Ana Miura warms the hearts of each audience she encounters. From living rooms to main stages, her smooth, sweet, melodic voice and fluid, finger-style approach to guitar has made her an Ottawa favourite. Voted Ottawa's Best Singer/Songwriter in the Ottawa Xpress, her songs captivate with folky inflections of jazz, pop, and rock. Ana’s debut album, Tenacious Heart, let you bring her unique sound home.       [read more]

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Outstanding Performances and Accolades

           * 2007 Telluride Troubadour Songwriting competition - Honorable Mention for He Swallows Whiskey (over 650 entrants)

          * Winner of the 2006 Songs from the Heart Award - Galaxie Rising Star Award for He Swallows Whiskey  [press release]

         * Miura chosen as one of 10  "People to Watch for 2007" by the Ottawa Citizen; only musician in distinguished group

          * Miura Receives Inaugural CAO Recording Award to produce CD [press release]

          *Voted Runner-up to Kathleen Edwards for Ottawa's Best Singer/Songwriter for 2005/2006 in the Ottawa Xpress; Honorable mention in 2006/2007

           *Voted Ottawa's Best Singer/Songwriter for 2004/2005 in the Ottawa Xpress

      *Best of Fall - Rising Scene Star - Ottawa Magazine

     *Opened for Sarah Harmer at the Canadian Tulip Festival as well as sold out show at the Perth Studio Theatre

     *Won sole acoustic slot for HOPE Beach Volleyball Benefit Tournament and concert, featuring Three Days Grace and Thornley

       *Finalist in the Galaxie Rising Stars event (CBC's Continuous Music Network) to perform at the CKCU Ottawa Folk Festival and the National Arts Centre's Fourth Stage in Ottawa;

    *Shared the stage with Teitur, Joel Kroeker, Fred Eaglesmith, Jeremy Fisher, and Nathan Wiley.

  *Featured in Rogers Community Television "Best of Bands" special for 2004

  *Multiple performances at The Canadian Tulip Festival, CKCU Ottawa Folk Festival and Barrymore’s Music Hall.

  *Organized many shows in the Ottawa/Kingston region, including the Babes for Breasts Benefit Tours, featuring Ana among others.        

 All images courtesy of Mitch Lenet

Lucid Forge Magazine -

"...major highlight of the venue at NXNE. Ana Miura is a great performer, who is a master at improvising on stage..."

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Nepean This Week -

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Barrhaven Independent -

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Asianetwork -

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The Ottawa Citizen -

"Something to Sing about" Babes for Breasts two-page spread in Citizen Weekly Feature!

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Brockville Recorder and Times -

"Event Aids Fight Against Breast Cancer"

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Metro -

"Babes unite in Song to Support a Good Cause"

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Toronto Times -

"her heart looks to be genuinely committed to the greater good of others."

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Nepean this Week -

"Nepean singer organizes cancer fundraiser"

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Ottawa Citizen -

"At each performance, the dark-haired 27-year-old charms a few more people with the delicate power of her songs. She specializes in bittersweet love songs, singing them in a voice that shimmers with cool beauty and accompanying herself with a sure hand on acoustic guitar. Her folky style is reminiscent of artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Joni Mitchell and Jewel."                                                      

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Kanata EMC -

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Reference Letter -

"Ana’s music is melodically driven, complex in arrangement yet entirely accessible. Her melodies are strong, hummable and instantly likeable. She also demonstrates a growing presence as a performer. As part of the SFTH awards, each winner is invited to perform their song to a crowd of Artistic Directors, artists, journalists, etc. I watched Ana command the room and strike a delicate balance between performing artistry and introspection. Were I a booker I would strongly consider hiring Ana for my festival or concert series."

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CAO Recording Award Winner -

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On "He Swallows Whiskey" -

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Ottawa Xpress -

"..never again will I doubt Ottawa as a hub for some of the country's finest music." [read]

Ottawa Citizen -

"...an increasing amount of decent music is being made in Ottawa. Singer-songwriter Ana Miura was a high-profile example throughout the conference: her mopey drinking song, He Swallows Whiskey, won the Songs From the Heart competition, earning her a showcase spot at the conference, a full page in the program and the rank of hometown darling."

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Ottawa Citizen -

When folkfest brass hold a meeting, get ready to party                                          [read]

Nepean This Week -

Catch a Rising Star: Miura wins prestigious music award                                               [read]   

Ottawa Magazine - September 2006 - Fateema Sayani

Featured in "Best of Fall" - "Rising-Scene Stars"

Ottawa Citizen - July 22, 2006 - Chris Cobb

The Arts in Ottawa - A Special Series on the Culture of the City.    (Ana is one of the featured artists interviewed.)                         [read]

Ontario Council of Folk Festivals - August 2006 - www.ocff.ca

2006 Songs from the Heart Winner for her song "He Swallows Whiskey".  Click below for press release.             

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Bridge Guitar Reviews - February 2006 - Henk

" The secret of Ana Miura is she knows to absorb a listener with haunting melodies and a moving voice and first-rate guitar playing skills."  

