Celebrate 10 Years of Four Chords and The Truth in Toronto

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Kat Harlton

Lead Photo Provided via Artist

Acclaimed semi-annual songwriter series Four Chords and The Truth (FCATT) returns to Toronto’s TD Music Hall on May 22nd for a very special 10th anniversary edition.

Hosted by Nova Scotia-born, Toronto-based singer-songwriter, songwriter advocate and series founder/curator Andrea England, the show will feature an exceptional lineup, including two-time JUNO nominee and CIMA Road Gold Award winner Terra Lightfoot, chart-topping singer-songwriter Jesse Gold in the TikTok emerging songwriters seat, JUNO-Award nominated singer-songwriter AHI and East Coast singer-songwriter Logan Richard. Additional details are available here.

Since its 2015 debut in Toronto, FCATT has become a widely acclaimed, often sold-out songwriter concert series known for its intimate, confessional performances. Over the past decade, the series has:

– Featured over 130 artists and songwriters —including JUNO and Grammy Award nominees, Hall of Fame members, and Officers of the Order of Canada.

– Delivered on the promise of exciting “surprise” special guests with previous guests including award-winning artists Serena Ryder, Scott Helman, Matt Mays, Jully Black, Colin MacDonald (the Trews), Donovan Woods (Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton) and Andi Kim (“Sugar, Sugar”).

– Expanded internationally with its Nashville debut at the Bluebird Cafe in 2019.

– Supported the Unison Fund by raising 1000s of dollars and amplifying the cause.

– And starting this year is partnering with MusiCounts to support music education in Canada.

A woman with long hair wearing a light-colored hat and a white shirt, looking directly at the camera with a slight smile. — Singer-Songwriter, Songwriter Advocate & Series Founder/Curator Andrea England

I had the opportunity to chat with Andrea about the special edition of the show, favorite moments and what the future holds.

Kat: Congratulations on the 10th anniversary of Four Chords and The Truth! What does this milestone mean to you, and how are you planning to celebrate it with this special edition show on May 22?

Andrea: Thank you! We’ll definitely be marking the moment – we have a great line-up, awesome surprise guests, a great community of song lovers who have supported this show from the beginning, and a new campaign to support music education through MusiCounts. At the end of the day, my goal with show 30 is the same as it’s been with shows 1-29: to share great songs, amplify great songwriters, and to provide a safe space in which to speak and receive the truth.

Kat: Can you tell us a bit about this show’s lineup and how you curated the artists for such a meaningful edition of the series?

Andrea: Absolutely! It features two-time JUNO nominee and CIMA Road Gold Award winner Terra Lightfoot – we’ve been trying to make this happen for sometime but the timing didn’t work out until now as she’s been on the road a lot (hence the Road Gold Award) – JUNO-Award nominated singer-songwriter AHI, who I saw live last year and immediately invited him to do the show when his schedule allowed; East Coast singer-songwriter Logan Richard, whose career I’ve been watching for a while but was waiting for the right timing (which came when I found out his new record was to be, serendipitously, released the day after this show); and the, there’s chart-topping, emerging songwriter Jesse Gold whose new music I was recently, thankfully, introduced to by my friends at TikTok! These songwriters are all so unique and yet I could see how they might admire each other’s work and enjoy being on stage together… add to that the surprise guests I’m bringing out, and IMHO, I think we have the recipe for another memorable FCATT night.

Kat: Take us back to 2015—what inspired you to create Four Chords and The Truth, and what did you envision for the series when it first launched?

Andrea: Sure. So, I’d been in a lot of songwriter rounds over the years, and had hosted an earlier version of what would eventually become Four Chords & the Truth at C’est What for a few years (when I first moved to Toronto). It was called “Songwriter Central with Andrea England and Friends” and it was multi-genre because I was co-writing across genres. Fast forward to 2015, and I was writing a lot with Liz Rodrigues and wanted to showcase some of the work we were doing – and the work she was doing with others – and her extraordinary voice, and so I booked a night at the Dakota Tavern because it had Bluebird Café vibes. I knew that presenting songwriters from multiple genres at once could really serve to highlight the elements that good songs have in common, so I invited a few friends from other genres to join us. I called it “Four Chords and the Truth” as a nod to Harlan Howard’s famous “a country song is just three chords and the truth” quotation, but with an extra chord to signify that I wasn’t just presenting country songs, but other genres too!

Kat: With over 130 performers, surprise guests, and sold-out shows, there must be countless memorable moments. Are there any standout performances or stories that hold a special place for you?

Andrea: Ha – that’s like asking a parent of multiple children to pick a favourite, and I just can’t do it! Each night holds a special place in my heart, and the stories told are truly not my stories to tell (except for mine, I guess). You had to be there.

Kat: Looking ahead, what’s next for the Four Chords and the Truth series?

Andrea: Well, we have Part 2 of our anniversary show coming up on November 13^th – tickets are already on sale for that one and available on the Massey Hall website and going fast! We may have some other announcements coming in advance of that show, so please stay tuned!