The Musical Spark of Rose Cousins

The Musical Spark of Rose Cousins
Halifax songstress recorded new album in Boston
By Kerry Doole

Rose CousinsYou could call the career of Rose Cousins a tale of two cities. The P.E.I-raised singer / songwriter is based in Halifax now, but she has also planted deep roots in Bostons music community. They have been established by multiple visits and performances there over the past decade, culminating in the recording of her new album, We Have Made A Spark, at famed Boston studio Q Division, using a large cast of Bostons best players and with production produced by Bostonian Zachariah Hickman.
The studio was great, Cousins recalls in an interview with Tandem. Patty Griffin, Aimee Mann and James Taylor have made records there. It has history and a great vibe, and obviously the spirit of the group I made it with was through the roof.
Her third full-length CD has received rave reviews since its release a few months ago. Cousins explains that the people in Boston have really lit a spark with what they have taught me. That is revealed in We Have Made A Spark, the short film she made documenting the making of her record.
She traces her interest in the Boston scene back to the late 90s. I was learning how to play guitar and I was really attracted to the singer/songwriter style. I was listening to people like Deb Talan, Kris Delmhorst and John Gorka, and it seemed like everyone was filtering through the Boston area. I was hungry to connect with the places and people I was listening to, and every summer Id look for a folk festival there to go to as my vacation.
In 2002, Cousins played an open mic night at legendary Boston folk haunt Club Passim. That led to an invitation to perform at the Cutting Edge of Campfire benefit festival, termed by Cousins the beginning of my becoming part of that community. No surprise then that Cousins launched her new album with a show at Club Passim, and a couple of months later many of the Boston players on her record travelled to Halifax to accompany Cousins at her big hometown show, fittingly held on her birthday.
On her website just before that gig, Cousins wrote, I cant imagine a better place or way to spend my birthday than surrounded by love and music. Pretty sure my head is going to explode. I am so incredibly lucky to make music for a living and so lucky to have found homes in more than one place.