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BEST LOCAL SINGER-SONGWRITER

Kathleen Edwards

Honourable Mentions: Ana Miura, Joel Martin

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Canadian Tulip Festival Letter- October 20, 2005 - Tom O'Connor, Artistic Director

"...brilliant performance...your set swelled with the comfort and confidence of a stage-staggering professional...It is no wonder you are one of Ottawa's most respected musicians."

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Ottawa Xpress - Thursday August 11, 2005 - Shannon Beahen

"...a voice so lullaby pure...a promising act, self-assured enough to explore two extremes."

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The Ottawa Citizen - Saturday August 6th, 2005 - Patrick Langston

"...a solid debut...Miura accompanies herself on guitar, her fluid style a perfect accompaniment to her warm, well-modulated vocals..."          [read]

The Ottawa Sun                                 Wednesday June 22, 2005 - Allan Wigney

"...sweetly sung tales of personal experience and observation."                               [read]

Nepean Weekender - June 16, 2005; Barrhaven Weekender - June 16, 2005 - Malcolm MacMillan

"...an album that showcases Miura's maturation as a songwriter..."                               [read]

"...someone whose stubborn presence among the rising group of Canadian alt-country/folk musicians shouldn't be under-estimated." 

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"I think that with bands like the Hi Lo Trons and Double Pumpers and Department of Foreign Affairs and Ana Miura and Lure, you get this re-emergence of great music in Ottawa."

The Ottawa Citizen                            Thursday December 2nd, 2004  E3 

"Her voice might be compared to Alanis Morisette’s when devoid of angst – or might recall the crispness of a vocalist like Ani DiFranco."

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Ottawa Xpress Weekly Newspaper   Thursday November 18th, 2004 (front page)

Ana is voted Ottawa's Best Singer/Songwriter!

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Trenz Magazine: Issue 3                      June/July 2004 

"Miura is one of those artists who, if she doesn’t make it big, will make people scratch their heads and wonder why. "

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The Ottawa Citizen: Arts Section; F6 Friday May 28, 2004

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Ottawa Xpress -

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www.latchkey.net - Featured Performer Article by Valentino Assenza  

  "Ana Miura is sweet, intelligent, passionate and beautiful. Unsurprisingly she has managed to transplant all of these incendiary qualities of hers, into her music."

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THE NEWS: Your Community Newspaper

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The Ottawa Sun, pg.40

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Canadian Tulip Festival - Letter

"...a great demonstration of the strength of local Ottawa talent."

"...your interaction with the audience was honest and inviting, as you captured your listeners with each heart-felt song."                                [read]

                  [back to MEDIA]

Matt Ouimet (Drums, Percussion)

Here's a few words on Matt: He is an amazing drummer.  He's a stellar singer/songwriter.  He doesn't like food.  He does like beer.  He builds beautiful drums. He's a multi-instrumentalist.  He once placed 2nd in a blues harmonica play-off at the Rainbow in Ottawa, even though he really doesn't know how to play the harmonica.  He's got a kind heart underneath his tall lanky white guy exterior. He's a great comedian.  He's an essential member of the band.

Steve Boudreau (Bass / Piano)

When Steve and I jammed I had an epiphany.  He did everything I hoped he would do and more without me even asking.  Ah, it was brilliant.  Needless to say I was incredibly happy and felt like there was a great match.  Steve is also a stellar jazz pianist and has a degree in jazz performance in piano.  He's incredibly knowledgeable but also such a tasteful and intuitive player. It's awesome to be playing with him.

Joe Grass is a top drawer musician known for his stellar improvisational skills as well as for his own solid solo music career.  A true musical leader, he brings a beautiful, unique sound to the band.  His musical voice makes me shiver.

Dave brings the cool, understated moan of his strat to the band.  His licks sit perfectly in both the studio and live settings, not to mention he carries a beautiful tune.  Dave is involved in a number of Ottawa projects, including his duo, South of Swift. 

Chris is a musical gift.  He not only sits in on gigs from time to time, he dispenses invaluable practical music biz advice.  Besides playing jazz violin (he was nominated for the 2004 National Jazz Awards in Canada) he is a very talented and very busy children's performer.  Check his website out: www.fiddlefire.com.  He sings, plays guitar, and other instruments that we're probably not aware of; writes his own music and tours over 250 dates a year.  A man livin' the dream, he's very, very, good at what he does and always makes a huge impression on audiences.