That’s because Curry, who moved to Truro at the age of 15 and graduated from Cobequid Educational Centre in 2006, will once again be working with a number of well-known singer and songwriters at the fifth annual Gordie Sampson Songcamp.
“I really wanted to go to the songcamp,” said Curry, who goes by the artist name of Nicole Ariana. “It’s a special thing to get invited to. I really wanted to go to it and I let that be known. It’s an amazing experience and all of those that go look forward to it all year. We’re all pretty close.”
The R&B artist is currently working on two albums, one of which being a follow up to her EP – 4 Seasons – that came out this past October. She attended the songcamp last summer as well.
“I’ve been in Toronto since January, and I have 18 days that I’m coming home for. Being in Ingonish, it’s where I used to spend my summers, it is paradise to me. It’s my favourite place in the world.”
Although she spent her childhood years in Sydney, Curry’s family moved to Truro when she was 15, and her mother and brother still live here.
“Throughout my university years, I would spend summers in Truro, so it’s still a home base for me at this point,” she said. “I’m proud to say that I have two places – Sydney and Truro – that I can call home.”
When she was younger, Curry was always singing in school and church choirs.
She spent some time with the First Baptist Girls’ Choir here in Truro.
“It’s a pretty great choir for girls in the area,” she said. “I got to travel to Germany with them for two weeks and hear all the different music. It was really great.”
During her high school years, Curry was a shy teen, who wanted to be a part of the musicals, however never ended up doing any.
She attended Cape Breton University for a year before attending St. Francis Xavier for three years. It was during that time that Curry met up with a high school friend who asked her to sing on his album with him.
From there, Curry started performing and writing a lot of her own songs, and she enrolled in the Nova Scotia Community College’s music arts program.
“It was a two-year program with a music business course, performing, theory and training. I found it really helpful as an artist with the marketing, touring and live performance courses,” she said, adding she was performing at the same time in a number of bands, including hip hop band Something Good, who opened for Classified and Maestro Fresh Wes.
While she’s working on her next two albums, Curry said she’s really looking forward to heading back to the songcamp.
“We write eight songs during the camp, and I can’t wait to start writing new tunes, either for myself or someone else. You’re writing with like-minded people and the camp is unlike any other I’ve been to,” she said.
The Gordie Sampson Songcamp runs from July 13 to 19, with 15 writers, four instructors, and three special guests – songwriter Donovan Woods, and Chris Noxx and Corey Lerue on the production front.
For more information, including Songcamp circles, visit http://www.gordiesampsonsongcamp.com.
Twitter: @TDNRaissa
