Hillsburn (band)

Hillsburn is an indie rock band from Nova Scotia, Canada. They have been hailed by several media outlets as one of the east coast of Canada's next big acts. The band has released two full-length albums, and has been nominated for a number of regional and national awards.

Musical career
The band formed as a quartet in 2014 at the home of band member Paul Aarntzen, who was residing in the small village of Hillsburn, Nova Scotia at the time. Rosanna Burrill and her brother Clayton were joined by Jackson Fairfax-Perry at Paul's home where the band had its first rehearsals. Aarntzen subsequently relocated to Halifax to dedicate more time to the project. Hillsburn released its self-titled, self-recorded EP in October 2014. One of the tracks from this self-recorded EP placed in the national top ten in CBC's Searchlight competition that year.

This success was followed up with the release of the band's first full-length album, In The Battle Years in 2016. Shortly after releasing their debut full-length the band added drummer Clare Macdonald to the mix. Clare, Rosanna, and Jackson had all previously known each other from Dalhousie University's Music program.

In The Battle Years was awarded the 2016 Canadian Folk Music Award for New/Emerging Artist of the Year. Hillsburn was also nominated in several categories at the 2017 East Coast Music Awards, including Rising Star Recording of the Year, Group Recording of the Year, and Fans' Choice Video of the Year. The band won the 2017 ECMA for Fans' Choice Video, beating out high-profile acts such as Classified, Ria Mae, Ben Caplan, Paper Lions, and Heather Rankin.

Hillsburn has toured extensively across North America.

Hillsburn released its sophomore record, The Wilder Beyond, on February 2, 2018. The album was nominated for six awards at the 2018 Nova Scotia Music Awards—including Group Recording of the Year, Recording of the Year, and Pop Recording of the Year—while Aarntzen was nominated for SOCAN songwriter of the year. Hillsburn also received four nominations for the 2019 East Coast Music Awards, including Group Recording of the Year and Fans' Choice Entertainer of the Year. The Wilder Beyond has charted extensively on the Earshot national campus and community radio charts in Canada. A deluxe edition of the album was released in February 2019.

The band announced in January 2020 that it was working on a new album with producer Howard Redekopp.

Band members

Paul Aarntzen - Songwriter, vocals, guitar
Rosanna Burrill - Vocals, violin, synthesizers
Clayton Burrill - Vocals, guitar
Jackson Fairfax-Perry - Keyboards, synthesizers, saxophone, mandolin
Clare Macdonald - Drums, percussion

Discography
Hillsburn EP - 2015
In the Battle Years - 2016
The Wilder Beyond - 2018

Documentary 
Hillsburn: A Band Becomes (2016)

Awards and nominations

References

External links
 Official website

Category:Musical groups from Nova Scotia
Category:Canadian folk rock groups
Category:Canadian Folk Music Award winners