There was never a doubt Chloe Albert wanted to become a musician — but it took her a while to believe it could really happen.
The Edmonton singer-songwriter was turning 30 and putting out her Juno Award-nominated album Dream Catcher when she finally became convinced she could make a go of a music career.
“The title of the album was kind of the theme,” said Albert, who performs at Red Deer’s Elks Lodge on Saturday, Feb. 4, at a Central Music Festival concert.
“I was at this pivotal point in my life where my perspective on my possibilities shifted in a major positive way.”
Her doubts about the future fell away while writing songs for the 2013 album. It was the opposite of an angst-filled experience, said Albert. “It felt good.”
Albert had already made an impressive debut by winning the Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2008 Canadian Folk Music Awards.
She’d also received great feedback from songwriting contests she’s entered in Nashville and the Calgary Folk Festival. It seemed she just needed some more experience under her belt to realize what other people, including Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy, had seen in her.
Once Albert changed her attitude, her perspective also shifted.
“I had this sense the future was in my hands … that anything was possible.”
Dream Catcher was nominated for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year at the 2014 Juno Awards. The Alberta artist, who was inspired by Ani Difranco, Sam Cooke and vintage country, now routinely hears her music played on CBC and CKUA.
She described the past few years as a “coming alive” period. “I pinch myself daily that I am doing what I love.”
Albert plans to play tunes from Dream Catcher, her 2008 album, Dedicated State, and some new songs when she performs in Red Deer. “I’m very excited about the show,” said the singer, who’s almost six months pregnant with her second child.
Since she performed throughout her first pregnancy, Albert doesn’t have any concerns about taking the stage in Red Deer. But she admitted she’s learned her lesson about booking concerts well into her third trimester.
“When you are eight or nine months pregnant, it becomes harder to breathe. You feel like you have to come up and gulp for air!”
For more information about the show, please visit www.centralmusicfest.com or at the door.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com