Chatham musician Brooke Nicholls nominated for Juno Award
Chatham is getting some time in the Juno spotlight as a local musician vies for an award.
Brooke Nicholls grew up in Chatham before leaving home to try to make it in the world of pop music. Now, she's a nominee for the upcoming June Awards on March 15 in Saskatoon. It's in the Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year category for her record called Persue.
"I feel really grateful. I feel excited," said Nicholls. "Just to be up against that kind of caliber, I was kind of shocked."
She's facing off against four other nominees — Brian Doerksen, Dan Bremnes, Fresh IE and Matt Maher.
Nicholls' shift to Christian music came in 2015 when writing about her faith after seven years of pursuing pop.
Since then, she's toured across Canada, playing more than 300 dates — and she's been named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Canadian Gospel Music Association twice.
"I feel hopeful," she said about winning the award. "But even if I don't win, this feels like a win in my heart anyway."
Nicholls' father is well known himself in the Chatham community, but for different reasons. Rich Nicholls is the PC MPP for Chatham-Kent-Leamington.
He also happens to be his daughter's biggest fan, she said.
"I come home to Chatham, I feel so supported and loved. I feel it from my dad and I feel it around my dad too," she said.
Her father has been a big supporter in the creation of her latest album, which Nicholls describes as "really authentic."
It covers a somewhat difficult part of her family's life, with her husband also being Nicholls' manager and producer.
"When we first got married, we went through a season that was just really tough. We lost a lot of money, that can be hard on a newlywed couple that work together every time," she said.
She hopes her album helps people during difficult or dark periods of their life.
