Nicole Edwards Quintet

Nicole blazed her musical trail as an unplugged songstress with a voice equal parts grit, smoke and confection. The ability to sink her voice to the low end of the musical register and rocket it back up to the top of the scale has served her well while grinding gravel-tinged songs from the stage.

Her first solo CD, on with my day, released in 2001, earned her a West Coast Music Award nomination and an invitation to perform at the event’s gala ceremonies, in Vancouver. Her second effort, Joy Seeker, in 2005, solidified her reputation and marked her territory as the Yukon’s premiere folk-rock diva.

Musically fluent in both English and French, Nicole has entertained small, intimate crowds with her acoustic guitar and stirred hundreds of people to shake their rumps on the dance floor with her high-energy, amped-up sets. She’s shared stages at the Dawson City Music Festival, Hugh’s Room in Toronto, and the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver with Bif Naked, Sylvia Tyson, Ken Whitley and 54 40. Nicole recently opened for the Sam Roberts Band at the Whitehorse Convention Centre, after which Sam described Nicole as the “singer of beautiful songs”.

“Her ability to switch between French and English so readily adds another dimension to her performance. I was also impressed by how well her original tunes fit with the other songs presented on this recording [Sparkin’]. That is no mean feat considering the pedigree of songwriters including Dorothy Fields, Johnny Mercer and the Gerswhin brothers. Equally comfortable on ballads and up tempo numbers, Ms. Edwards has put together a set of songs that holds something for everyone in her audience.” Steve Gedrose, CBC radio jazz columnist