Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine have been swapping music, inside jokes, juicy secrets and cool clothes since high school. That’s just what best friends do.
And in 2002, things got even more harmonious between them. The Toronto-based friends were both musicians and decided to compose and sing their initial song together. It turned out well. Really well. In fact, they formed a musical duo and named themselves Dala—combining the last two letters of their first names—to celebrate the new band, the new partnership and their new sound.
Over the past decade, Dala has strummed and hummed themselves into a powerful presence on the Canadian folk music scene. The dynamite duo won a coveted Juno Award, received five Canadian Folk Music Award nominations, had their song “Horses” selected for NPR’s Top Ten Folk Songs of 2009, and starred in the successful PBS special “Girls From the North Country.” They just released their fifth album, “Best Day.”
“It’s been so exciting,” Carabine said of the album release. “We have had a summer full of festivals and touring, going coast to coast in Canada. We have seen old fans and gained a lot of new ones. Our plans for the U.S. tour this fall will include going to California and Washington, and then visiting some of the western provinces like Alberta and British Columbia.”
Social media is also a huge tool for reaching Dala devotees. “We can be in direct contact with our fan base through social media,” said Carabine. “It’s very empowering and encouraging. It feels like we never stop working because we love what we do. Our fans are our friends.”
Join Dala as they perform a concert at Theatre on the Square in Tacoma on Thursday, October 25, 2012, at 7:30pm. Tickets are $36 through Broadway Center for the Performing Arts. To preview the show and purchase tickets, visit broadwaycenter.org.
TAMMY ROBACKER