Winter Companion

A's making a list and checking it twice.
Rewind to junior year in Rosewood, Pennsylvania, to a winter break no one has ever heard about. . . .
Alison's murderer is in jail, A is dead, and the pretty little liars can finally relax. Or so they think. But there's a new A in town—me. I'm watching these girls day and night, and you won't believe what I've uncovered.

Under a Winter's Moon features 15 seasonal songs performed by Loreena interspersed with seasonal readings by Canadian Indigenous actor and Companion of the Order of Canada Tom Jackson, Gemini Award-winning actor Cedric Smith, and Ojibway artist and flautist Jeffrey "Red" George.

On his second solo effort, Winnipeg native John K. Samson builds on his long-tenured role as poet laureate of contemporary prairie culture. Former frontman of beloved Canadian indie rockers the Weakerthans, Samson's trademark tales of blue-collar Canadians and downtrodden, internet-age academics continue to collide on Winter Wheat, an appropriately titled collection of maudlin folk-rock tunes where hope is hibernating just below the soil. Recorded during a Winnipeg winter alongside wife and musical partner Christine Fellows, Samson's gently picked guitar is supported by former Weakerthans rhythm section Jason Tait (drums) and Greg Smith (bass), whose easy camaraderie is felt in the wide open, nuanced arrangements.

A celebration and meditation on the season for drinking hot chocolate, spotting a wreath on a neighbor's door, experiencing the change in light of shorter days. All aspects of Winter, from the meteorological to the mythological, are captured in this masterful essay, told in wise and luminous prose that pushes back the dark.