Woman of the Week: April Verch

by Sara Mahmood

When April Verch was three years old and started taking step dance lessons, her parents thought it was just a phase.  But Verch’s passion for music only grew stronger as she grew older and 10 years later she was independently releasing her first album.

Verch grew up in the Ottawa Valley, a region with a rich musical heritage. Verch’s family loved music: her father played guitar and sang in a band and although her mother wasn’t a musician, she was also passionate about music. Verch’s older sister had been step-dancing before her, igniting Verch’s interest in music, if only just to copy her big sister.

“Partly I was interested in it and the other part thought it was what everyone did,” she laughs.

Although being a musician was a dream from an early age, Verch didn’t really start working towards that goal until she was about 10.  Three years later, Verch released her first album, Springtime Fiddle. Releasing an album independently wasn’t a strange concept to the young Verch; she knew a couple of people who had released their own music by selling tapes on weekends. She told her parents she wanted to do the same and her parents encouraged her to do so.

“My parents always told me you should do what you love and I remember thinking ‘I can’t imagine loving anything more than this’,” Verch recalls.

Verch went on to release two other albums independently before being discovered by Rounder Records. The company suggested that Verch, who at this point had only released instrumental recordings, try singing so she could expand her audience. Verch continues to sing and play instrumentals to this day.

After releasing three albums with Rounder Records, Verch created her own label, Slab Town Records. She has released her two latest albums independently through her label. Working with Rounder Records was a tremendous asset for her at the time, but she and the label agreed that it was in both parties’ best interests for Verch to try something different.

Verch has always been involved in the business side of her career. She advises new musicians to try to do the same.

“You really have to follow your heart with your music and remember that to be successful and to play as much as you want, you have to be involved with the business aspect as well…The more you leave those things up to someone else, the longer it takes [to become successful],” she says.

To Verch, being successful means playing as much as you’d like to and always being busy. Verch’s schedule is definitely demanding: aside from touring, she also finds time to teach fiddle and string camps in the summer and is currently working on a new collaboration called April Verch’s Heartland Expedition. Along with fellow fiddlers Stephen “Sammy” Lind and André Brunet and banjo-player/singer Riley Baugus, Verch sets out to follow roots music starting in the Appalachians and moving into Canada and perform these music styles to audiences around the world.

Touring with her band and the ensemble may seem like a lot of work, but there’s nothing else Verch would rather be doing.

“My favourite part of what I do is performing. The tours are kind of endless; it’s like life is an endless tour.”