Kris and Dee Raising the Roof, etc.

And now to catch up with Kris and Dee, who have had a pretty amazing summer so far. After being part of the Save Our Prison Farms rally with none other than Margaret Atwood and doing a lot of writing on a vacation in Newfoundland, their gig schedule just keeps rolling on.

Tonight (yes, sorry for the late notice), they'll be playing at the Music Market Cafe in Napanee at around 9:20pm (only a $5 cover and two great acts preceding). Then next weekend, they're at the Raise the Roof Women's Music Festival in the Kingston area on Sunday afternoon at 1:30.

Since the new embed function on YouTube is being annoying right now, head over there to check out Kris and Dee performing three original songs at the recent Homegrown Music Festival: "Mars", "Presence of Me" and "Polar Bears".

Kris and Dee video, and a big show to come

Here's a snippet of Kris and Dee at that show at The Mansion Thursday, by all accounts a wonderful set with great friends. (Just a reminder: Kris is on the left, Dee on the right.) But it doesn't end here.

"Canadian Musicians Support Prison Farms" will be happening March 20 at the Sydenham Street United Church in Kingston. On the bill with Kris and Dee will be Sarah Harmer, Luther Wright, the inimitable Fred Penner, Open Heart Society and Maya Thau-Eleff. Admission is $15 ($5 for those unemployed or under-employed) available at various Kingston locations. Check the Facebook event for details.

Kris and Dee: onstage...and on the farm?

They've been dipping their toes in the live show pool for a little while, but Kris and Dee Abbott McNeil are jumping in with a gig Thursday at The Mansion in their home base of Kingston, Ontario. They're pretty excited to have Anna Rees on drums and playing a proper set on a bill of some great Kingston musicians. It also bodes well for more live shows in the area coming this summer. For more info, check out their Facebook Event page and share your well-wishes for them - or even better, if you're in the area, let them know you'll be at the show!

Meanwhile, Kris has become active in the cause to help save six Canadian "prison farms": farms run by inmates for rehabilitation, to develop skills and provide food not just for the prisons themselves, but surrounding organizations like food banks and shelters. Introduced to the issue at a local town meeting (the Frontenac farm is in her area), she became fascinated by the achievements of the prison farms program and disgusted by the Federal Government's decision to scrap it. On Facebook, she wrote: "The decision of the Fed Government is nothing more than another American style adaptation of a WALMxxx business plan and a very dehumanizing approach to the future of Corrections in Canada."

She recently wrote a letter to her local MP, which was passed on to the Minister for Public Safety, and took part in a recent picketing event (getting up very early to hang out with a cow in the cold outside the CORCAN offices). To find out more, take a look at Kris' Facebook Notes or her Myspace blog post.