"So begins the journey
The journey within this heart of mine
And you're a part of it."
It's a fitting way for San Diego native Mary Dolan to open (Another) Holy Day. Her fervent, soulful voice seems to be connecting with the memory of a past lover, but its intimacy beckons like a heartfelt personal invitation to share the deep passion and spirituality of her album's journey. Her life's musical journey began as the eighth child in an Irish-American household filled with music. As a girl, Dolan often sang to the accompaniment of her mother's piano playing, and for the children's choir at church. Her older siblings had learned guitar, but she took piano lessons before eventually switching to guitar. She went on to study classical voice and music theory in college, and after a short stint directing church choirs in San Diego, realized that her musical passions lay elsewhere.
Playing guitar and singing at an open mike night provided her musical epiphany. She soon joined the San Diego coffeehouse circuit and enmeshed herself in the strong local songwriting community. Her talents have since yielded local music award nominations and earned her opening spots for performers such as Ani DiFranco, Catie Curtis, and Huey Lewis & the News.
(Another) Holy Day, Dolan's third album, brims with religious imagery without being about religion. Or perhaps it is; love, she seems to be saying, is the truest religion. On "You Freed Me", Dolan's raw, rapturous vocals testify that "through the power of love I was healed and baptized". "Cadence" resonates as an anthem that liberates Dolan from constricting dogmas and mass conformity: "This cadence is not my tune/Step aside, give me some room/To walk across that line so clear/I'm leaving here…." Dolan's voice ignites each song, investing it completely with her soul's strengths and vulnerabilities, playing with vocal dynamics that segue from tender to torrid.
Dolan enlisted the talents of several musical all-stars on this project, including legendary songwriter Bernie Taupin (Elton John), and guitarist Jimmy
Crespo (Aerosmith, Rod Stewart), whose superb guitar leads match the passion of Dolan's voice. As the San Diego Union Tribune noted, "[Ani] DiFranco
couldn't have picked a better opening act than local singer-songwriter Mary Dolan…"
