Little Miss Higgins, an award-winning prairie musician, has assembled an exceptional team of artists to tell the storey of her great-grandmother Eva Bersay.

She's known by her stage name Little Miss Higgins, the stage name given to Jolene Higgins, the lead singer of Little Miss Higgins and the Winnipeg Five in Canada, an acoustic-blues-folk duo.

In addition to a five-part podcast series and a full-length record, her project, The Fire Waltz, is now available as a whole bundle. There are only five episodes of the podcast, but the Fire Waltz CD has 21 songs to make up for it. Little Miss Higgins picked Track 9 - 'Flock In My Head' as a feature single when invited to do so.

Today, she tells us everything about her music career, aspirations, and dreams. You won't want to miss this interview.

What is your real name?

Jolene Yvonne Higgins is what's on my birth certificate.

What's your official Showbiz name?

Little Miss Higgins

How did you get into music?
My dad brought home a mini-grand piano when I was four. He told me it was mine then I carved my name on the side of it. Shortly after that, I was put into lessons. That was the beginning, I guess. I gravitated to the guitar as a teenager.

After high school, I went into theatre and acting, but I was always drawn to music. I ended up in Yellowknife when I was 19. There was a pretty cool live music scene happening in the late 1990s of "local" musicians, plus bands coming up from the south (Edmonton/Calgary/Saskatoon).

I met a blues piano player who stayed for a few months. We started dating and I moved with him to Edmonton. I saw a lot of music when I lived there. Blues On White at the Commercial Hotel had all kinds of amazing blues bands come through. It was one of the last 6 nighters.

There was also the Sidetrack Cafe where I saw The Rheostatics and a young Danny Michel and so many great artists. It was another education. At that time, I was mostly performing as an actor, but I was playing a lot of guitar in my living room.

When I moved to Saskatchewan in 2002, that's when I started actually playing in front of an audience and going to jams and open stages. I guess music got into me and it slowly took the driver's seat.

What field or genre are you into and how would you describe it?
I'd say I'm the field that's overgrown, left abandoned and rewilding itself. And that's how I prefer it. Ha! I venture in and out of genres and most of those genres are from the first half of the 1900s.

Though my lyrical content is contemporary and from my life, I am drawn to old country blues and jazz and folk styles of composition. Obviously, I am influenced by the music that exists around me. Growing up in the 80's I heard a lot of Dolly Parton and Dwight Yoakam as well as the rap and hip hop that was bursting into the world and whatever pop music that filled the airwaves.

Then, in the '90s when my friends were all listening to Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Radiohead (which are all great bands), I was secretly filling my audio pocket with Joni Mitchell and Billie Holiday.

However, when I really started playing guitar and singing, the music of Memphis Minnie and Bessie Smith and Muddy Waters made the most sense to me. Now, I let the song advise me what it needs to be.

Little Miss Higgins Reveals Her Musical Career Goals And Ambitions

Little Miss Higgins Reveals Her Musical Career Goals And Ambitions

Who or what inspires you or motivates you? And why?
I recently acquired my old piano. I haven't played for over 20 years, and I can't play anything I used to, but somehow I'm able to play and compose new music. It's very strange, but I sit down and I can write songs.

That has been inspiring. I've also been super inspired/motivated to write stories. Storytelling has always been part of my songwriting and performance, but now I'm loving writing.

My project The Fire Waltz kinda kicked it off, but now I'm hooked. I have a number of stories and writings waiting in the wings.

What are some of the challenges you face in your career path?
Where aren't their challenges in the arts? Throw being a parent into the mix and it becomes even more challenging.

For me, it was never about superstardom. The style of music I play, I know it's not going to be that, but being able to make a living is a goal. As the roots music scene grew across Canada, it became a reality.

Thanks to the various granting systems, I have been able to scrape by and I have a good life. I haven't needed to completely take on another career, but the continuing changes in the industry do make it harder to keep going.

Being expected to record music for very little return is probably the biggest challenge that hit my career. Ten-Twelve years ago, CD/digital sales were about one-third of my income. I haven't been able to recover or replace that loss. Now, artists have to tour to make money and touring is exhausting. It's not glamorous.

The pandemic has shown me how much I enjoy being at home, especially now that I have a child and a partner and 2 acres of land with 4 gardens.

How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business? 
Oh, it's huge. The music business lives on the internet. It made it possible for me to get my career off the ground and roll for 10 years in a small town in Saskatchewan.

When I first started, the internet was a peripheral tool. People went to internet cafes and had Myspace accounts. This was like 2002-03. Then it exploded. Now, there are so many possibilities and platforms.

Yes, it's saturated, but artists and industry people and listeners have greater access to each other. I personally don't spend a lot of time on the internet, and when I do, it's mostly for project/writing research or seed shopping for the gardens.

Do you have any advice for aspiring songwriters? 
Write what you know. And if you don't know much, read. Also, figure out the internet thing better than I have.

 

What is your current project about? 
The Fire Waltz is a 5-part miniseries narrative podcast and 21 track song-cycle album. It is inspired by a family story of mine from a great-grandmother on my paternal side, Eva Bersay.

The stories I heard about this potato farmer's daughter from Jersey Island in the English Channel who left her husband during WWI and became a housekeeper in Southern Alberta were fascinating.

So, my co-collaborators and I used these stories and characters to create an occasionally true narrative with songs and storytelling and sound design.

For the most part, it's about self-preservation and self-perseverance during the aftershocks of war and the aftershocks of love.

What are your hobbies? 
I'd rather call them interests or other parts of my life. A "hobby" seems frivolous or done during leisure time.

I don't feel like I have leisure time. I make time to garden. I do yoga, jog, cross country ski, canoe, but, again, I make time to do these things. I do leather sewing and beadwork in the evening while binge watching Netflix or when I'm in a vehicle for long periods of time touring. Maybe that's the closest thing to a hobby, but I consider it functional artwork.

 

What do you do aside from this profession? 
I'm a parent. I do laundry. I do dishes. I also freelance write descriptive video scripts.

What is one message you would give to your fans?
Let's move forward together with peace and love in our hearts and minds. Let's move forward in an attempt to rid this world of warmongering, white supremacy, inequality, patriarchy and human actions that leave people, cultures and environments disenfranchised or destroyed.

I'm probably preaching to the choir. And what a great choir you are!

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Py5shvrD6kaYjemW2tsv2?si=3SxqdZMPR46eF7d26DwQHg