Rose Cousins
Back by popular demand, we welcome Rose Cousins to Under the Spire!
Acclaimed Canadian folk singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Rose Cousins released her new album, Conditions of Love, Vol. 1, on March 14, 2025. On her new album, Rose holds her listeners’ hands as she guides them on a journey through the “conditions of love.” Ever the emotional explorer, the Nova-Scotia-based artist seeks truth, in all its imperfection, in the depths of humans’ most complicated of emotions: love. The journey results in a striking clarity, and it’s the gift of that clarity that brings on surprising tears.
Rose shares, “Love feels great and makes us ridiculous. It’s tiring and intense, joyful and devastating. Falling in love, being in love and staying in love are all such different things. Being human is emotionally complicated enough without attempting to relate to another who is just as complex, and in the most vulnerable of arenas: romance. Love is wondrous and absurd (and very hard). Humour helps.”
Co-produced with trusted friend and longtime bandmate Joshua Van Tassel, Conditions of Love, Vol. 1 sees Rose return to her first love, the piano. “Piano is where I feel the most connected. It’s the best partner in expressing the emotion I’m mining,” she shares. She first introduced the upcoming body of work with the gorgeous, piano-driven ballad “Forget Me Not,” followed by the slow-burning, nostalgic “Borrowed Light.”
Rose Cousins’ songwriting plumbs the depths of the human condition. Her work has garnered her two JUNO Awards (2013’s We Have Made a Spark & 2021’s Bravado), two Canadian Folk Music Awards, eleven East Coast Music Awards and one Grammy nomination (2018’s Natural Conclusion), along with praise from the likes of the CBC, No Depression, LA Times, Associated Press, Billboard, Folk Alley, and NPR, who raved “Cousins’ disarmingly fluid vocal tone has the ability to convey the most internalized feelings without an ounce of fuss.” Over the years, she has shared stages with Patty Griffin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Jann Arden, Kathleen Edwards, Joe Henry and Anais Mitchell, and her music has fittingly underscored scenes from notable TV shows including Grey’s Anatomy, Fire Country, Batwoman and Heartland.
AWARDS
2021 JUNO Award – Contemporary Roots Album of the Year // 2021 East Coast Music Awards – Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, Solo Recording of the Year // 2018 JUNO Awards – nominated Songwriter of the Year // 2018 GRAMMY Awards – nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical // 2018 East Coast Music Awards – Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Folk Recording of the Year // 2018 International Folk Awards – nominated for Artist of the Year // 2017 Nova Scotia Music Awards – Americana Album of the Year, Solo Recording of the Year // 2017 The Coast’s Best of Halifax – Best Artist to Enjoy Quietly // 2013 JUNO Award – Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Solo // 2013 East Coast Music Awards – Songwriter of the Year, Solo Recording of the Year, Folk Recording of the Year // 2012 NPR’s Top 10 Folk & Americana Albums of the Year // 2012 Canadian Folk Music Award – Contemporary Singer of the Year // 2012 Nova Scotia Music Awards – Folk Record of the Year // 2012 Polaris Music Prize – Long List Nominated // 2011 East Coast Music Awards – Female Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year // 2011 Music PEI – Rooted to the Island Award // 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award – Contemporary Singer of the Year // 2008 East Coast Music Awards – Female Recording of the Year // 2007 Mountain Stage Newsong Contest Winner // 2007 Nova Scotia Music Awards – Best Folk Recording, Galaxie Rising Star Award // 2007 PEI Music Awards – Best Folk Recording, Female Vocalist of the Year