"I did find it very humorous," says Kathleen Edwards, "that I expanded my professional life from musician to small business owner and, I always thought I'd have one or the other to back up on. Not only did they cancel concerts indefinitely, they also made me close my coffee shop."

The singer-songwriter's coffee shop — Quitters Coffee, in Stittsville, Ontario — is now back open, and so is her guitar case. After largely stepping away from music for several years, Edwards delighted her fans in May when she announced her fifth studio album. Total Freedom will be released on Aug. 14, and Edwards previewed two songs from the LP in a Live Virtual Session hosted by The Current's Bill DeVille.

Of course, this isn't most convenient time to do just about anything that doesn't involve sitting at home. Edwards says she's excited to hit the road as soon as music venues reopen, but after being on tour when the Iraq War broke out in 2003, she says there are "times where I just think, well, you've just got to roll with it. That's just the nature of stuff, and...this is no different, really."

Edwards played "Options Open," a song that's been released as one of the album's early tracks, and "Who Rescued Who," a song about a beloved "fur child." She also covered Neil Young's "Comes a Time," a 1978 track she recently heard on the radio and deemed "a really appropriate song for right now."

Songs Performed

02:41 Options Open
12:54 Who Rescued Who
24:19 Comes a Time (Neil Young cover)

First two songs from Kathleen Edwards's 2020 album, Total Freedom, now available for preorder from Dualtone Music.

External Link

Kathleen Edwards - official site