Sarah Harmer

The intimate lyricism driving Sarah Harmer’s indie rock places her squarely in the storied tradition of Canadian songwriters. Born in Burlington, ON, in 1970, Harmer was exposed as a teen to another of those songwriters—The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie—and eventually moved to Downie’s hometown of Kingston for school, where she started earning critical acclaim in the rock band Weeping Tile in the ‘90s. After Weeping Tile’s breakup, Harmer paired up with Jason Euringer on 1999’s Songs For Clem, a record of folk and country standards made for her father. A proper debut, You Were Here, arrived in 2000, with heart-on-sleeve alt-rock and hushed folk songs painting portraits of less-than-ideal living situations (“Basement Apt.”) and late-night boat rides (“Lodestar”). She opted for more rock on 2004’s All Of Our Names and stripped things down on 2005’s I’m A Mountain. In the ensuing decades, she’s prioritized environmental activism but still released 2010’s rootsy pop record Oh Little Fire and 2020’s Are You Gone, a lush spiritual successor to You Were Here that finds her in full command of her rich songwriting skills.