Karen Robinson

To contact Karen use the form below. 

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Robinsong Music and Entertainment 

Website: www.robinsong.ca 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ KarenRobinsonMusic 

Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGW_SG_sc53DVTn3So6e4Zg 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/04wNriWyMqwQmnDXioBM87?si=4Vc9ORL_QdCkVRwprHfluA   

Karen Robinson is equally engaged in song writing and performing, and has entered the exciting field of music video creation.  She has six albums, with performance and airplay in both the folk/roots and jazz communities.  “Karen is one of Atlantic Canada’s most imaginative songwriters.” (Mark Cuming, musician, teacher, concert band arranger) 

 Karen’s latest album, ‘The Flip Side: Well, what do we have here!’ is a departure from her previous albums. It is a cornucopia of styles, from Blues to Dixieland to classic country. The songs are lighthearted, quirky. Be prepared to chuckle.  Three songs from this album were semi-finalists in the 2022 International Songwriting Competition (ISC): ‘My Phone’, ‘Love’s A Moving Target’, and ‘Tadpole Blues’. 

 Her music video 'Ode to Gertie Ryan' received First Prize in the Music Video category of the Women's Freedom Song Contest 2023, and Exceptional Merit Award for Comedy in the WRPN Women's International Film Festival 2023.  Both videos, 'My Phone' and 'Ode to Gertie Ryan' were semi-finalists in the San Francisco Arthouse Festival, April 2023, and 'My Phone' was an award winner included in the festival screening in the Paris Shortfest Film Festival, spring 2023.  Music video 'The Night the Lights Went Out' received a Nature Without Borders International Film Festival winter 2023 Exceptional Merit Award.

‘The End of Time’ from Karen's previous album, ‘When We're Together’ won Best Jazz Song in the World Songwriting Awards (WSA),  spring 2022.  ‘Cats and Crows’ was a top-10 finalist in the 27th USA Songwriting Competition Jazz category, 2022. ‘A Song for Mississippi John Hurt’ was a top-ten finalist in the WSA spring 2021 Blues category, ‘Feather and Bone’ top-ten for their summer 2021 best jazz song, and ‘Gamecock and His Hen’ top-ten in the jazz category fall 2021. ‘October 31st ‘was a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Contest (ISC) children’s music category 2021. 

Her 2013 album, ‘Karen Robinson With’, received a Jazz Album of the Year nomination from Music Nova Scotia, and was Chronicle Herald Arts Reporter Stephen Cooke’s Pick of the Week: “With is like a love letter to the Maritime jazz scene … The range of expression is vast, the songs are rich and complex...” 

Recent highlights: Karen’s hour-long special of videos from her new album 'The Flip Side: Well, What do we have here!' will be broadcast on Eastlink TV every Saturday in June 2023, at 8 pm AST. Similarly, her previous video release show ‘When We’re Together’ was featured on Eastlink TV and is streaming on demand since. She is a six-time performer TD Halifax Jazz Festival;  Annual Canada Day/Bedford Days concerts; 9-piece band NS theatres Spring Tour; Vocalist, Sackville Concert band; Toronto’s Hugh’s Room ‘Tribute to Peggy Lee’; club dates in Rio, Buenos Aires and Ho Chi Minh; Album Release, Halifax’s Carleton; Two Apple Blossom Festival Coronation Galas; JazzEast’s Jazz Up Your Spring Series; repeated CBC Radio and CTV airplay; Stayner's Wharf monthly show; The Press Gang’s Art of the Duo; Rose and Kettle Concert Series; guest vocalist, the Big Valley Swing Orchestra; tour shows at the Al Whittle Theatre and Marigold Theatre. 

“Karen has a rare talent to straddle challenging styles to find the sweet spot between theatrical expression and classic jazz.” (Scott Ferguson, FMP Matrix Studio) 

"Karen is one of the most intrinsically musical people I have ever worked with." (Janice Jackson, Soprano, Contemporary Music Specialist, Producer, Vocal Instructor)

“Karen has a rare talent to straddle challenging styles to find the sweet spot between theatrical expression and classic jazz.” (Scott Ferguson, FMP Matrix Studio) 

"Karen has a great voice - an expressive voice. She feels the lyrics, and is an amazing writer. Karen is one of the most intrinsically musical people I have ever worked with." (Janice Jackson, Soprano, Contemporary Music Specialist, Producer, Vocal Instructor) 

“Great music, engaging songs, fab arrangements, outstanding visual aspects, fabulous show, fabulous!”    
(Director, Marigold Theatre, Truro)   

“Karen's music is unique and the lyrics thought-provoking. There is laughter and there are tears. Compare her vocal delivery to Billie Holiday…very real and moving. Karen is the real deal.”    
(Mike Cowie, Musician, Producer, Halifax)

Karen’s musical career has been intertwined with an award-winning non-music career as an environmental health professional and with raising a family. 

Video link to "My Phone"  https://youtu.be/8W_y6PAZyj0

Feather and Bone: https://youtu.be/2asSeaC8BuI 

 ‘Ode to Gertie Ryan’: https://youtu.be/lnz9OytgdBc 

‘Sings Her Heart Out': https://youtu.be/uPLChTch3SE

 And just for fun, the costume malfunction at the Al Whittle Theatre: http://youtu.be/xcekPgKG0wg

Karen qualifies for the Bringin' It Home funding program through Music Nova Scotia.