Kathleen Edwards and Neil Young

Kathleen Edwards
The Birchmere, Alexandria, Virginia - 4/14/07

When we heard that Kathleen Edwards sounds like "Lucinda Williams fronting Crazy Horse" awhile ago, we just knew that we had to check her out.

Canada's Kathleen Edwards has sometimes been referred to as a "female Neil Young". Or a "cross between a young Lucinda Williams and a female Neil Young". Or "Canada's other Unknown Legend".

Well, however you would like to categorize her sound, it's unique and her own brand of country folk that rocks out loud and hard. We've seen Kathleen Edwards a number of times over the years and watched as she has grown her stage presence all the while rocking out and belting out the ballads.



Kathleen Edwards on comparisons of her to Neil Young in Calgary Herald, Aug '03:

"Oh, absolutely. I read a review of my record and someone said, "She sounds like Lucinda Williams fronting Crazy Horse." I thought, wow, I never really thought that Neil Young was a big influence, but I guess in some way he's a subconscious one. It's a huge compliment. Not only is he a great musician and artist, but I have a lot of respect for the way he leads his life and takes a stand on things that are personally important to him."

From interview on Sign On San Diego on Kathleen Edwards debut album 'Failer' (Zoe/Rounder):

"The daughter of Canada's ex-deputy minister of international trade, this 24-year-old singer-songwriter has been described as a cross between a young Lucinda Williams and a female Neil Young. But her debut, which mixes the earthy intimacy of Young's solo albums with the punch of Whiskeytown, is actually stronger than Williams' latest work. Edwards' grasp of irony is made clear by the title of 'One More Song the Radio Won't Like,' while her dark narratives about lives gone wrong (be it through drugs, alcohol, bad relationships or all three) are balanced by her assured vocals and growing command of song-craft. "

Kathleen Edwards covers Neil Young's "Unknown Legend"
KCRW 's Morning Becomes Eclectic (direct link to Real Audio file. "Unknown Legend" starts at about 35:00.)

A cover of Neil Young's "Unknown Legend" by Kathleen Edwards is described as:

"Covering hero Neil Young, she can twist ephemeral into spectral, infusing Young's purple rural poetry with an innocence and innocuous knowledge of art and setting that borders on both cute and scarily advanced at the same time. Edwards is decidedly unconscious at those moments, blissfully unaware of her power, and that's a good thing."

Kathleen Edwards covers Neil Young's "From Hank To Hendrix" at Stephen Talkhouse, Amagansett, 2010.07.17 with Jim Bryson.



More on other artists influenced by Neil Young.