About

Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Jacquie Drew began her musical training at age 4, as she was taught to play chords on a piano by her mom, who was also a singer-songwriter. The middle of three daughters (who often sang harmonies), Jacquie and her family moved to Alberta during the oil boom years, settling in Calgary, where she took piano lessons and played in school bands.

Once out of school, she met and fell in love with Gary Drew, who today is her soundman, and started writing songs.  After casually recording those first few songs, she felt her voice could be stronger, so she got singing lessons which led her to sing as an alto for a few years in the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus.

Although she enjoyed classical music, she felt a stronger pull to roots music, especially after Gary and she would often go out to see live music (including Cam Penner and Mike Stack, two of her early favourites) at the Mecca, a former venue on the west side of Calgary.  After getting a keyboard, she accompanied many local bands on a variety of instruments – banjo, accordion, guitar, and vocals. But it was her years playing with Calgary musician and  singer-songwriter Tom Phillips that inspired her to perform original songs.

She released her own debut CD, Rolling Wind, in June 2008.  The album contained 10 tracks, including 8 written by Jacquie, and was produced with all-Canadian talent in Calgary.  It received excellent media reviews, including a “Top 12 DIY” selection in Nashville’s Performing Songwriter Magazine.  It also garnered radio airplay on CBC, CKUA and Golden West Radio, and launched Jacquie’s career as a singer-songwriter.

A second album, Red Hot Candy Heart, came in 2010 with a radio-supported release in January 2011. The CD featured 10 self-penned tunes, musically crossing from country to swing.  The album was produced by one of her band members and talented guitarist/bassist Lawrence Ball. In February 2011, the album reached #4 nationally on the Canadian folk/root/blues charts.

Jacquie’s third album, “The Boss is a Woman” was released in January 2015. The album featured 11 originals and was recorded with her band at the time –  “the Crew.”  Performances on this album reflected her growth as a band leader –  and featured a spectacular CD release show – with the input of  professional performance coaches out of Nashville and LA.  The album received airplay on over 40 independent radio stations in Canada.

Although playing with a band was great fun, she found it difficult keep rehearsing as a group, and getting full-band gigs that paid well enough to justify the rehearsal time – which also meant playing more corporate events that weren’t conducive to original music.

By late 2017, Jacquie decided it was time to stop worrying about supporting a band, and focus on her singer-songwriter show. By late 2019, she was ready to record, and travelled back to Nashville in December to record with a Juno-winning Canadian producer, Steve Dawson. There she recorded  “Lifelong Truth”  – her fourth album.  It was completed by February 2020, with the exception of one track – the only cover song – which ended up delaying the whole release as its songwriter (Famous Newfoundland Singer-Songwriter Ron Hynes) has passed away and his estate was still unsettled.

Then the pandemic.

Jacquie was worried about the stress of her neighbours, so she started playing music from her front porch.  Pretty soon, her husband Gary bought her a generator so she could set up anywhere, so they launched a new community-based non-profit organization called Community Isobreaker,  staging over 60 events with outdoor entertainment using Calgary musicians and volunteer entertainers all over the city.  She also began hosting Nashville-style outdoor jams (where everyone joins in,  and takes turns leading the songs)  and touring these events around Calgary to outdoor green spaces.  In summer 2021, she was awarded a “white hat” ceremony by the Mayor and her MLA, to thank her for her community service.

Lifelong Truth was finally released in 2021, and it reached #6 on the national folk roots chart and #1 at CJSW in Calgary.  Because of pandemic restrictions, touring was limited to free pop-up shows…and she did so at many at hospitals to thank all of the front-line workers for their considerable efforts.  She also released a song and video for Front Line workers called “Soldier’s Heart in 2021” – co-written by a good friend, Barbro Schoenberger from Germany, and a proud member of the 2SLGBTQI+ community.

Jacquie’s latest development is the addition of live looping to her show – this involves recording and layering instruments and vocal parts LIVE, in front of an audience – with nothing pre-recorded. Starting with a single-channel looper, then moving to 2 channel and then 4 channel loopers, she now can smoothly perform (and simultaneously record into a loop), her own bass lines, percussion, rhythm guitar, keyboards, and backup vocals as her songs progress. This has given her solo show a level of fullness and excitement that goes well beyond a typical solo act.

In late July 2022, Jacquie had a motorcycle accident while riding gravel roads in the mountains west of Nanton (yes, out of cell phone range).  She cracked 7 ribs, bruised a lung, separated her shoulder and suffered a concussion. Luckily, her husband Gary was riding just ahead of her and had an international SOS device to call in emergency crews. Thankfully STARS helicopter ambulance made it to the scene and got her to Foothills Hospital where she stayed for a few days.

Fortunately, Jacquie’s hands were unharmed, and within a few months she was back to performing and playing even better than ever.

On the other hand, the accident also helped her think about where she wanted to take her musical performances – where live music is needed and appreciated most; focusing more on listening venues. She also enjoys performing in places like homeless shelters, care facilities, and even prisons.  She figures her motorcycle accident was a good “smack from the Universe” to get going in the right direction. It’s not about money, it’s about the joy of doing it, and connecting to people of all ages, cultures and circumstances.

In 2023, she somehow completed and passed a live stand-up comedy course, so now she can “terrorize audiences in whole new ways” – a natural fit for her.

She continues to develop her musical skills with lessons in guitar, piano, voice and violin – she says one of her great joys is meeting people in the audience who have seen her before tell her, “Wow, you’ve really improved!”  For her, that’s half the fun. The other half?

“Helping people laugh, cry and feel truly understood.”