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SInger headed to Olympic City
Telegraph Journal
February 12, 2010
By April Robinson

SAINT JOHN - Local folk songstress Jessica Rhaye will share the Olympic stage with an East Coast hip-hop artist, a Celtic band and comedians when she plays in Vancouver on Feb. 22.

"It's going to be a really dynamic night," she says. "I have no idea what the audience is going to be like." After she gets on stage, Halifax-based hip-hop artist Classified will perform, then a comedian duo Chuck and Albert, followed by the Irish Descendents.

The Olympic stop is just one of the highlights over the next month for the Hampton-area native who now lives and runs a graphic design business in Saint John's south end."It's huge, it's big," Rhaye said of the Olympic event, where she'll play on the Granville Island stage in a free concert for up to 400 people. "I really almost can't wrap my head around it. I have no idea what to expect."

Arriving just two days after an important folk conference, she won't have much time to either. Rhaye landed a spot at the Folk Alliance Conference, where she will perform in showcases over three nights in Memphis, Tenn."We applied and got accepted - and they're not easy to get," she said of the showcase."It's important, especially for buyers to book you in other festivals and shows, so I've got to do my best."
Doing her best is something Rhaye is used to - and so far, it's worked.

After the release of her latest album, Good Things, last May, she received a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination and 2010 East Coast Music Award nominations for folk recording of the year and solo female artist of the year. Last fall, one of her songs was featured on the CBC show, Heartland.

Over the years, she has been nominated for 11 East Coast Music Awards.
After her show at the Olympics, Rhaye plans to spend a few extra days taking in the events with her husband and tour manager Mark Marshall. Then by early March, it's off to the ECMAs for yet another showcase - and maybe some more awards. Until then, Rhaye said she's busy with music-related graphic design projects - including Tom Swift CD graphics, Matt Andersen's Live From the Phoenix Theatre DVD and the Blue Olive's website. "When I'm not doing my own music, I'm working on other people's music projects," Rhaye said.

And her graphic design talents are just as recognized as her musicianship. She's up for an ECMA for visual artist of the year, her fourth industry nomination. It all adds up to a busy schedule that can sometimes be overwhelming, she said. But when she looks back at the goals she and her husband write down every year, she's pretty happy with her accomplishments. "The number one goal is just to continue making music and getting it out there and just playing more," she said.
"I don't know what 'making it big' really is other than what people see on TV ... I think I've made my own little 'making it big' mark the world."