Rosanne Millicent "Rose" Cousins (born April 21, 1977) is a Canadian

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

-pop singer-songwriter. Born and raised in

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, she is currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Career

Cousins released two EPs prior to her full-length debut, ''If You Were for Me'', in 2006. The album garnered her a nomination for best solo artist at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. She was also a winner in the 2007 Mountain Stage Newsong Contest, as well as winning best folk recording from both the Nova Scotia Music Awards and the PEI Music Awards, and Female Recording of the Year at the East Coast Music Awards in 2008. She followed ''If You Were for Me'' with ''The Send Off'' in 2009. ''The Send Off'' was produced by Luke Doucet, and features guest musicians including

Kathleen Edwards Kathleen Margaret Edwards (born July 11, 1978
) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Her 2002 debut album, ''

, Melissa McClelland, David Myles,

Jenn Grant Jenn Grant (born August 20, 1980) is a Canadian folk pop singer-songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Career Grant performed as a musician for a time in her early teens, but stopped due to a bout of stage fright. She did not return to pe ...

and Tom Wilson. Cousins was named contemporary singer of the year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2010."The Once, Beyond the Pale, both win two at Canadian Folk Music Awards"
''Waterloo Region Record'', Nov 21, 2010 In 2012, she released ''We Have Made A Spark'' - for which she won a 2013

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

. Produced by Zachariah Hickman and made with a group of friends in Boston Massachusetts including fellow songwriters Kris Delmhorstt, Mark Erelli, Rose Polenzani, Laura Cortese, Jennifer Kimball and instrumentalists Austin Nevins, Charlie Rose, Billy Beard and Sean Staples. A short film "If I Should Fall Behind" documented the making of the album and was screened by CBC and at select album release shows. She released ''Stray Birds'' - a collection of covers and two new original songs - in September 2014. Cousins has appeared as a guest musician on albums by

Joel Plaskett William Joel MacDonald Plaskett (born April 18, 1975) is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of gen ...

, In-Flight Safety,

Two Hours Traffic Two Hours Traffic is a Canadian indie rock band, based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. They are named after a line in the prologue to Shakespeare’s ''Romeo and Juliet''. Critics have drawn comparisons to 1970s power pop band Big Star (b ...

Matt Mays Matt Mays (born August 10, 1979) is a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter and was the lead singer of Matt Mays & El Torpedo, a rock music group based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and New York City. Previously, Mays was a member of a Canadian i ...

, Catherine MacLellan, Jill Barber, Matt Epp, Old Man Luedecke,

Ruth Minnikin Ruth Minnikin is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was formerly a member of Booming Airplanes, The Heavy Blinkers, The Guthries and Reels, and now performs as Ruth Minnikin and her Bandwagon. She received nominations for Best Female Album and B ...

, The Olympic Symphonium and Craig Cardiff, and she has performed live with Royal Wood, Mary Chapin Carpenter,

John Gorka John Gorka (born July 27, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. In 1991, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine called him "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what has been dubbed the New Folk Movement." Personal life Gorka was raised in the Colon ...

, and

Ron Sexsmith Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has ...

. Her latest album, ''Bravado'', was released on February 21, 2020, via

Outside Music Outside Music is a Canadian record label and distributor founded by Lloyd Nishimura in 2001. In 2007, it expanded to include an artist management division which includes Jill Barber, Matthew Barber, Aidan Knight, Justin Rutledge as manageme ...

. The album was preceded by the lead single "The Benefits of Being Alone", as well as by an EP that included that song, two other tracks from the album and a non-album cover of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

's "

I Would Die 4 U "I Would Die 4 U" is a song by Prince and the Revolution, the fourth single in the US from their 1984 album, '' Purple Rain''. The up-tempo dance song was a top 10 hit—the final one from the album—in the US, reaching number 8 on the Billbo ...

". In 2021, Cousins released a new re-recording of "The Lullaby (My Oldest Love)", a song which she had recorded and performed solo on ''Bravado'', as a duet with Tim Baker. In 2025 she contributed a cover of

's "Nothing More to Say" to the Plaskett tribute album '' Songs from the Gang''.

Awards

Cousins won a Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Singer of the Year in 2012, and her 2012 CD ''We Have Made a Spark'' won the 2013

as best Solo Roots & Traditional Album of the Year. Cousins' 2017 album ''Natural Conclusion'' was nominated for a 2018 Grammy Award. Cousins won a second JUNO award in 2021 for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year with her release 'Bravado'.

Discography

* ''Only So Long'' (2002, EP) * ''Miles to Go'' (2003, EP) * ''Live at Ginger's on Barrington Street'' (2003, with Craig Cardiff) * ''If You Were for Me'' (2006) * ''The Send Off'' (2009) * ''We Have Made a Spark'' (2012) * ''Stray Birds'' (2014, EP) * ''Natural Conclusion'' (2017) * ''Bravado'' (2020) * ''Conditions of Love - Vol 1'' (2025)Allie Gregory
"Rose Cousins Details New Album 'Conditions of Love - Vol 1,' Plots Canadian Tour"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', September 27, 2024.

References

External links

Rose Cousins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousins, Rose 1977 births Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian folk singer-songwriters Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Singers from Prince Edward Island Living people Canadian women pop singers Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Solo winners 21st-century Canadian women singers Canadian Folk Music Award winners Canadian folk-pop singers Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year winners 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters Singers from Nova Scotia