When husband and wife and musical duo Dan and Claudia Zanes travelled through Finland, Estonia, and Latvia this summer, they brought with them a deep repertoire of all-ages social music, charisma, and hearts that were wide open to adventure and community… add delicious food and stylish secondhand clothing in there, too, the latter of which required an extra suitcase. You can feel their love for the region and its offerings as soon as it comes up in conversation.
This wasn’t their first time. The duo had previously played Finnish and Estonian stages in 2024. This year, they expanded their travels further south into Latvia, finding themselves welcomed into churches, jazz clubs, folk festivals, and small-town cultural centres that represent the Baltic and Finnish arts scenes. For the Zanes, the trip was about connection. “We wanted to see how our music would work over there. And it’s been incredible,” Dan says.
“… what felt like thirty minutes turned into six hours of music making. There’s such an honesty in meeting someone in music versus meeting them at a coffee shop.”
(Claudia Zanes)
Claudia, for her part, was born into a Haitian family and works as a music therapist, including supervising students at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Her path eventually crossed Dan’s in what she calls “divine intervention.” A mutual friend brought them together in Brooklyn on Labour Day weekend 2016. “We sat around our dining room table,” she recalls, “and what felt like thirty minutes turned into six hours of music making. There’s such an honesty in meeting someone in music versus meeting them at a coffee shop.”
Dan, whose career launched with the Boston garage rock band the Del Fuegos and who won a Grammy in 2007 for his children’s album Catch That Train!, traces his own roots in part to Canada. Born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, he grew up listening to his parents’ folk records, including Ian & Sylvia and Gordon Lightfoot. Spending summers at his sister’s house in Nova Scotia and taking part in the music scene there continues to be influential. That down-to-earth roots music environment “feels like the future, really,” he remarks.
That first night was the beginning of their adventure together; marriage and a shared artistic calling that has built a thriving community around them wherever they go. Whether that’s festivals, schools, shelters, prisons, or a myriad of studio collaborations. Look online and you’ll find songs with Bonga, Sheryl Crow, and Nick Cave and albums released with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Though Dan has become well known for family music in the U.S., the Zanes’ work together resists categories. Whatever the descriptor, they write and play songs that gather people of every generation into one circle. Claudia notes, “When you come from a place of thinking about how to be of service, the doors just open up so wide. Community can be made anywhere and everywhere.”
This spirit resulted in their Social Isolation Song Series, a 200-day YouTube project during the pandemic where they filmed themselves singing daily. (Trombone, guitar, flute, and mandolin also shape their sound.) They presented gospel standards like the Consolers’ “Give Me My Flowers.” They introduced original compositions like “In These Troubled Times,” responding to the Black Lives Matter movement. Once again emphasizing the humanity of music, Claudia explained “It wasn’t about lifting our names. It was about keeping people connected.”
No matter the song, the Zanes see their work as part of a continuum of artists who document real life, be it joy and freedom or authoritarianism. Nina Simone’s maxim—“It is the duty of the artist to reflect the times”—is a guiding light therefore. As Dan puts it, “We’re living in a police state. The present is difficult. But if we don’t have a vision of where we want to get to, then it’s going to be a hard fight. Our songs offer glimpses of that vision. Where old folks are cared for, young people are educated, everyone has food and shelter, and there’s music-making in every community.”
Their voices cast far and wide, such that in 2021, Maija Leminen, a Finnish promoter, stumbled upon their videos online. Soon, she arranged for the Zanes to tour Finland and Estonia.
“It’s amazing what one dedicated person can make happen,” Claudia reflects. “It shows how we all have a calling. For Maija, it was creating opportunities for musicians and audiences to meet.”
“Sometimes [“We Shall Overcome”] feels like a relic of another time. But singing it in Estonia, with people who lived through their own struggles, it felt alive again. It was moving.”
(Dan Zanes)
The couple were struck by how deeply the Baltic nations relate to music. In Estonia, conversations about the Singing Revolution gave them a new perspective on songs like “We Shall Overcome.” “Sometimes it feels like a relic of another time,” Dan says. “But singing it in Estonia, with people who lived through their own struggles, it felt alive again. It was moving… We were so inspired by Estonian history and the way music is integrated into society.” Claudia’s highlight came from concerts in Estonian churches: “To sing songs of hope and uplift in those spaces, with people who knew hardship is something I’ll remember forever.”
In Latvia, she was surprised by how quickly she felt at home. “As a Black woman, I don’t always feel welcomed everywhere I go. But in Riga, I did. There was laughter in the parks, love in the food, and women who told me after concerts how much it meant to see my freedom on stage. One even said, ‘I feel like I have this inner wolf in me that’s been suppressed, and seeing you gave me permission to let it out.’ That was powerful.”
Beyond the stages, the Zanes delighted in the day-to-day culture of their travels. Driving on Estonia’s secondary roads this year, they found the landscapes and small towns off the beaten track most awe-inspiring. They raved about Käsmu, the home of Viru Folk Festival by the Baltic Sea, and the magnetic cultural centre of Põlva. Food and nature were equally memorable: chanterelles, blueberry pies, Latvian Art Nouveau cafés, and Finland’s cardamom donuts. “Things just taste different out there,” they both insisted. Moreover, “Families have summer homes where they unplug, swim, and stargaze. That deep connection to nature stood out.”
The couple hope to return not only to the Baltics, but also to Canada. Hopefully this can happen, because their music and presence have a warmth and generosity that many will certainly be drawn to.
Photo gallery
Images used with permission from Dan and Claudia Zanes
