It wasn鈥檛 until she reached her 20s that Catherine MacLellan began taking her music seriously.
Surprising, perhaps, that the daughter of Canadian folk icon Gene MacLellan took her time getting into music, but not when you hear her tell it.
The P.E.I. folk singer/songwriter 鈥渨as kind of a wanderer鈥� when she was young. Even though she had played music from a fairly young age, 鈥淚 was shy and a late bloomer and all that,鈥� she says somewhat dismissively.
In fact, it was only because her brother had his own recording studio that that she put out her first record, getting together with a bunch of her friends in a no-pressure environment to record.
鈥淚 was pretty lucky,鈥� she says, 鈥渋t was an easy decision to make; I didn鈥檛 really have to take it seriously at that point.鈥�
Once the album started getting noticed, however, MacLellan didn鈥檛 have that luxury anymore. Critical acclaim gave her the nudge she needed, and she plunged full-time into music.
With four albums under her belt, and a fifth set for release, MacLellan looks back at her early work like many artists do: with gut-wrenching embarrassment.
鈥淢y first record was really a journal of my inner mind,鈥� she says, adding that when she thinks about it now her primary reaction is 鈥渙h my God, stop listening to that record.鈥�
Contrast that with her feelings about her new album and you get a sense of how MacLellan has grown as a musician.
鈥淓very album I grow and change, and I鈥檓 definitely a better songwriter than I was even four years ago,鈥� she says, adding that lately she鈥檚 been focusing on writing songs that tell stories, rather than subjecting her listeners to a barrage of personal emotions.
In the last few years, MacLellan has also started performing some of her father鈥檚 classics. While it may seem obvious that the daughter of Gene MacLellan would want to tap into his talent, for a long time she avoided performing his songs.
鈥淚 was afraid of not being known for who I am,鈥� MacLellen said.
But now that she鈥檚 finally confident enough in herself as a musician to do so, she鈥檚 been putting her own spin on her father鈥檚 songs. She talks about his classic 鈥淪nowbird,鈥� which was famously covered by Anne Murray and Elvis. Her version is a slow, folky ballad that captures how sad the song really is.
Along with recording some of her dad鈥檚 songs on her own, in 2012 she and several other musicians got together to record a tribute concert. Although she鈥檚 鈥渘ot really a natural host,鈥� she was wrangled onto the stage to MC the evening.
She said it was a great experience to get together with a bunch of people who appreciated her dad, all paying tribute to him.
鈥淥nce I was on stage I realized how lucky I was to be a part of that concert,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 realized I鈥檓 really proud to be his daughter and keep his music alive.
鈥淚t was almost like a second wake 15 years after he died.鈥�
听Trevor Nichols
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