Kathleen Edwards (born July 11, 1978 [1] in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. Her 2003 debut album, Failer , contained the singles "Six O'Clock News" and "Hockey Skates".

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History

Edwards, whose parents were diplomats, spent portions of her youth in Korea and Switzerland. At age 5, Edwards 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 Tim'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 member 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 ten songs for her 2003 debut release Failer . Rolling Stone declared her one of year's most promising new acts and Blender said that ''Failers 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."

Edwards married musician and producer Colin Cripps in 2004.

In 2005, Edwards released Back to Me , which also garnered considerable critical acclaim, and led to the release of the singles "Back to Me" and "In State". The track "Summerlong" also featured on the soundtrack of the movie Elizabethtown starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. That year, Edwards also lent her vocals to the duet "The Plan", recorded with Matt Mays and El Torpedo for their self-titled album. ^[2]

In 2006, she was nominated for Juno Awards for Songwriter of the Year and Adult Alternative Album of the Year for Back to Me . ^[3]

In 2007, Edwards worked with John Doe, formerly of the punk rock band X, on his solo album A Year in the Wilderness . She sings vocals on three tracks. ^[4]

In 2008, Edwards released her third studio album, Asking for Flowers . It was described by the San Francisco Bay Guardian as "her finest album to date". ^[5] In contrast with 2005's Back to Me , on which Edwards relied on her working band, Asking For Flowers predominantly features session musicians.

Among Edwards' fans is actor Rainn Wilson, best known for his role as Dwight Schrute in the NBC series The Office , who described her as a "lovely, precious songbird of the northern prairies". ^[6]

In 2008 Edwards sang backup vocals on Bryan Adams' album 11 , and supported one of his tours. In 2009, she joined Adams on stage to sing one of Adams's songs, "Walk On By". ^[7]

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Chart Positions
		CAN	US	US Heat
1999	Building 55 (EP)
2003	Failer
	Live from the Bowery Ballroom
2005	Back to Me		173	6
2008	Asking for Flowers	15	102	1
	Live Session EP

Singles

Year	Title	CAN Country	Album
2003	"Six O'Clock News"		Failer
	"One More Song the Radio Won't Like"
2004	"Hockey Skates"
2005	"Back to Me"		Back to Me
	"In State"
2006	"Married Again" (with Jim Cuddy)	36	The Light That Guides You Home (Jim Cuddy album)
2008	"The Cheapest Key"		Asking for Flowers
	"I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory"

Music videos

• "Six O'Clock News"
• "One More Song the Radio Won't Like"
• "Hockey Skates"
• "Back To Me"
• "In State"
• "Married Again" (with Jim Cuddy)
• "The Cheapest Key"
• "I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory"

References

1. Biography at kathleenedwards.org. URL last accessed 2006-10-23.
2. allmusic ((( Matt Mays + El Torpedo > Overview )))
3. kathleenedwards.org | We wish we could play shinny
4. Yep Roc Records > Artist Info
5. San Francisco Bay Guardian : Article : Flowers for Kathleen Edwards
6. Twitter / RainnWilson
7. Watch Kathleen Edwards Juno Performance with Bryan Adams