Slipping Through My Fingers: Ally Cribb through her last four years at Dal

Ally Cribb brought laughter and tears to the audience packing the James Dunn Theatre for her last performance as a Dalhousie University student. 

The fourth-year music student detailed her undergraduate journey through music, a time when she learned to sing in different languages, master diverse styles and found herself. 

The first set began with a beautiful rendition of “New York State of Mind” by Billy Joel with piano accompaniment by Tom King. She followed it with “Better Off,” an original country song she wrote during a songwriter retreat in Nashville.

Cribb regaled the audience with tales from her music degree, where she explored new genres like musical theatre. One of her favourite musical theatre songs to perform is “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from Jesus Christ Superstar (1973). 

She finished the first set with “California,” an original song she wrote at 17. The song is part of her debut EP Unbroken, released in 2022. The idea for “California” came from a dream she had about two characters from a small town in an unrequited love story.

“I just woke up with the idea, grabbed my guitar and wrote it down,” said Cribb. “When I woke up in the morning, I listened back to it, read over the lyrics I’d written, and thought it was something I could turn into a special song.” 

The song won Write Out Loud, an international contest for young songwriters. As a winner, Cribb flew to New York to watch Broadway artist Taylor Louderman record her song. 

“It was the first time I had ever seen my work be recognized in that way,” said Cribb. “It was really cool.”

The second set opened with “Back Home Boys,” a song she wrote during her first year of university while sitting on the floor of her dorm room. The song details her experience moving from her hometown of Toronto to Halifax. 

Her version of “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson had the crowd up on their feet. The whole theatre cheered with excitement during the chorus. 

As a tribute to her mom, who passed away before she started her undergrad, Cribb sang “Good Mother” by Jann Arden. The emotional song also featured a beautiful piano solo by King. 

The audience was brought to tears by her rendition of “Slipping Through My Fingers” by ABBA. Cribb named her show after the song because of its message about growing up, mirroring her journey at Dal coming to an end. 

“The meaning [of the songs] when I wrote them … is different compared to now,” said Cribb. “As I’m getting older and experiencing all of these coming-of-age moments, the meaning really changed throughout the years. It’s really fun to be able to look back on old work and bring it into new scenarios.”