Artist Spotlight
February 15, 2022
Featured Artist - Kristine St.Pierre - February 2022
Kristine St-Pierre is a bilingual folksinger-songwriter with soul-searching ballads and a rollicking bluesy flair. Described as a "songwriter with a traveling heart," Kristine sings her life with passion, vulnerability and authenticity.
After the launch of an EP in 2010 and a first full-length album in 2012, both bilingual in English and French, as well as multiple tours in Ontario and across Canada, Kristine released a French album in the fall of2017. Since then, the artist’s reach across Canada has only grown. Kristine received a Canadian Folk Music Award (CFMA) nomination in 2018 in the Francophone Songwriter of the Year category as well as three nominations by the Country Music Association Ontario (CMAO) in 2019, 2020 and 2021 (for Francophone artist of the year).
In 2019, she joined singer-songwriter Justin Lacroix in composing a French Christmas album. The album Noël avec toi was released in November 2019 and includes nine original tracks. The release was followed by a 15-show tour of Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba. While 2020 and 2021 were perhaps less busy than expected, Kristine was able to get back to songwriting. She released her English single Break in The Sky at the end of May 2020 and the French single À Kamouraska in January 2021. She also presented a series of online concerts, including as headliner at the Ottawa Grassroots Festival in2021, and reunited with her Christmas music partner for a tour across Ontario in November and December 2021 presented by Réseau Ontario.
International shows and important causes to Kristine
In addition to several tours that have taken her across Canada, Kristine’s travels have provided her with the chance to perform in several countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Peru and Ukraine. It is this journey that has enabled her to forge closer links between her values and her music, leading her to compose songs about the experiences of those she meets and to write texts focused one quality and women's rights. It is in this perspective that she takes part in many benefit concerts and rallies such as the Women’s March and International Women's Day. Over the years, she has also been involved with organizations such as Ovarian Cancer Canada for which she produced a bilingual compilation album.
Kristine is also very involved in the arts community in Ottawa and Ontario. In 2013, she was appointed spokesperson for the national francophone campaign of Community Foundations Canada. Between 2014 and 2016 she was the host and producer of a bilingual radio program on arts and culture in Ottawa on CKCU 93.1 FM and since 2015 she has been producing a radio documentary festival that is broadcast every summer on community radio stations across Canada. She is also the founder of the workshops for women entitled "Combining Passions" which aim to support women artists and entrepreneurs in their efforts to facilitate their quest for a life filled with their passions. She is also a member of the Francophone Advisory Council of the Country Music Association Ontario (CMAO) and has been a jury for the Ottawa Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Canadian Folk Music Awards.
Francis' notes on Kristine:
All of the information was taken from Kristine's website or provided by her from her official bio. Her list of achievements and music is very impressive and I am very happy to have watched her grow as a musician all of these years. More than 10 years ago I booked Kristine for a showcase or opening spot (I can't remember which one) at a bar downtown on Rideau street that doesn't exist anymore. I think it was one of her first shows and she played about 5 or 6 songs. From that day until now took a lot of hard work, passion and serious determination. I hope to see and hear more from her in the coming years.
Kristine's musical release's include:
- Noël avec toi (2019, LP in French)
- La promesse (2017, EP in French)
- Call Me Crazy (2012, LPbilingual)
- Stand Still for a While(2010, EP bilingual)
- À Kamouraska (2021) (single)
- Break In The Sky (2020)(single)
- J't'aime comme un fou (2019) (single, cover)
- Person of Interest (2017)(single)
Accomplishments and Awards:
§ Nominated for a CFMA in the Francophone Songwriter of the Year category (2018) and by the CMAO (2019, 2020, 2021).
§ Six solo tours in Ontario and Canada (2010, 2011,2014, 2015, 2018, 2019).
§ Two Christmas tours in Ontario/Manitoba (2019) and Ontario (2021).
§ Performed the national anthem on numerous occasions at TD Place for the Ottawa Red blacks, Ottawa Fury and Ottawa 67s since 2019.
§ Performed at numerous festivals - Festival Folk et guitares d'Aylmer (2016, 2018, 2021), City Folk (2015, 2018), Mega phono (2015,2016), the Ottawa Grassroots Festival (2015, 2016, 2018, 2021), Ottawa Bluesfest (2014, 2015, 2017), Shack stock (2015-16), Union Summer (2015).
§ Produced a bilingual compilation album for Ovarian Cancer Canada (May 2018).
§ Performed at the Francophonie Music Festival in Kiev, Ukraine (June 2017).
§ Composed a theme song for the Women's March in Ottawa(January 2017).
§ Special guest at the Mayor's table at the first Gala des arts (October 2016).
§ Nominated at the 8th Trille Or Awards Gala in the Best Female Performer category (2015).
§ Interpreted in front of more than 20,000 people of the American and Canadian national anthems at the Canadian Tire Center (January2015).
§ Participated in the VIA Rail music program - Vancouver to Toronto (2014).
§ Participated in Ontario Pop (2010) and Petit Vallée (2013).
