True Mountain Laurel w Isabella Sampson
Iona & Area
from $20
About
Born out of late-night harmonies, shared voice memos, and a long-standing friendship rooted in mutual admiration, Haley Blais and Sam Lynch have formed the supergroup True Mountain Laurel. Their debut collection of songs, Angel So Bad, is a tender, dust-swept exploration of all the feelings that fall through the cracks. Equal parts folk reverie and country yearning, the project pulls from their respective solo careers. Sam’s poetic introspection and Haley’s razor-sharp lyrical intimacy blend into something softer, stranger, and wholly their own.
What began as casual writing sessions in between Sam and Haley’s respective tour cycles has slowly transformed into a collaborative ritual: trading lines and melodies over coffee and recording scrappy voice note demos at the end of the day. The songs emerged not from pressure or plan but from a desire to make music the way they first fell in love with it — no clocks, no ego, just two voices in a room.
Influenced by artists like Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, and early 2000s Canadian singer-songwriters, the project is less about genre and more about feel. Acoustic guitars, brushed drums, pedal steel, and the occasional jangly piano support lyrics that feel diaristic without being confessional: capturing the ache of growing older, the strangeness of still wanting more, and the joy of finding home in another person’s voice.
There’s a looseness to these songs that feels intentional. Where Sam’s solo work leans cinematic and atmospheric, and Haley’s leans into the clever and orchestral, here they meet in the middle: warm, minimal, and a little bit rough around the edges. Live, the project takes on an even more intimate form without setlists or rigid arrangements. Just two friends singing the truth as they feel it that night.
Haley and Sam’s combined fan bases, critical momentum, and industry support make Angel So Bad a viable, marketable, and artistically rich body of work with strong touring and streaming potential across Canada and internationally.
For Haley and Sam this is neither a rebrand nor a pivot. It’s a postcard from two artists returning to the campfire that first called them to sing.
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Isabella Sampson 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards Young Performer of the Year and winner of Music Nova Scotia’s Folk/Roots Album of the Year, Isabella Samson has been making serious waves in the East Coast. A tasteful glimpse into the mind of a young woman navigating the world around her and within herself, Samson’s music has been described as a perfect mix of Joni Mitchell and Lizzy McAlpine. She has been recognized for her remarkable ability to captivate any crowd with her unique sense of humour and thoughtful lyricism, as well as the sweeping vocals she has become known for. On and off the stage, Samson has always been nothing but true to herself and her Cape Breton roots, guaranteeing a show that will leave you longing for more.
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Shannon MacMullin is a Gàidhlig learner, singer and storyteller; a community educator, and the Cultural Experiences Co-ordinator at Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village. She loves dancing, making beauty in the world & bringing people together.
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