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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Growing up in Stephenville Crossing on the West coast of Newfoundland, Cynthia Russell enjoyed a vibrant musical childhood in which accordion chords and gospel songs filled her family's kitchen. But it was during her 17 years in the North that Russell found her voice as a lyrical poet and musician.

The Northern songwriter returns to the island of her birth this month with a performance on the Discovery stage at the opening day of the 21st East Coast Music Awards (ECMA) in Corner Brook on Feb. 26. She will be accompanied by former Yellowknife bassist Greg Nutt of Nova Scotia.

Longtime Northerner and Newfoundland expat Cynthia Russell performs on the Discovery stage during the East Coast Music Awards in Corner Brook, N.L., on Feb. 26. - photo courtesy of Carmelita Allen

Russell stepped onstage for the first time in Newfoundland in Grade 1 after her teacher asked her to sing solo at a school concert. Russell said she was too shy to say no.

Her love of performing swallowed that initial shyness and Russell went on to participate in high school theatre productions before splitting rural Newfoundland at 16 to pursue her passion at Memorial University in St. John's. She continued her studies on the mainland at the University of Ottawa, where she earned a degree in English and theatre. Then she headed West.

After hanging out in the Rockies for a few years, she immersed herself in Yellowknife's theatre scene, embracing ambitious roles such as the part of Janet in the stage version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Family and work commitments pulled Russell out of the theatre almost a decade ago. That is when she picked up her guitar and a pen. She refined her original material during the tightly-packed, slapdash jams hosted by Tracey Riley in the Wildcat Cafe a few years back. Her foray into the live music scene culminated in the release of her debut album, To A Song, in 2007. The CD paired Russell with backing musicians from Alberta, including Juno-award-winning saxophonist Jeremiah McDade and mandolin master Tony Michael.

Spiced with subarctic metaphors, Russell's intimate ballads share satirical and sympathetic insights into Northern life, love and endurance. She exercises her comic wit with songs such as About the Ravens, a modest proposal suggesting we harvest the ubiquitous scavengers as a cheap protein source, and Came For Two, a tribute to the many locals who came to Yellowknife for a visit and never left.

Her soft, confident voice and gentle humanitarian spirit are reflected most keenly in songs like Fear and Flowers, about realizing the potential for happiness ready to bloom in us all, and her album's title track, To A Song, in which she honours the artistic liberation she discovered in the North.

"I feel like I have grown up here and now I have roots," Russell wrote during an online interview with Yellowknifer. "I think that being in one place for so long gives you a good solid footing from which to be creative."

In between appearing at fundraisers and the odd club gig, such as her recent stint at Fuego, she is using these cold months to prepare new songs for a second album planned for some distant day.

"Getting through the challenging winters is a feat, to me anyway, and there is always a challenge right in front of you if you want to take it on," she said of life in Yellowknife. "If you take it on, it's empowering." Russell is also focused on completing a university course that will enable her to undertake her next challenge, a master's degree in applied psychology.