Bio
Belle Plaine's voice silences noisy taverns.
Born and raised on a farm near the village of Fosston, Saskatchewan, Belle Plaine is a true prairie girl. A performer by the age of five, she was the ringer for every local musical event. Classical voice lessons began at age six and continued through high school. At 18, she knew what she wanted: to write songs, perform and have a home recording studio.
But when she moved to Edmonton to study jazz at Grant MacEwan College, her focus shifted toward a more technical aspect of music: sound recording. After graduation, she worked at a recording studio in Calgary - close to the action, but not in the game. She occasionally sang jingles for commercial radio, but the work felt meaningless.
“I gave up on music in Calgary. I’d lost touch with my own voice. I had years of education, but artistically I felt drained,” Plaine recalls.
After two years at the studio Plaine realized she was better off waiting tables. Eager for change, she enrolled at the University of Victoria as an environmental science major. Science was not the right choice, but she had found the right city. Having fallen in love with Victoria’s vibrant arts community she dropped out of school. She also began to sing again.
Two co-workers heard her voice at the Cook Street Village coffee shop where they all worked. Soon after they informed her that they were starting a band and she was in it.
A handful of performances at open mic nights followed. Plaine began to write. An itch to travel carried her to Sydney, Australia. She waitressed at a dodgy restaurant, lived in a house with 10 boozy Australians and played gigs with a pack of mongrel musicians. There were pub shows, garage demos and back-up vocals. During her year abroad, she discovered she wanted to be a singer. Again.
In 2006, Plaine returned to her home province of Saskatchewan. She had not planned to live in Regina, but quickly found a home in the city’s arts community. The scene was small and welcoming. She decided to stay.
By this time, Plaine’s notebooks were filled with words and melodies. She left her job to perform full-time in early 2010.
“It just feels good to sing for people. It’s what I do the best, more than anything. It’s about time I’m doing it for a living,” Plaine says.
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Press Kit containing recent information available here.
Quotes
Sound Salvation Army - "Her voice sounds timeless, somehow equally sultry, seductive, fragile, and dusky while still capable of room-filling bombast when the moment calls for it. One gets the sense that she could sing anything and she proved it last Friday by effortlessly switching from the jazz-pop numbers on Waitress to the folk-based songs on her preceding EP. It’s not so much that her voice changes in any way to suit those styles, more that she has the strength, control, and natural tone to make it almost universal in its application. To borrow an old cliche: she could sing the phone book and The Artesian would still be standing-room only."
Carolyn Mark - "Belle Plaine is a national treasure - a true Canadian. She can sing like a hot-damn, was ready to leave on tour at a moment's notice and shot the shit out of a spoon with a BB gun from the 50 yard mark."
Sandra Butel, Artistic Director of the Regina Folk Festival - "Belle Plaine has the voice of an angel and the on stage presence of a seasoned professional. When she opens her mouth the audience stops their chattering to listen - works every time. I would highly recommend her as a superb addition to any lineup or concert series."
Carle Steel, prairie dog magazine - "Belle Plaine is a throwback to a better time, from her singing style to her stage performance. She is engaging, talented, professional (not to mention gorgeous: she's a tomato!) - and has the singing chops to back it all up."