Andrea England has a unique ability to work successfully in multiple worlds, from recording and performing as a solo artist herself in a folk/roots/country vein, to placing pop co-writes with Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger’s (for which she received a UK Gold album award) and country songs with Canadian Country artists like Female Artist of the Year, Meghan Patrick, Don Amero and Twin Kennedy. For Andrea, it’s all about storytelling, and – one way or another – getting to the truth of why it is we are all here. It’s no doubt that her reason for being here has a lot to do with words and music.
Andrea’s last solo album, Hope and Other Sins, produced by Grammy-winner Colin Linden, spent several weeks on Cashbox Magazine’s Top 50 Folk chart and hit #1 on Galaxy’s Folk Roots Radio. Of it, John Apice wrote for No Depression:“…Andrea continues to prove her talent with words is no flash in the pan. The stories are decorated in wonderful images and turn of phrase. Many songwriters sing and write fairly good melodies but to catch that ear with a clever line in a lyric over and over is talent of a rare kind. Joni Mitchell has it, Dylan, Leonard Cohen, John Prine, Lucinda Williams and several others – who are famous. Despite still flying below their radar, Andrea deserves the special attention for her detailed, concise writing ability and fine voice. She is economical in her approach, but the recipe is flavourful, consistent and memorable.”
Previous to Hope and Other Sins, England’s debut Lemonade, spawned numerous network TV placements and international songwriting awards (John Lennon, International and USA Songwriting Contests), kickstarting her career as a songwriter. The first song she ever wrote, “Eyes Wide Shut,” went to number one on the East Coast Countdown in a matter of weeks – and with no manager, agent, radio promoter, nor label – she was nominated for three Nova Scotia Music Awards and booked her very first gig as an artist/songwriter as a result: the main stage at the Stan Rogers Folk Festival …and her life has been a little like that ever since.
Andrea’s most recent release, Christmas single, “Jolly Melancholy Christmas,” released in December of 2022, received National and international radio play, and generous media coverage – especially on the East Coast – leading the way for her upcoming album Evidence of Love which is slated for release on October 27th, 2023, preceded by its first single, “Halifax.” Produced by Juno Award winner, Hill Kourkoutis, “Evidence of Love” was written entirely by England solo, with two notable exceptions cowritten with Tenille Townes (“Stone”) and Liz Rodrigues / James Bryan (“Cover to Cover”), this latest offering leads the listener on an emotional rollercoaster through 7 songs, each one of which, in England’s own words, is a different piece of evidence of love…and evidence of a songwriter who still has something to say.
Andrea has showcased at SXSW, NXNE, CMW, NSMW, CCMA, ECMA, OCFF and FAI Music festivals and her reputation as a performing songwriter has extended south of the border to both the New York Songwriter Circle and Bluebird Café, where she was honored to curate and host a round of hit writers (Michelle Wright, Deric Ruttan and Jason Blaine) in her very first appearance. In 2015, Andrea founded her very own quarterly series of “in the round” sessions, Four Chords and the Truth, at Toronto’s iconic roots/Americana venue, the Dakota Tavern. Presented in partnership with Jack Daniel’s, the series began to sell out a year in advance in 2017 and has become a veritable bucket list event for Canadian songwriters and fans alike, featuring over 100 award-winning songwriters, including Rose Cousins, Matt Mays, Jason McCoy, Liz Rodrigues, Scott Helman, Jully Black, Paul Reddick, Donovan Woods, Russell deCarle, and Sylvia Tyson, and many more….in fact, in early 2023, the series moved to its new home at TD Music Hall within the iconic Massey Hall/Allied Music Centre, and sold out immediately, heralding a new path for the series and its creator.
