Peach & Quiet
Pender Island - British Columbia - Canada

Peach and Quiet, is a partnership in music, romance and life from the lushly forested and rocky shores of Pender Island, just off Canada's west coast. This duo of Heather Read and Jonny Miller have released their first album, Just Beyond the Shine. It is chock full of love songs, mostly written to each other, an assertion that love can get us through these dark times of pandemic and social distance, a positive ray of hope. As one of the tracks on the album proclaims, they are "lucky in love," and listeners will be fortunate to share the warmth that they offer.

It's hard to believe that it was only in 2019 that Heather and Jonny found each other, emotionally, spiritually and musically. The discovered quickly the joy of singing together, which extended into songwriting. They both have the gift of poetic sensibility and abstraction that give birth to such lines as "Open me slowly, and you will find. Eternal darkness and infinite light." Somehow Heather's crystal clear voice blends seamlessly with Jonny's slightly gritty "character" vocals to a sound that is greater than the parts.

 The album was recorded during the depths of the pandemic shutdown. Thanks to modern technology, tracks could be recorded in Nashville, Toronto and Vancouver, as well as Victoria and Pender Island. Top musicians such as Steve Dawson, Adam Dobres and Jeremy Holmes were recruited, and the result is a gem of Americana, folk rock and country,  with jangly guitars recalling the Byrds, whining steel guitar that could have graced George Jones and Tammy Wynette albums and vocal harmonies that bring to mind Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. The album was mixed by Steve Dawson at Henhouse Studio in Nashville.

Jonny and Heather were both born to play music.

Heather’s dad was an active Hammond organ player well into his eighties, and played gigs 4 nights a week for over 70 years, even opening for a upcoming singer called Tom Jones in his native Wales before emigrating to Canada when Heather was a baby. Heather sang with his band at legion halls when she was four-years-old. She took a long break from music to pursue a master’s degree and work in the publishing industry, which she currently does by day running a rep agency, but jumped back into it when she moved to Victoria in 2013, starting several local folk bands.

Jonny was raised by his mom, who was the first female radio engineer in Western Canada and worked at Co-op Radio in Vancouver. His dad is a reggae DJ in the U.S. and introduced Jonny to reggae and California rock. Jonny started earning a name as a singer-songwriter thirty years ago and has won Vancouver Island Music Awards and a People's Choice award for accompanying a video in the Victoria Film Festival. More recently his song One In a Million  was chosen for a Spotify Hot Release.

The chemistry and warmth between Heather and Jonny in their music is undeniable. Come feel the love.

Written by Mike Sadava


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Beautiful Thing

Label: Self-Release

Genres: Folk

Styles: Contemporary Folk

Songs on the Album

Track # Song Title Style Genre
1 Beautiful Thing Contemporary Folk Folk
2 Calgary Skyline Contemporary Folk Folk
3 Pockets Empty Contemporary Folk Folk
4 Behind the Sun Contemporary Folk Folk
5 Just Before the Dawn Contemporary Folk Folk
6 Horse and Saddle Contemporary Folk Folk
7 This Time Contemporary Folk Folk
8 Oklahoma or Arkansas Contemporary Folk Folk
9 Save Me Tonight Contemporary Folk Folk
10 Song from a Tree Contemporary Folk Folk
11 That is for Sure Contemporary Folk Folk
12 When You're Gone Contemporary Folk Folk

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Just Beyond the Shine
Details

Label: Self-Release

Genres: Folk

Styles: Contemporary Folk

Songs on the Album

Track # Song Title Style Genre
1 Empty to Fill Contemporary Folk Folk
2 For My Love Contemporary Folk Folk
3 California Way Contemporary Folk Folk
4 Shoreline After a Storm Contemporary Folk Folk
5 Lucky in Love Contemporary Folk Folk
6 Will You Contemporary Folk Folk
7 There's a Very Good Chance Contemporary Folk Folk
8 Flowers Grow Contemporary Folk Folk
9 Seven Daffodils Contemporary Folk Folk