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Tony McGarrigle

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When the talent was being rounded up for the Small Band-Aid Charity Concert, one of the people called was country singer Shirley Albert, who welcomed the invitation with open arms.

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Shirley Albert is recording her second album. She is also featured on the Small Band Aid Charity Concert DVD for sale at Franks’ Music in Moncton.

Of course, someone performing for a long time would naturally take to the stage.

"I started when I was five with my father's band," said Albert, of her early exposure to the limelight in her native Cormier Village, not far from Shediac. "The last 10 years I've been doing it professionally."

Now known as a country singer, Albert had a rock band in her teens and pumped out tunes by artists like Alannah Myles and Lita Ford.

Her first step towards a country career also happened in her teens when she won a country singing contest at the Irving Coral. Other singing contest wins followed. She won first place in the 1996 Hot Country Talent Search in Moncton and was the runner-up in the Startracks contest in Saint John in 1997. She wound up winning some studio time and used it for a professional demo.

Eventually she wound up in Nashville to record her first CD. Albert worked with some well known names on her debut and landed songs from Gilles Godard, Willie Mack and Terri Clark. Godard had written with Clark.

"I asked him if he could hook me up, he did," Albert said. The song Clark wrote for Albert was called No Ordinary Monday.

Albert had a strong group of songs on that debut CD, some of them can be heard on her MySpace page.

"When I pick a song I try to relate to it. I've worked in bars a lot. I want the song to relate to (my customers) as well."

Albert met Mack when he was in Saint John for the Canadian Country Music Awards and he did some writing for her first recording. Godard is also writing with her. Mack is now co-producing her second CD, which Albert hopes to have out in a couple of months or shortly after Christmas.

Albert plays gigs in bars, at summer festivals and private parties. She also performed in Vancouver during the CCMA's. Most of her shows have been in the Maritimes, but she said she would love to tour Canada. She credits her chance to record in Nashville to meeting the right people in her musical journey, and she heads down to Music City two or three times a year.

"When I play in places where there are going to be French people I do some songs in French," she said, adding that being bilingual, she has been asked several times to record in French and said she may do it some day. She has appeared on the last two seasons of Pour l'amour du country recorded in Moncton.

Albert works with a lot of musicians from the Moncton and Memramcook area. Her bandmates are Mike Bourgerois on lead guitar, Danny Bourgerois on drums, Etienne LeBlanc on bass, Joel Robichaud on keyboards, Charles Beliveau on acoustic guitar and Dominique Dupruis on fiddle.

Small Band-Aid Charity Concert DVD

The Small Band-Aid Charity Concert DVD featuring Shirley Albert, Todd Geldart, Eddy Poirier, Theresa Malenfant, Isaac and Blewett, Kevin MacLeod, Don Coleman and Shelby Murray can be purchased at Frank's Music in Moncton.

Melanie Morgan CD launch

Melanie Morgan's official CD launch party will take place at the Capitol Theatre in Moncton, presented by Choix 99 L'Acadie Country on Saturday November 21, from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Tickets on sale at the box office, Franks's Music and Université de Moncton. Special guest is Rik Reese and Neon Highway.

* NB Country is a regular This Week feature about New Brunswick country music and performers. If you have an idea for a future NB Country column, contact Tony McGarrigle at kingscountycountry@yahoo.com.