house concert, I felt like I was attending the one and only public performance of her life. She is so fully present and mindful of her audience that each of the 25 people in attendance felt she was singing only for them.

Accompanied by her multi-talented life partner, Lewis Melville on guitar, mandolin, banjo and backup vocals, Tannis gifted us with her own masterful guitar playing, a beautiful voice and a wonderful warm patchwork quilt of her songs ranging from the delightfully whimsical "Weathervane" to the haunting "Edmonton" (which brought many in the room to tears).

Growing up on a farm in Manitoba, Tannis actually attended school in a one-room schoolhouse and rode a horse to get there. Her deep rural roots come through not only in her humble, engaging personality but in the lyrics to many of her songs.

The Georgetown house concert was one of six that Tannis and Lewis are giving this week as part of their Southern Ontario tour sponsored by Homeroutes.ca. If you have a chance to go and hear Tannis sing, grab it. You'll be delighted.

For the latest on the Southern Ontario house concert scene, visit Living-Room-Concerts.ca.