(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – Canadian acoustic folk-pop duo Dala returns to perform a Christmas concert at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) on Thursday, December 13, 2012, at 7:30 p.m., as part of the MCLA Presents! performance series. Melody Rolph ’14 will warm up the crowd for Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine, who together as Dala blend their voices on guitar and piano to create their unique brand of acoustic pop. This concert marks the duo’s second appearance at MCLA.

Drawing upon influences such as the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, the Dala girls write and sing in harmony. These two best friends met in their high school music class in 2002; they have since released five albums and toured extensively across North America. They recently were nominated for three 2012 Canadian Folk Music Awards for their new album “Best Day.” Dala also has performed at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, the Edmonton Folk Festival, California’s Strawberry Festival and Mariposa. In 2009, they were the only Canadian act invited to play at the 50th anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival.

A reviewer for the Peterborough Examiner wrote, “Dala can sing! What beautiful flights of melody and harmony, reminiscent of the Everly Brothers, the Louvin Brothers, Emmylou Harris and associates; though Dala can trade a melody line and leave one wondering who is taking the lead and simply leave one behind when the harmonies kick in.”

Dala’s album “Everyone Is Someone” was released in 2009 to critical acclaim. It earned them their fifth Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, a Toronto Independent Music Award for Best Folk Group, and it was touted by the Irish Post as the Album of the Year. The song “Horses” was nominated by National Public Radio in the US as one of the “Top Ten folk songs of 2009.”

Tickets to Dala are $10 for general admission. Tickets for MCLA alumni are $8, $5 for staff and faculty, and members and students are free. Tickets may be reserved by calling MCLA Presents! at 413.662.5204. For more information, 413.664.8718 or visit MCLA Presents!.