Loreena McKennitt

Community biography from

With her refined harpestry, angelic voice, and melodious compositions, Loreena McKennitt infuses Celtic and New Age sounds with a mix of influences as diverse as Moroccan, Greek, Turkish, Indian, Native American, and Italian. McKennitt's worldwide record sales currently total over 14 million.

A native of Canada, she started out playing traditional Celtic folk songs in cafés, before establishing a record label and releasing her debut in 1985. Her 1989 album Parallel Dreams proved a breakthrough, selling impressive numbers for a limited-distribution release. The Visit (1991) was a phenomenal success, selling 600,000 copies in Canada and earning McKennitt her first Juno Award. The Mask and Mirror (1994) and The Book Of Secrets (1997) continued her success, the former winning another Juno, and the latter selling two million copies in America thanks to the success of single "The Mummers' Dance". McKennitt then took a break, releasing only a live album until 2006's comeback An Ancient Muse. In 2007 she released a live CD and DVD Nights from the Alhambra.