Jenina MacGillivray

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada

Born in Cape Breton, raised on Prince Edward Island, and based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Jenina MacGillivray’s songs and stories are deeply located on the islands of Atlantic Canada. With a voice that “evokes another era” MacGillivray’s songs are wistful, and longing — she sings of lost loves in Portugal, the Isle of Wight, and the American Southwest — but also intimately familiar. She brings the same dreamy colouring to her songs about her friendships in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Basin Head, PEI, and St. John’s. MacGillivray’s other life as a filmmaker becomes obvious through her songwriting she is often “on location”, focused on images of comings and goings with an old camera, and an approach both wry and nostalgic. This ability to weave the small places of Atlantic Canada into the broader world have made their mark on critics and audiences. Her debut album Marion won Music NL’s Factor Album of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, and received rave reviews throughout Eastern Canada where it was called “the real deal” (Roots Canada) and “possibly the most beautiful album of the year” (East Magazine). She will release her sophomore album Fall 2024.