Laurell Hubick

They say that success happens when preparation meets opportunity: Laurell, please say hello to the world. The rain was coming down on a sparkling Vancouver night just like it always did, but this time there was something different in that tiny little cafe with that tiny little stage up in the ceiling. On it sat a girl with something rare, something that makes us say "I was there when..." Armed with just her guitar, she had the room rapt, everyone just taken away by that beautiful, fragile voice.

The rain was coming down on a sparkling Vancouver night just like it always did, but this time there was something different in that tiny little cafe with that tiny little stage up in the ceiling. On it sat a girl with something rare, something that makes us say "I was there when..." Armed with just her guitar, she had the room rapt, everyone just taken away by that beautiful, fragile voice.

Now, with two fully produced albums to boast, hundreds of U.S. and Canadian dates under her belt, too many accolades to name, and a growing grassroots following, singer/songwriter Laurell is finding herself on new ground and jumping in with both feet.

After being named the "Vancouver Idol" on T.V's popular reality show, Canadian Idol, Laurell took fate into her own hands and released her first full-length album, Into Your Love, a wide-eyed spiritual reflection of her personal faith. 500 CD's were snatched up in its debut weekend alone, and with band-in-tow Laurell crossed the country far and wide to hugely warm reception and further CD selling success. That year, the album's single, "Great 'I AM'" won Song of the Year at the Canadian People's Choice Gospel Music Awards (Shai).

After IYL's release, Laurell felt a need to explore the range and subject of her musical ability, so 11 months later she released The Fool In Me, and a more honest account of life roads walked, and subsequently, a more playful experimentation of instruments and grooves emerged. Again, the same CD-selling success exploded at her release, and Laurell went on to tour the west coast of Canada and the U.S. 3 times in 2006 and 2007.

Laurell found herself as a little girl plunking away on the family's old, brown piano, studying royal conservatory, and singing impromptu fireplace performances with her sisters. The creativity came in abundance. Her mom, a talented artist, would tuck her in at night and play rhyming games which fostered a love of poetry very early on. She named her dad the "whistling carpenter" and grandfather, the "show stopper", for the way they could both rattle off old English singsongs for hours. At 16 she was given a cheap guitar for her birthday and wrote her first tune. She was hooked. Upon graduating high school, it was no surprise that Laurell decided to study vocal jazz at the nationally acclaimed Capilano College Music Program in North Vancouver and try her bubbling talent in the public eye that year. She's been doing it ever since.

Laurell's sound has been brewing her whole life. A first generation Canadian whose parents sailed from Liverpool, she found herself singing along to the Beatles as soon as she could talk. Living in the Northwest exposed Laurell to the elements: snowboarding, surfing, wakeboarding, and dirtbiking shaped her appreciation of acoustic, ska, hip-hop, punk, and pop. Her classical background and jazz-based schooling provided a framework for a unique and beautiful medium to come forth in the form of songwriting.

Today, Laurell's music has found its way to a catchy, mainstream genre. The best of what she loves seems to find a place in her songs, while her voice simply floats and turns, reaches and then releases, as though it is unafraid of being too melodious. She has broken her acoustic performances back down to a guitar, a ukulele, or a piano, and her djembe player. Lyrics and intimacy being of greatest importance, Laurell draws her listeners in to the deepest parts and allows them to find gold there. The reaction is heart stopping, soul lifting, and awe-inspiring until her last note has resonated into the evening sky.

Laurell is currently looking for more writing and recording opportunities. She is also working on a new EP to be released in late 2007.