Profile of Kathleen Edwards on Famous Like Me

Kathleen Edwards (born July 11, 1978 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Her blend of country, folk and pop music made her a favourite of music critics, and a rising star on radio in 2003 with her debut album, Failer, made popular by her hit singles "Six O'Clock News" and "Hockey Skates".

History

Edwards, whose parents were diplomats, spent portions of her youth in Korea and Switzerland. At age 5, she began classical violin studies that continued for the next 12 years. As a teenager she lived overseas, away from the North American commercial mainstream. She spent much of her time listening to her brother's Neil Young and Bob Dylan records, and he bought her first record, a Tom Petty album.

After high school she decided not to attend college instead opting to play local clubs to pay the bills. During this time she was influenced by Ani DiFranco. The music of Whiskeytown and its former band mate Ryan Adams inspired her determination to write music.

In 1999, Edwards recorded a six-song EP entitled Building 55 and pressed 500 copies. By the fall of 2000, she was on tour across Canada managing her own gigs. In 2001 she wrote seven of the 10 songs for her 2003 debut release Failer. Rolling Stone declared her one of year's most promising new acts and Blender said Failer's songs possessed "an indefinable pull that makes you love the characters they describe, no matter how fucked up they are."

The New York Times praised Edwards as a writer whose songs can "pare situations down to a few dozen words while they push country-rock towards its primal impulses of thump and twang," and on Back To Me, she once again demonstrates that she can rock hard but also move a listener with heart stopping insights.

Discography

• Building 55 - 1999
• Failer - 2003
• Live from Bowery Ballroom - 2003
• Back to Me - 2005

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