Five time Juno Award winner, Liona Boyd, ”The First Lady of the Guitar", has enthralled millions with her romantic and unique brand of classical, folk and world music. She has performed solo and orchestral concerts around the world, had her own television specials, performed for many heads of state, and recorded twenty-eight albums, many of which have gone Gold and Platinum. Liona has been given five Honorary Doctorates, The Order of Canada, The Order of Ontario and the Diamond Jubilee Medal. She is a five-time winner of the Guitar Player Magazine poll for best classical guitarist, is a member of the Gallery of Greats, and was recently given a Lifetime Achievement award in the USA by the National Guitar Museum. Liona has composed and arranged hundreds of pieces for the guitar and has written a best-selling autobiography. Since 2008 Liona has been touring and recording as a singer and songwriter bringing a new dimension to her art and career of over forty-five years.
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Thanks to all who watched the holiday concert special "A Winter Fantasy" on CBC GEM and in the US on PBS stations throughout December
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Liona’s latest album is L.O.V.E. an upbeat and joyous Latin influenced dance album. Watch the videos below and thanks for all the views and comments. Videos for the album have been released over the past year, see links below!
Liona is has just released her first children’s book!
The Cat Who Played Guitar is a charming and humorous story about a beautiful cat who is determined to play the classical guitar like his owner. Written in rhyming poetry, the story was inspired by her playful real-life cat, Muffin, who lived to be almost twenty. This whimsical story teaches kids that nothing in life comes without tremendous focus and effort.
Muffin often used to sit beside Liona, listening to her composing
and practicing on her guitar. He loved to run around her music
room, playing with her old guitar strings or jumping inside her guitar cases. When Liona returned from her frequent international trips, Muffin would be waiting by the door to greet her. In the ‘90s Liona acquired a miniature guitar in Spain that sparked the idea to write a fable in which Muffin would learn to play it. She asked her dress designer to sew a tiny tuxedo and Muffin was enticed to pose on stage by dangling shrimp above his head. The resulting photo led to the fantastical illustrations for the book, painted in watercolours by award-winning illustrator Laura Fernandez.
The Cat Who Played Guitar is available in Canada at Indigo and available worldwide on Amazon. And also as an audiobook read by Liona, available on Audible worldwide.
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The latest video from the ‘L.O.V.E’ album ‘Maradona’ is out now!
Click here to view on YouTube!
Liona on ‘Maradona’:
I’ve never been a huge soccer fan, but remember my parents and I became fascinated with Diego Armando Maradona while watching the world cup. After he died in 2020, and was so much in the news, I decided to write a song using his name that sounded so musical to my ears. The song focuses on the peak of his life when he became a legendary sports hero throughout the world and was known as “El Pibe de Oro” (The Golden Kid). Likes and comments on YouTube are also appreciated!
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Gracias - Official Music Video is live around the world! The latest single from the L.O.V.E. Album. Filmed in Palm Beach, Gracias is Liona looking back with gratitude for her amazing life. Click here to view on YouTube!
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March 2022 Ayúdame Papa - the lyric video is now finally available around the world to share with you! The Spanish translation is “Help me father”. This song is dedicated to Liona’s late father John H. Boyd. This is the latest video from the forthcoming Latin dance inspired L.O.V.E. album. It begins with solo classical guitar which leads us to a joyful Latin dance beat, with lively percussion. Please share and leave a comment on the YouTube page. Many Thanks!
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January 2022 - Liona Boyd has been promoted to the rank of Officer of The Order Of Canada. “For her significant and sustained contributions to Canada’s musical landscape as ‘The First Lady of Guitar.’” The Order of Canada is one of the country’s civilian highest honours. Congratulations Liona! Read more here: Cultural Trailblazers Named to Order Of Canada
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Liona Boyd featured in the National Post - Looking ahead: Prominent Canadians give us their predictions for 2022
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The new single L.O.V.E. is out now, click here watch the video! L.O.V.E. is a celebration of lovers everywhere around the world. With its repeated chorus, “My Love — Mi Amor”, the song’s infectious grooves and guitar melodies uplifts the spirit. L.O.V.E. began as a song Liona brought to her longtime producer Peter Bond late in 2020. She asked her friend, singer Amanda Martinez, described as “one of the great new voices in Spanish language Latin music”, to join with her in singing the vocal choruses. The video now has over 65,000 views on YouTube, thanks for all the great feedback and comments!
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Popcorn Remix - click here to watch the video !
Thanks to everyone for the overwhelming response to Popcorn Remix. Popcorn is the first is a series of singles that will become Liona’s new latin influenced dance album!
From the press release: “Multi-Award Winning “First Lady of the Guitar” Liona Boyd Serves Up Swoon-Worthy Retro-Disco Remix of Instrumental Hit, “Popcorn” A vibrant arrangement for classical guitar, complete with a retro disco feel, “Popcorn (Remix)” is certain to get audiences up, and out of their seats dancing” .
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Soundboard Magazine March 2021 feature article on Liona
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This past December, World-renowned classical guitarist, Liona Boyd and her protégé, Andrew Dolson presented a magical evening in the concert special A WINTER FANTASY airing on PBS station WNED and across the US (see below). A Winter Fantasy remains available to stream for free in Canada on CBC GEM.
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The National Guitar Museum, based in the USA and founded to promote and preserve the legacy of the guitar, awarded Liona Boyd their 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Click here for article in FYI Music News
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No Remedy for Love, the album and second autobiography are in stores and online now
from Universal Music and Dundurn Press.