Dala is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

acoustic-

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

two-piece musical group, made up by Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther, both of

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Early history (2002-2005)

Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther first met at

Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School (abbreviated Mary Ward C.S.S., MWCSS, MW, Mary Ward, or simply Ward) is a Catholic secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is administered by the Toronto Catholic District School Board, formerly the Me ...

, at a high school band practice. Quickly afterwards, Carabine and Walther's friendship blossomed and they formed ''Dala'' in the summer of 2002. Their "innate understanding of music" and "vocal range" helped propel them towards signing a five-year artist development deal with Big Bold Sun Music on December 12, 2003, and on April 3, 2005, Dala released their first album, '' This Moment Is a Flash''.

Universal Music then indie labels (2005-present)

On August 8, 2005, Dala signed its first major record deal with

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

. Soon thereafter, on November 1, the band released its first major album, '' Angels & Thieves'', containing five original songs and five covers. Immediately afterwards, Dala went out on tour to support the album, including a brief stint in early 2007 opening for

Tom Cochrane Thomas William Cochrane ( ; born May 14, 1953) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician best known as the frontman for the rock band Red Rider and for his work as a solo singer-songwriter. Cochrane has won eight Juno Awards. He is a member ...

. Returning to the studio after the tour, the band released their album ''

Who Do You Think You Are Who Do You Think You Are may refer to: Television series * ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (British TV series), a genealogy documentary with many adaptations: ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (American TV series) ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' ...

'' on August 14, 2007, with the lead single "Anywhere Under the Moon" entering

MuchMoreMusic CTV Life Channel is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary. The channel primarily broadcasts factual and reality programming on lifestyle topics such as cooking, home impr ...

rotation. Dala finished opening for

Matthew Good Matthew Frederick Robert Good (born June 29, 1971) is a Canadian musician. He was the lead singer and songwriter for the Matthew Good Band, one of the most successful alternative rock bands in Canada during the 1990s and early 2000s. Since the ...

on a cross-Canada tour in

Cobalt, Ontario Cobalt is a town in Timiskaming District, Ontario, Canada. It had a population of 989 at the 2021 Census. In the early 1900s, the area was heavily mined for silver; the silver ore also contained cobalt. By 1910, the community was the fourth hi ...

on November 3, 2007. In 2008, Dala joined

Stuart McLean Andrew Stuart McLean, (April 19, 1948 – February 15, 2017) was a Canadian radio broadcaster, humorist, monologist, and author, best known as the host of the CBC Radio program '' The Vinyl Cafe''.CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

's '' Vinyl Cafe'', for three separate Canadian tours. Other musical guests featured on these tours include

Danny Michel Danny Michel is a Canadian artist, songwriter and producer. Michel (Mish-elle) is a multi-Juno and Polaris Music Prize nominated songwriter from Ontario, Canada. Michel began making solo records in the 1990s after being a member of many bands, ...

and

Russell deCarle Prairie Oyster was a Canadian country music group from Toronto, Ontario. They were named Country Group or Duo of the year six times by both the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) and the Juno Awards. The band also won the Bud Country Fan ...

. Over the course of their career, Dala has contributed cover songs to several compilations. The ''Angels & Thieves'' recordings of "

Dream a Little Dream of Me "Dream a Little Dream of Me" is a 1930 song with music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt and lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was first recorded in February 1931 by Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra, soon followed by Wayne King and His Orchestra with voc ...

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

's " Lovesong", and

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

's " A Man Needs a Maid" were released on ''Just Like Heaven - a tribute to The Cure'' (2009), ''Sing Me To Sleep - Indie Lullabies'' (2010), and ''Cinnamon Girl - Women Artists Cover Neil Young'' (2008) respectively. ''Cinnamon Girl'' also included the duo's cover of Young's "

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

", which was recorded for the 2007 compilation '' Borrowed Tunes II: A Tribute to Neil Young''. The duo released their fourth album, ''

Everyone Is Someone ''Everyone Is Someone'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian band Dala. It was released on June 9, 2009. Track listing Personnel * Sheila Carabine - Lead and background vocals, acoustic guitars, piano, keyboards, mandolin * Amanda Walther - ...

'', on June 9, 2009. Lead single "Levi Blues" was nominated in the Mainstream Adult Contemporary category at the 2010

Canadian Radio Music Awards The Canadian Radio Music Awards is an annual series of awards presented by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters that was part of Canadian Music Week The Departure Festival + Conference, formerly known as Canadian Music Week, is an industr ...

. The duo taped a performance for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in February 2010, which aired in June as ''Girls from the North Country''. The performance also featured Canadian all-girl acts The Good Lovelies and Oh Susanna, and included covers of songs by

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, ...

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

, and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

. That year the band won Vocal Group of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards."The Once, Beyond the Pale, both win two at Canadian Folk Music Awards"
''Waterloo Region Record'', Nov 21, 2010 In the spring of 2012, Dala released their fifth studio album, ''

Best Day ''Best Day'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian band Dala (band), Dala. It was released on May 29, 2012 in the US and June 5, 2012 in Canada. Reception ''Best Day'' was released to critical acclaim. It earned three Canadian Folk Music Awards ...

'', which earned three

Canadian Folk Music Award The Canadian Folk Music Awards are an annual music awards ceremony presenting awards in a variety of categories for achievements in both traditional and contemporary folk music, and other roots music genres, by Canadian musicians. The awards pr ...

nominations for English Songwriter of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, and Producer of the Year. In between long breaks from recording, Amanda Walther and her brothers and cousins, as the WW Club, released a children's album ''More Better'' in June 2015. Sheila Carabine's solo album was planned for release in 2016.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Awards

Canadian Folk Music Awards

The

Canadian Folk Music Awards The Canadian Folk Music Awards are an annual music awards ceremony presenting awards in a variety of categories for achievements in both traditional and contemporary folk music, and other roots music genres, by Canadian musicians. The awards pr ...

have been awarded annually since 2005. , - , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", 2006 , Dala - Angels & Thieves , Best New/Emerging Artist , , - ,

Mike Roth Mike Roth, originally from Northampton, Massachusetts, is an A&R man. He is notable for discovering and developing numerous famous Canadian bands including Our Lady Peace, Chantal Kreviazuk, Amanda Marshall, The Philosopher Kings, Prozzäk, Junkh ...

- Angels & Thieves ,

Producer of the Year The Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical is an honor presented to record producers for quality non-classical music at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in ...

, , - , 2008 , Dala - Who Do You Think You Are , Vocal Group of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", 2009 , Dala - Everyone Is Someone , Vocal Group of the Year , , - , Mike Roth - Everyone Is Someone , Producer of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", 2010 , Dala - Girls from the North Country ,

Contemporary Album of the Year Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

, , - , Dala - Girls from the North Country , Vocal Group of the Year , , - , rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;", 2012 , Dala - Best Day , English Songwriter of the Year , , - , Dala - Best Day , Vocal Group of the Year , , - , Mike Roth - Best Day , Producer of the Year ,

Toronto Independent Music Awards

The Toronto Independent Music Awards have been presented bi-annually since 2009

Juno Awards

The

Juno Awards The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry. The Grammy Awards are the United S ...

have been presented annually since 1970 to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. , - , 2011 , Dala - Girls from the North Country , Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Group ,

References

External links

*
Dala
at Lenz Entertainment * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dala Canadian folk music groups Canadian musical duos Musical groups from Toronto Scarborough, Ontario Musical groups established in 2002 2002 establishments in Ontario Canadian Folk Music Award winners