It’s easy to tell she’s a down-to-earth, liberal, folksy singer/songwriter right off the bat. With her compassionate smile and love for black boots, Lynn Miles claims the one famous person she’d like to meet is George Bush – simply to ask him what he’s doing, since she obviously disapproves. She starts off her mini-concert, held at the University Caf’eacute;, by saying ‘I just need to feng shui for a moment.’

The atmosphere is laid back and casual, mainly because the music itself is targeted to a mature audience. Red lights light up the stage as Lynn carefully sets herself up, cradling her guitar in her hands.

With influences including Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, and Tom Waits, it was bound to be an extraordinary show. There was no set list. Miles, having written upwards of 500 songs, claims she doesn’t have any idea of what she wants to sing, saying she ‘likes to just wing it’ while in front of an audience. Not only is this ballsy, but she is not backed up by a band nor background singers. ‘Nope, it’s just me and my guitar and my harmonica,’ she adds with a girlish grin.

So far, Miles’ list of achievements is not a short one. Claiming to have started singing when she was only 6 months old – ‘My mother knew I was asleep in my crib when the singing stopped,’ – she has now reached epic levels in Canada. Miles has released six albums in the United States, Canada and Europe, and has won the Juno Award in Canada, equivalent to an American Grammy Award. Not only has she achieved the much longed-for fame that many of us only dream about, she says, ‘I feel very fortunate because I get to do what I love. It’s not about being wealthy, it’s about being happy.’ So, money can’t buy everything.

Saying she doesn’t do tours, ‘fly-ins’ allow you to see what type of a person Lynn Miles is – easy-going yet spontaneous, much like her audience. It is also very clear that she is comfortable with her audience, and has a great interaction with them. She picks up her guitar to start singing, but then pauses and asks, ‘Would anyone mind if the TV was turned off?’ A few giggles from the audience erupt, then cheers when the box is finally shut off.

Miles begins strumming, pauses again to enter in a quick anecdote, ‘It reminds me of my youth when I played in restaurants and the TV would always be on. One time I played with a heavyweight fight and volume was up!’ The audience laughs again and Lynn strums her guitar, and then apologizes, ‘I’ve been driving alone a lot, so I’m quite chatty, I think I’m ready to start now.’

All of her songs have the same nostalgic quality to them. They are all reminiscent of the past, of love lost or remembered. All have a uniquely autumn quality, due to her folksy guitar playing, and her alto voice. Most of her songs are love or memory based, so I asked her earlier whether she has written any political songs, she responds with, ‘I haven’t written any yet.’

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