Little Miss Higgins creates a fiction podcast using the music from her 2013 album
Jolene Higgins is a Juno-nominated artist from mid-west Canada. Over the years, her hits such as Bargain Shop Panties and Heavy Train have gained her notoriety for being a fierce spirit in the Canadian music scene. Venues know her for being a little lady with a big voice, and her iconic red lipstick look style-matches the hot rods she poses alongside in music videos. In 2013, she joined forces with a talented roster of Canadian musicians to create the ensemble The Winnipeg 5. The band consisted of Jimmie James McKee on trumpet, Eric Lemoine on banjo and pedal steel, Blake Thomson on guitar, Patrick Alexandre Leclerc on upright bass, and Evan Friesen on drums. If you can hear bells ringing, it’s not just you, the particular combination is known by another name - The F Holes - and the instrumental group is based in Manitoba.
Bison Ranch Recording Sessions artists - Jolene Higgins and The Winnipeg Five
Some of the venues they toured the album at include The Exchange in Regina, The Rogue Folk Club in Vancouver, and The Ironwood in Calgary. Though times may be tough for touring artists, Jolene spent the time when touring was not an option to write a story that captures some of the essence of live music shows. The story of My Heart is a Train follows an artist’s romance with a musician on a snowy Canadian night. The story even pays homage to Canadian Rockabilly icon Ray Condo with mentions of seeing him live in Vancouver. It’s these details that make the story feel like an escape into Jolene’s life. When asked how this project started Jolene says, “It started a long time ago, I just didn’t know it would be this story yet. Then few months ago there was a need to create something – an audio experience – that used my music.”
The creation of a fictional podcast around the Bison Ranch Recording Sessions isn’t so much a musical, but more like a book of prose created around the existing album to breathe more life into the music. Though the songs have been played on radio and toured on their own, Jolene saw this as an opportunity to walk a different path with the songs. She was working on another audio drama project with Kris Demeanor - an artist, storyteller, and executive producer of Dish Duty Dramas and Chicken Coop Comedies - when lockdown rules restricted non-essential travel, and the idea was shelved. But, as a true artist would, Jolene picked up the pen again and felt determined to create something new. The process has led her to not only creating My Heart is a Train around Bison Ranch Recording Sessions’ music, but she has even written a second part to My Heart is a Train, a project she initially thought would be one-off.
The podcast will be released at the end of March. You can be notified when it is uploaded and gain access to the link where it will appear on any of your preferred podcast providers (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, Podcast Addict, Podbean, Etc.) by signing up for notification on the My Heart is a Train Page.
For online magazines or other press seeking an advanced copy to review, please contact ella@mysteryplanet.net