In the unlikely metropolis of Toronto, Ontario, thousands of miles from the rolling hills of
Appalachia, young Hannah Shira is snuggly tucked under the sheets, the light is switched off,
and the door gently closed— just a few feet away down the hall, her parents' Oldtime
stringband practise is about to begin. Today, the pulse of the music that permeated her slumberradiates in her original banjo-driven songs. Her first album, Tether My Heart (2013, Merriweather Records Ltd.) was the culmination of decades of influence from her musical upbringing, combined with her own explorations into the themes and imagery of traditional folk music. Immediately following its release, Tether My Heart was #6 on the US Folk DJ charts. The album still receives radio play and has many positive reviews- critics agree that Hannah Shira's songs, “could easily be taken as being traditional, such is her mastery of the genre...” John Atkins, fRoots Magazine. In 2014, Hannah Shira traveled to Virginia and West Virginia to further her understanding of Appalachian fiddle tunes, flatfoot dancing, and ballad songs through funds from the Canada Council for the Arts. This year, enriched by her studies and experiences in that land, Hannah Shira Naiman is set to record her second full length album, Know The Mountain— the record is a collection of new compositions, and delves into the darker themes and sounds of traditional music.
Hannah performs solo or with a band including Rosalyn Dennett (from Winnipeg famed band "Oh My Darling), and her father, reknowned banjo player, Arnie Naiman.