Sarah Lois Harmer (born November 12, 1970) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and environmental activist.

Early life

Born and raised in

Burlington, Ontario Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is a city and List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipality in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region at the west end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Can ...

, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musical lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sister started taking her to Tragically Hip concerts."Sarah Harmer: Out at the Hideout"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', January 1, 2006.

Career

At the age of 17, Harmer was invited to join a

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

band, The Saddletramps. For three years, she performed with them while pursuing her studies in philosophy and women's studies at Queen's University. After leaving The Saddletramps, Harmer put together a band of her own with several

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

musicians, and chose the name Weeping Tile. The band released its first independent cassette in 1994. Soon afterward, they signed to a major label, and the cassette was re-released in 1995 as '' Eepee''. The band performed regularly on the rock club circuit and on campus radio with their subsequent albums, but never broke through to the mainstream, and broke up in 1998 after being dropped from their label. Also in 1998, Harmer recorded a set of pop standards as a Christmas gift for her father. After hearing it, her friends and family convinced her to release it as an album, and in 1999 she released it independently as '' Songs for Clem''. Harmer began working on another album, and in 2000, she released ''

You Were Here ''You Were Here'' is an album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer, released in 2000. Background ''You Were Here'' was Harmer's commercial breakthrough in Canada after years of almost reaching the pop charts with Weeping Tile. The album' ...

''. In 2001 she toured around Canada and the US in support of the album. "Sarah Harmer's quiet storm"
Sarah Hampson. February 22, 2001. A poppier, more laid-back effort than her work with Weeping Tile, ''You Were Here'' was a commercial success, and led to the hit singles "Basement Apartment" and "Don't Get Your Back Up". The album also appeared on many critics' year-end lists, including ''TIME'' magazine, which called it the year's best debut album. It was eventually certified platinum for sales of 100,000 copies in Canada. Almost half of the album (including both of its major hits) consisted of songs she had previously recorded with Weeping Tile or The Saddletramps. In 2002, her song "Silver Road" was featured as the lead track of the soundtrack of the film '' Men With Brooms''. In 2004, she released ''

All of Our Names ''All of Our Names'' is an album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer, released in 2004. It peaked at number 6 on the Top Canadian Albums chart and number 43 on the ''Billboard'' Top Heatseekers chart. "Almost" b/w "Pendulums" was released ...

''. The album included the singles "Almost", which made the top 20 on Canadian pop charts, and "Pendulums". ''

'' won the JUNO Award for Best Adult Alternative Album, a new award category in 2005. Her fourth album, '' I'm a Mountain'', was released in Canada in November 2005 and in the United States in February 2006. It was nominated for the 2006 Polaris Music Prize, a jury-selected $20,000 cash prize for the Canadian album of the year. Also in 2005 she had an acting role in Anita Doron's film '' The End of Silence''. Harmer has also appeared as a guest vocalist on albums by other artists, including

Blue Rodeo Blue Rodeo is a Canadian rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, and colla ...

, Great Big Sea, Rheostatics,

Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to folk- and jazz-influenced rock to soundscapes accompanying spoken stories. His lyrics reflect interests in spirit ...

Luther Wright and the Wrongs Luther Wright and the Wrongs are a Canadians, Canadian alternative country and bluegrass music, bluegrass band formed in 1998 in Kingston, Ontario. History The band began as a side project for Wright when he was a member of Weeping Tile (band), ...

, Loomer, Skydiggers,

The Weakerthans The Weakerthans are a Canadian indie rock band from Winnipeg. The band, led by John K. Samson, has released four studio albums and is currently inactive. History The band was formed in 1997 in Winnipeg, Manitoba by John K. Samson, after he l ...

Neko Case Neko Richelle Case ( ; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case's singing voice has been described by contemporaries and critics as a "flamethrower", "a pow ...

Great Lake Swimmers Great Lake Swimmers is a Canadian folk rock band from Wainfleet, Ontario, and currently based in Toronto. The current touring line-up is Tony Dekker on lead vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica, Erik Arnesen on banjo, electric guitar and Pump o ...

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, was a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

and

Bob Wiseman Robert Neil Wiseman (born 1962) is a film composer, songwriter, author and music teacher. Wiseman discovered or produced many artists including Ron Sexsmith, The Lowest of the Low, Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall, Anhai, and former Canadia ...

. In February 2007, Harmer received three

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

nominations. '' I'm a Mountain'' was nominated for Best Adult Alternative Album and her DVD '' Escarpment Blues'' won the

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

for Best Music DVD. Harmer herself was also nominated for Songwriter of the Year for her work on "I Am Aglow", "Oleander" and "Escarpment Blues". In 2010, Harmer released a fifth album, '' Oh Little Fire'', which was nominated for three Juno Awards. The album signaled a shift toward a more rock-based sound. In 2011, Harmer participated in the National Parks Project, visiting

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

's Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site with Bry Webb, Jim Guthrie and filmmaker Scott Smith. She was also commissioned by

CBC Radio 2 CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

to write an original campfire song for the network. On August 19, 2016, Harmer and

Jim Creeggan James Raymond Creeggan (born February 12, 1970) is the bassist for Canadian alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies. Early life Creeggan was born in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. His mother taught piano lessons to neighbourhood chi ...

appeared on CBC Radio's '' Q'' to perform a live cover of The Tragically Hip's "Morning Moon". That year Harmer also performed at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. In 2018, Harmer contributed the song "Just Get Here" to the compilation album '' The Al Purdy Songbook''. In the same year, she performed at the

Juno Awards of 2018 The Juno Awards of 2018, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in Vancouver, British Columbia during the weekend of 24–25 March 2018. The primary telecast ceremonies were held at Rogers Arena. Vancouver previously hosted the Juno ...

in a tribute to the late

Gord Downie Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer, poet, and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from ...

