About
With warmly-sung duo harmonies, intricate fingerstyle guitar, raw emotion, and a touch of psychedelia, The Dusty Halos have been gently breaking hearts across the Maritimes with their their dreamily melancholic folk songs.Halifax-based singer-songwriter Rebecca Fairless formed The Dusty Halos in 2022 with her chorister friend Katharine Harrison. Following their debut at a folk festival in a barn outside Antigonish, they went on to perform on stages in Nova Scotia, Toronto, and Montreal. When Katharine moved out of province, Gabriella Ciurcovich joined the band with her upright bass. The Dusty Halos usually perform as a duo, but sometimes as a trio.Born on the prairies and raised in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Rebecca Fairless writes songs that encompass both the warmth and the austerity of a bright Alberta sun in a wide winter sky. After making it to the final rounds of the Calgary Folk Music Festival Songwriting Contest in 2013, Rebecca followed her musical intuition to Nova Scotia, where she works as a music therapist and church organist. Her songwriting is influenced by Gregorian chant and the unusual intervals of shapenote hymns, as well as sad old country songs and high lonesome bluegrass harmonies.The Dusty Halos released their debut record in 2023, a self-titled EP featuring five emotion-laden tracks that weave themes of heartbreak and longing into tuneful tapestries. In 2025 the band released their sophomore EP, Keep Us This Night, featuring the haunting singles "Little Bird" and “With You." The album was nominated for Folk/Roots Recording of the Year at the 2026 Music Nova Scotia Music Awards.Fans of folk music that combines old time textures with innovative songwriting (The Be Good Tanyas, Gillian Welch, Ghost Bees, Adrian Lenker) will find much that resonates in the music of The Dusty Halos. Their songs explore the interplay of light and darkness, finding solace in the shadows.
Shows
October 17, 2026 • Folk Canada Conference • Hamilton, ONNovember 14, 2026 • Nova Scotia Music Week • Truro, NS