River North’s latest single derives from a poem Heather Christine’s parents wrote
Toronto-based artists Heather Christine and Matt Zaddy have connected their life partnership into a formal musical one to release their debut single, “This Too Shall Pass,” as the folk duo River North.
“This song began as a poem written by my parents, who are both writers,” Heather said. “They wrote it to express their emotions during the start of the lockdown when an entire generation was essentially isolated for fear of what the virus could do to older adults.”
“Their words inspired us to express what we’ve been thinking and feeling during these strange times,” Matt added. “We wrote ‘This Too Shall Pass’ as a beacon of hope, and to remind us that many things have come before us — and passed.”
“We were privileged to have Wendy Solomon, a gifted cellist, join us on this performance,” Heather continued. “She has performed with so many wonderful acts — Robert Plant, Barbara Streisand, Lights, Rod Stewart, Dionne Warwick, Yes, Brian Wilson — so to have someone of her calibre and creativity really made the song feel that much more special.”
“From the start, Heather had a vision of featuring a cello on this song, and for good reason,” Matt said. “It came together quite naturally and added a depth and emotion to the piece”
Emerging musicians in their own rights, Heather Christine won a Mississauga Music Award for Best New Artist (2018), and her debut solo album, Love In Colour (2019) hit #1 on Spain’s Smooth Jazz Sitges radio. She has played parts in countless major music theatre productions, including the leading roles in Only Yesterday and Patsy Cline & the Queens of Country.
For his part, Matt Zaddy is a former member of Starring Janet Leigh (Ironclad Recordings / Metal Blade Records), From Far & Wide, and The Infringements; he has also released two award-winning solo albums — Be (2019), and Perfect Moments (2015). He’s won two Mississauga Music Awards: Best Promoter (2019) and Best Acoustic Artist (2017).
River North are co-writers of the City of Mississauga’s official anthem for #Canada150, “We Are The North.”