, performing a medley of "Introduce Yerself" and "

Bobcaygeon Bobcaygeon is a community on the Trent–Severn Waterway in the Kawartha Lakes, City of Kawartha Lakes, east-central Ontario, Canada. Bobcaygeon was incorporated as a village in 1876, and became known as the "Hub of the Kawarthas". Its reco ...

" in collaboration with Dallas Green and

Kevin Hearn Kevin Neil Hearn (born July 3, 1969) is a Canadian musician who is a member of Barenaked Ladies, and his own group, Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle. He primarily plays keyboard (instrument), keyboards and guitars. He is also a member of Rheostatics ...

. Her newest album, '' Are You Gone'', was released in February 2020 on Arts & Crafts. It was longlisted for the

2020 Polaris Music Prize The 2020 edition of the Canada, Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on October 19, 2020. The longlist was announced on June 15, 2020, with the shortlist following on July 15, 2020 and the winner announced on October 19, 2020. Due to the CO ...

, and nominated for Best Adult Alternative Album at the Juno Awards of 2021.

Activism

In 2005, Harmer co-founded PERL (Protecting Escarpment Rural Land), an organization which campaigned to protect the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is an approximately discontinuous, arc-shaped but generally northward-facing escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States. The escarpment begins south of Lake Ontario and circumscribes the top of the Great Lake ...

from a proposed gravel development which would see some parts of wilderness near the escarpment removed. To support the organization, she and her acoustic band embarked on a tour of the escarpment, hiking the Bruce Trail and performing at theatres and community halls in towns along the way. A documentary DVD of this tour was released in 2006 as '' Escarpment Blues''. Harmer also coauthored a book about the campaign, ''The Last Stand: A Journey Through the Ancient Cliff-Face Forest of the Niagara Escarpment'', which was published in 2007. In October 2012, PERL won their case against the development. Harmer has performed and canvassed in support of the NDP and politician Marilyn Churley, who also promoted the protection of the Niagara Escarpment. She has also performed in support of Ontario Green Party Leader and MPP Mike Schreiner. On March 24, 2018, she joined the demonstration at Kinder Morgan's Burnaby Terminal to protest against the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. In February 2019, she spoke against the Ontario government's proposed Bill 66 at a Kingston City Council meeting. In January 2022, Sarah helped launch the Reform Gravel Mining Coalition with co-chair Graham Flint. The RGMC seeks to reform the gravel

mining industry Mining is the extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or feasibly created artificially in a la ...

in Ontario. At the Juno Awards of 2025, Harmer was presented with the Juno Humanitarian Award in honour of her environmental activism.

Family

Her niece Georgia Harmer, the daughter of Sarah's sister Mary with their former Weeping Tile bandmate Gord Tough, is a singer-songwriter whose debut album ''Stay in Touch'' was released in April 2022 on

Arts & Crafts Productions Arts & Crafts Productions is a Canadian music-focused media and artist services company that offers services as an independent record label, management firm, merchandiser, and publisher worldwide. It has earned 21 Juno Awards. Arts & Crafts has ...

.Kaelen Bell
"Georgia Harmer Announces Debut Album 'Stay in Touch,' Shares New Song"
''

'', February 15, 2022.

Discography

Albums

Singles

In 2007, Harmer also reunited with Weeping Tile to record a song, "Public Square", for the Rheostatics tribute album '' The Secret Sessions''.

Publications

*Peter E. Kelly, Douglas W. Larson, Sarah Harmer, ''The Last Stand : A Journey Through the Ancient Cliff-Face Forest of the Niagara Escarpment'', Natural Heritage Books, 2007, (paperback).

References

External links

www.sarahharmer.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmer, Sarah 1970 births Canadian alternative country singers Canadian folk guitarists Canadian women folk guitarists Canadian folk singer-songwriters Canadian pop guitarists Canadian rock guitarists Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian women rock singers Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year winners Living people People from Burlington, Ontario Queen's University at Kingston alumni Singers from Ontario Writers from Ontario Canadian environmentalists Canadian women environmentalists Zoë Records artists Canadian women pop singers 20th-century Canadian women singers 20th-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian guitarists Canadian folk-pop singers Canadian folk rock musicians Arts & Crafts Productions artists 20th-century Canadian women guitarists 21st-century Canadian women guitarists 20th-century Canadian singer-songwriters 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters