Dala house concert in Mississauga 9 April 2010

Whether they were singing one of their many wonderful original tunes like "Levi Blues" or "Horses", or crooning masterfully arranged covers of Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country" or Neil Young's "Harvest Moon", Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine were a treat for the ears, the eyes and the soul.

After opening the Friday evening Mississauga house concert on April 9 with a great rendition of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance", Sheila and Amanda (known together as "Dala") shared with us the story of their very first festival appearance. It was in Bala, Ontario, where the Moon River empties into Lake Muskoka. High winds and torrential rains forced the festival indoors and left Dala performing in the tiny snack bar of the Bala hockey arena. The experience is immortalized in their delightful ballad "Don't Wait".

They closed the two hour show with a beautiful arrangement of Mercer and Mancini's "Moon River", which could arguably be Dala's theme song: "Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see..."

Starting and finishing with allusions to the Moon River is a perfect example of how artfully Dala constructs their concerts. And yet the engineering was completely transparent. Those of us in the audience were kept mesmerized with their intelligent, evocative and sometimes humorous lyrics, they're delicious harmonies and just the right mix of stories about their lives and the background behind their songs. A Dala house concert is an opportunity to spend a delightful evening "up close and personal" with two of Canada's finest young performing artists. Given the opportunity, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

If you would like to host a concert in YOUR living room featuring artists like Dala, visit the Living Room Concerts website to learn more.