Wyrd Sisters (band)

Wyrd Sisters
OriginWinnipeg, Manitoba
GenresFolk
Years active1990–present
Labelsindependent
MembersKim Baryluk
Johanna Hildebrandt
Dem McLeod
Marie Josee Dandeneau
Carolyna Loveless
Id Guinness
Ledenhed
Past membersNancy Reinhold
Kim Segal
Lianne Fournier
Kiva
Lindsay Jane
Jennifer Gibson
Delina
Websitewyrdsisters.com

The Wyrd Sisters are a Canadian folk music group formed in 1990 in Winnipeg by founding members Kim Baryluk, Nancy Reinhold and Kim Segal. The band chose the name "the Wyrd Sisters" to represent and reclaim the ancient pre-Christian triple goddess, also known as Weird, Wurd, Urd, Urth and The Fates.[clarification needed] Presenting initially as a trio, the group later grew to include a full band.

The Wyrd Sisters have released six independent recordings to both fan and critical acclaim. Herizon Magazine dubbed the Wyrd Sisters' 1997 release Raw Voice, "a collection of 11 lyrically intelligent and musically diverse songs that can best be described as folk-pop-jazz fusion with a feminist bent"[1] and said of the band's 2001 release Sin & Other Salvations, the lyrics were marked by "elegant, spare poetry" and new band member Kiva's "ethereal tones enhance the beautiful harmonies that have marked the [band's] previous three recordings".[2]

Three of the Wyrd Sisters' recordings have been nominated for Juno Awards (Canada's national music awards) in the Best Roots & Traditional Album - Group category: Inside The Dreaming (1996), Raw Voice (1998) and Sin & Other Salvations (2002). Sin & Other Salvations won a Prairie Music Award (forerunner of the Western Canadian Music Awards) for best album, Roots and Traditional. Many of their songs have been recorded and covered by other performers. They have several videos and have scored music for movies.

In 2005, the band began a legal action against Warner Brothers, Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, and Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway of Radiohead for trademark infringement over the use of their band name in the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The injunction was dismissed, and the band was ordered to pay costs.[3][4] As of March 2010, the lawsuit has been settled, the details sealed.[5]

  1. ^ Filipenko, Cindy (1997). "Raw Voice review". Herizons. Winnipeg. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  2. ^ Filipenko, Cindy (2002). "Sin & Other Salvations review". Winnipeg: Herizons Magazine. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  3. ^ "'Wyrd Sisters' cannot stop Harry Potter". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2005-11-04.
  4. ^ "'Winnipeg folk band that took on Harry Potter ordered to pay $140,000 court costs". Canada.com National Post. Archived from the original on 2007-10-16.
  5. ^ Lambert, Steve (2010). "Wyrd five-year court battle over Harry Potter movie ends with secret settlement". Winnipeg: Canadian Press. Archived from the original on March 31, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-28.