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When Rose Vaughan and Cathy Porter met, late in 1990, performing together briefly in another band, the two decided to join forces and strike off on their own. With only 5 original songs under their belt, they invited double bassist Pam Mason to join them for their first performance under the name Rose Vaughan Trio. A few weeks later, they submitted one of those songs, the jazzy, finger-snapping Man/Maid Moon, to their local CBC public radio’s annual song contest, and to their utter amazement, the station wanted more! They received an invitation to record a full-length album of original songs at CBC’s legendary Studio H, so the Trio got to work, and a few short months later, their debut album Sweet Tarragon was ready (1992). Favourable response from CBC radio hosts and fans across Canada prompted another recording offer from Halifax’s Studio H the following year, resulting in 1993’s Fire in the Snow, the Rose Vaughan Trio’s second album. Through the ’90s the Trio honed their distinctive sound and stage show, promoting their albums with appearances at folk festivals and theatres and other venues across Canada, and receiving considerable support from national CBC Radio for their music.

The Rose Vaughan Trio released a third full-length album in 1996 entitled Winter Rose. Cellist Hilary Brown (Symphony Nova Scotia) replaced Pam Mason for a successful 40-date tour to individual homes of their fans throughout the Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario. This model later became known as the House Concert, but we like to remember that Rose pioneered the idea first!

Picked up by national community and college radio stations, by regional and national CBC Radio, and also broadcast overseas by CBC International, the Trio’s recordings have been heard across Canada, in Afghanistan, Korea, South Africa, Germany, Bosnia, Britain, Australia, and continue to be shared around the world.

Although the Trio took a hiatus from touring, they continued to record: EP Winter’s Tide (2003) followed by two singles At the Rink (2004) and Red River Blues (a humorous take on menstruation and menopause, 2004), all with bassist Reese Nearing.

The Trio’s most well-known and best-loved song, Stone and Sand, originally released in ’93, garnered a Best Song nomination by East Coast Music Association back in ’94. At the end of 1996, a full three years after its initial release, Stone and Sand was voted Favourite Song of the Year by CBC Radio 2 national radio listeners, a tribute to its enduring appeal.

Rose and Cathy recorded a new version of this old favourite on their most recent studio recording, double-album Gardener of the Moon (2017), to include special guest vocalists Rose Cousins, Mary Jane Lamond, Dave Gunning, Joel Plaskett and Bill Plaskett. By interesting coincidence, Rose and Cathy were approached by a Nova Scotia events producer who was developing an East Coast festival – the Rose Vaughan Trio’s music at the heart of its mandate – and intending to borrow the song’s title for the future event’s name. The Stone & Sand & Sea & Sky’s Coastal ARTS Festival launched its inaugural gala event in 2022, featuring the song twice: first sung by Mary Jane Lamond who opened the show, accompanied by a commissioned arrangement played by a 48-member wind ensemble; then showcased again, re-arranged as a grand finale, to include a cameo performance from acclaimed NS rapper, Eskasoni’s Gearl Francis, both powerful and moving highlights of the event.

The Nova Scotia Arts Council recently awarded Cathy a 7-month grant to create piano music and arrangements for a new Rose’s melodies and lyrics. The resulting collection, as yet unreleased and unrecorded, is to be entitled Songbook.

Over the past three decades Rose and Cathy have woven their delicate and refined arrangements (and sometimes humorous material) into the timeless songs their enduring fans have sought out and cherished ever since, now enjoying new life online.