Local singer takes home award for best female country music star

KELOWNA – A singer-songwriter born in Kelowna won the Coachella Valley Music Awards for best female country music album this month.

Kelly Margaret Derrickson, daughter of First Nation Grand Chief Ron Derrickson, took home the award May 17.

Nominations are made by 200 industry insiders, including radio and TV personalities, music writers and journalists, music photographers, club and venue owners, promoters, fans and musicians from across the Coachella Valley.

More than 250,000 people voted this year.

“I was totally surprised by the nomination. I’m kind of new to the valley,” Derrickson says. “I’ve had nothing but really good feedback and everyone’s been supportive.”

Derrickson won for her first album, Warriors of Love, which she co-wrote with Chip Martin. Some of the songs deal with the plight of First Nations members, but Derrickson says it’s more than a political album.

“A lot of my songs have a political content but some are just really fun.”

Derrickson was born in Kelowna but currently lives in Los Angeles. She graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in music business and professional music.

“I wanted to be a lawyer,” she says. “But I got accepted to Berklee and never looked back.”

A recurring theme to her music, she says, is the desecration of sacred grounds and the preservation of natural resources. She says she never really thought about how her political message affects her commercial viability.

“If you’re passionate about something, it doesn’t really matter,” she says. “It’s something I’m very passionate about.”

Derrickson is currently working on a new album, but says it is still too early to tell when it will be released. She plans to do a tour of both the U.S. and Canada starting in August.

Warriors of Love can be purchased where music is sold or through her website.

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To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.