New Music: The Gentle Hand

The Gentle Hand, displays a distinct blend of instrumental and singer-songwriter elements. Inspired by composer/songwriters like Judee Sill, Joanna Newsom, and Toronto’s own Minjia Chen, The Gentle Hand weaves through-composed arrangements with carefully crafted lyrics. Each track is also marked by an emphasis on texture, with vocal processing, twinkling foley, and instrument doubling. The Gentle Hand (EP) is available now on streaming and bandcamp. 

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Past Releases

"A Blessing, A Pearl" release show band photo (Burdock Music Hall, June 2024)

Brooklin, ready to record (Union Sound Company, June 2023)

The release show begins (Burdock Music Hall, June 2024)

About the music

Pearls are created when a worm or some other irritant enters the shell of an oyster. The oyster slowly coats the irritant in layers of aragonite and conchiolin, creating a material called nacre. The smooth, shiny nacre encases the irritant until it is a pearl, protecting the oyster from further discomfort. 

This record is my “pearl”, so I called it that. Writing this music was a means of processing my emotions as a lonely teenage girl. Love hurts when it is unrequited, and it hurts even more when we think we deserve the pain. But I am no longer a lonely teenage girl, and I have learned that pain, like anything, is not something we deserve but something that happens sometimes and it doesn’t last forever and the only way out is through.  

Recording this music was an incredible experience. Thank you a million times to all the people who made it such with their time and care. I hope you enjoy.

Designing sounds (Toronto, May 2023)

Shows

Previous events

Jessica Spurrell and Friends at DROM Taberna

Jessica Spurrell and Friends at DROM Taberna

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DROM Taberna, 458 Queen Street West, Toronto

Joined by an eclectic ensemble of vibraphone, strings, hand-percussion, and drums, Jessica is excited to return to the DROM Taberna stage. Prepare for an evening of adventurous folk, jazz textures, and all-around killer musicianship.

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Jessica Spurrell Release Show with York Street Thought Process

Jessica Spurrell Release Show with York Street Thought Process

Burdock Music Hall, 1184 Bloor Street West, Toronto

Celebrate Jessica Spurrell’s new release, The Gentle Hand, with an evening of captivating folk music at Burdock Music Hall. Featuring an an opening set from folk-duo York Street Thought Process, and full-band arrangements of Jessica's original music.

$20 Online, $25 Doors

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Jessica Spurrell

Jessica Spurrell

Bampot House of Tea, 201 Harbord Street, Toronto

A cozy evening of acoustic folk from Jessica Spurrell and Rick St. Clair, in celebration of Jessica’s new single, The Gentle Hand. Come in from the cold for a cozy evening of acoustic folk in celebration of Jessica Spurrell’s new single, The Gentle Hand. Featuring an opening set from Elora-based songwriter Rick St. Clair and accompaniment from percussionist-extraordinaire Jaash Singh. Doors at 7PM, show at 7:30PM!

$15

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Stories And Songs Concert Series

Stories And Songs Concert Series

(EST, UTC-05) (EST, UTC-05)

The Black Swan Tavern (upstairs) , 154 Danforth Ave, Toronto

Get ready for the second Stories and Songs Concert Series. It will be a night of unforgettable music, powerful stories and community connection all in support of the Awesome Music Project and their advocacy efforts to address mental health.

The intimate concert will include an all female line up: Jessica Spurrell, Emily Steinwall and Jaclyn Kenyon.

$25 online, $30 door

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Aug13

Thomas Ninavaie, Jessica Spurrell, and Sofia Friesen at Bar Orwell

 — (EDT, UTC-04) — (EDT, UTC-04)

Bar Orwell, 1595 Dundas Street West, Toronto

Catch Jessica Spurrell with band alongside Thomas Ninavaie and Sofia Friesen at Bar Orwell, produced by Cultivate Productions. Tickets are $12 (19+)

$12 (19+)

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Watch

Jessica Spurrell performs an original set at the Annette Studios Women's Songwriting Showcase 

Live From The Canoe: Jessica Spurrell performs her original song Summer Swarm

Jessica Spurrell performs her original song My Heart Is An Oyster at the 2023 NXNE Battle of the Bands

About

Drawing from Newfoundland folk roots and contemporary jazz influences, Jessica Spurrell is a Toronto-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She is inspired by music that layers intricate, through-composed parts with thoughtful lyrics. Her compositions are also informed by an interest in recording technology. Jessica's debut EP, A Blessing, A Pearl, explores queer adolescent heartache through tender lyrics, woodwinds, harp, strings, and synth. 

Whether accompanied by her band or by herself on the guitar, Jessica loves to perform her original songs for live Toronto audiences, sharing stories and laughs with anybody who will listen. She has performed in venues such as Drom Taberna, The Tranzac Club, and Burdock Brewery. Jessica is frequently featured as a vocalist/guitarist in the bands of other artists and recently worked as the producer for Toronto songwriter Elisabeth Dorion’s EP Overachiever.

In 2021, Jessica was awarded the SOCAN Foundation Young Canadian Songwriters Award for her song, Bury Me. She was subsequently selected for the 2022 TD Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship, as well as the 2023 Folk Music Ontario Developing Artist Program. In 2024, Jessica took part in the Intercultural and Creative Music Fellowship through Humber Polytechnic. Under the creative direction of composer and sitarist Kiya Tabassian, she and 6 other fellows worked for 14 weeks to create an interdisciplinary music project for performance at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. Most recently, Jessica attended Soundweavings, an intercultural music residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alberta. 

Jessica holds a Bachelor of Music from Humber Polytechnic. She has called many places home, including Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Germany.

Contact

jessica@jessicaspurrell.com

705-999-8547 ext 9009