Welcome!

Olympic Torch Run

Born in Lewisporte, Newfoundland, singer/songwriter Lorne Warr sings stories about the human experience-- drawing inspiration from sources as diverse as Newfoundland folklore, life on the road, the birth of a daughter, and his own families history of schooners and working the high steel in New York. He brings his audience on a journey with him, from the past to the future, from Newfoundland to Paris, from poignancy to hope, from loneliness to joy, and somehow brings it all together with a foot stomping jig.   Accompanied by some of Canada's finest musicians, inspired by traditional music, and influenced & compared to contemporary songwriter's like Gordon Lightfoot & Stan Rogers, Lorne is sure to be a "tour de force" on the Canadian folk scene for many years to come.

Lorne currently resides on beautiful Bowen Island, BC, with the Mrs. and the wee ones. 

The Buzz

Maya Chang, Festival Coordinator, Desert Daze Festival

 "His music inspires and the warmth of his voice comes through in every song." 

North by Northwest CBC Radio 
Sheryl MacKay - Host 

"Lorne Warr's vocals on Wild Mountain Thyme are brilliant, always leading listeners to write in to ask who is singing. Plus their musical version of The Cremation of Sam McGee should be declared a Canadian classic."  

Bowen Island Undercurrent ~ Olympic Torch Run Winning Composition Songwriting Contest

"Back to the Island Again" ...Warr's song, with its upbeat tempo, in a style reminiscent of Gordon Lightfoot's finest tunes, ended up being the unanimous decision." Murray Atherton, Spirit of BC, Chair Person.

Diane Lalonge, Poet, Author, and Broadcaster, Vancouver, BC

"Lorne Warr, born and raised in Lewisporte Newfoundland, is rapidly evolving into a tour de force on the Canadian folk scene.  His grasp of multifaceted folk idioms give his work a colour and texture that defines the fabric of our own common experience and his heartfelt and exquisitely crafted lyrics put his songs on a par with some of the greats of Canadian folk history.  His songs "East Side West Side" and "The Nellie W", have just as much punch and poignancy as anything Stan Rogers ever wrote and "Come Down to Paris" The Edge of the Ocean" could easily compare with fellow Newfoundlander Ron Hynes' unforgettable "Sonny's Dream".  With his Olympic pick for the torch run," Back to the Island Again", there is a faint whisper of a young Gordon Lightfoot but with a totally west coast feel.  You can practically smell the wet cedar while he's singing."  

For full reviews click here:  Reviews

Upcoming Shows!

With the New Year upon us we have lined up some great shows with some fabulous musicians. In February we travel to Whistler where Lorne gets to play with Jamie Snider, of the legendary Newfoundland bands The Wonderful Grand Band and Figgy Duff. If you believe in serendipity -- Lorne was playing a tune called The Kerry Polka on the button accordion at the Danny Burns Benefit this past December, a tune made famous in Newfoundland by Jamie and the WGB when Jamie just happened  to be walking his dog by the pub. He popped in to say hi and from there they started talking, coming up with the idea to jam together -- and out of that came this gig and who knows what else ...!

Then Lorne heads back up to Whistler again at the beginning of March with four time BC fiddle champ Mike Sanyshyn. A couple of weeks later Lorne will be joined by the amazing Cajun fiddler Gary Comeau of Gary Comeau and the Voodoo All Stars. In between all of this we are playing Celtic Fest at Mahony's on Saturday March the 16th with Tom Neville and Wayne Morecombe. On the official green beer day, St Pat's, you can find Tom and Lorne playing at Ceili's in Richmond.

For more on our up coming shows please visit: Upcoming Shows  Looking forward to seeing you over the next few months. Sociable!

Streels News

Lorne Warr, Jennie Bice & Jack Garton

Celtic Fest 2012

What a busy year of music we have had! With a number of festivals under our belt including Celtic Fest 2012 in March, The Ladysmith Maritime Festival, and the Desert Daze Festival in Spences Bridge, we had an amazing time playing to the best in folk fans around. The highlight of the Desert Daze festival would have to be a toss up with the late night jam at the haunted hotel with some fantastic folk musicians or having Jack Garton from Maria in the Shower joining Lorne and Jennie on stage for the performance of one of Lorne's originals.

If you throw in our annual Vancouver Island jaunt which this year included a trip to The Duncan Garage Showroom, a fabulous venue where scores of talented musicians from around the world having performed. We must not forget to mention its interesting host in Longevity John, if you stop in be sure to give a big hello from us. If  you would like to check out the show it was recorded live in May 2012 with Lorne and Tom Neville performing. Here is the link for: Duncan Garage Part 1   Part Two Duncan Garage. (Advance to about minute 5 for the start of the show :)

Lorne Theater Under the Stars

Community is what we are all about so we must mention the great show at the Jericho Folk Club in Vancouver. This folk series has a long tradition of bringing the best in our music community and beyond to one of the prettiest spots in the city at the Jericho Sailing Club. The Elks club folk series in White Rock, BC had us back for a second year in a row and was another fabulous success. Being from Bowen Island gives us many opportunities to work our craft at home ~ a musicians dream really! We got to be a part of the Roots on the Rock series that is working towards bringing top notch performers to our isle. The Bowen Island Credit Union also asked us to make their Theater Under the Stars event an even more exciting evening for our community and added the Streels to the mix. Giving back is a big part of what we do. We hosted the Be'CAWES' We Care Fundraiser (supporting animal welfare CAWES) on Bowen Island in June to a resounding success ~ the roof was raised, spoons were played, dancers rejoiced and above all else, the animals will be well taken care of on Bowen. 

BC Highland Games

Lorne also was asked to join in the fun for both the BC Highland Games and the Concert in the Cove series in Deep Cove with Three Row Barley, adding the banjo, guitar, and vocals to the mix.

The best news of all  is that we have been spending time in the studio and our CD is getting closer on the horizon. This long awaited, much anticipated offering of Lorne Warr originals is backed by fiddling sensation Jennie Bice and bassist extraordinaire Brendan Rideout. Did I mention the harmonies these three pull off? When all is complete we will put a couple of samples up for you to have a listen to. Pre orders are available at lornewarr at gmail.com for a mere $15 you can take one home with you! Our aim is to have the CD ready for Christmas with both digital download ($10) and a hard copy of the product ($20) available for purchase.

Well that's it for now folks who love folk. We wish you a great holiday season and hope that there will be loads of music with lots of friends and family to share it with!

Genevieve McCorquodale
Manager, wife, and task mistress :)

For more on Lorne Warr and The Streels, to book or inquire about our customized services for your event contact Genevieve McCorquodale at lornewarr at gmail dot com or give us a call at 604-947-2044.