Not every young Canadian singer-songwriter gets to launch her CD with a live appearance on the US satellite station Sirius XM. The show was hosted by Dave Marsh, author of more than 25 books on rock and roll and known as the “dean of American rock writers” who admits to being her biggest fan.
But that’s how Ariana Gillis, from St. Catharines, Ontario — began to premiere her second album, Forget Me Not. Earlier, Marsh had played a track — “John and the Monster” — from an advance copy of the CD; one response was a phone call from an enthusiastic listener who wanted to know more about the unusual song, and the singer. The mystery caller was Elton John’s lyricist and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin.

Her fans in the industry are many, including luminaries such as Steve Wozniak, Buddy Miller, Bernie Taupin, Bob Ezrin, Josh Ritter, Kevin Breit and Joel Moss, to name a few. 

"I'm staggered by how good she is. There is not much that impresses me these days but after hearing her available tracks I can honestly say she's the single most exciting thing I've heard in a very long time." — Bernie Taupin

www.arianagillis.com