Awards honour ‘second comeback’ by folk musician

Penny Lang, a parishioner at St. Andrew’s church, Pender Harbour, B.C., was named best solo artist and her new CD, Stone+Sand+Sea+Sky, won best album (contemporary) at the recent Canadian Folk Music Awards.

These awards were a first for Ms. Lang, who has been called the “grand dame of folk blues” and whose career spans 50 years.

“The new album’s release is something of a second comeback for Lang, who, in the ’60s and ’70s, was a significant figure on the folk scene in Quebec, Ontario and the Eastern U.S.,” wrote Topic, the newspaper of the diocese of New Westminster. “She returned to music in the late ’80s and her career has been picking up pace ever since.”

Ms. Lang joined the St. Andrew’s congregation when she recently moved to Madeira Park on the B.C. coast. She has been hosting a new program at the church called “Soup and Song,” an evening of food and music in the Ceilidh tradition.

“I love spending time at this beautiful white church sharing friendship and conversation,” she told Topic.

Ms. Lang’s Web site is www.pennylang.com.