Serena Ryder

From Discogs:

Canadian singer/songwriter.Born and raised in Millbrook, Ontario, Canada, just outside Peterborough, Serena Ryder grew up listening to old Beatles and Leonard Cohen records she found in her parents' collection. She started singing publicly as a young child, and at 13, after she received her first guitar courtesy of her father, she began to teach herself to play and a few years later she made her first demo tapes.In 2002, when she was 18, she recorded some songs from a show she was playing in Quebec into a more official demo, which eventually made its way to CBC Radio and got Ryder an invitation to play live on air. As luck would have it, musician Hawksley Workman happened to hear the broadcast, and immediately contacted the singer at the station and invited her to record an album on his Isadora label. Backed by Workman and two other players, Ryder recorded her debut, Unlikely Emergency, which was released in 2004 and reissued in the U.S. the following year. The album did well enough to give Ryder a spot performing at the 2005 Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame press conference, after which it was suggested she cover songs written by Canadian musicians.If Your Memory Serves You Well, her major-label debut, a collection of 12 covers and three originals, came out in Canada in late 2006, and hit shelves in the States soon after.-Marisa Brown, All-Music Guide (http://theband.hiof.no/albums/...erves_you_well.html)

From Lastfm:

Serena Ryder is a Canadian singer/songwriter who is from Millbrook, near Peterborough, Ontario. She performed in many venues around Ontario from the age of 18, including being showcased at the CBC Women's Blues Review 2002 at the Music Hall, Danforth Avenue, Ontario at 19. She has a "fearless" approach to performing. Her voice is mature beyond her years, with tremor and vivacity of a seasoned blues singer. Promotional CDs ('A Day at the Studio' and others) were available at some of her early performances and since then she has released three albums.

In 2004 she released her debut album Unlikely Emergency, which included the single "Just Another Day" which gained significant airplay on many Canadian radio stations. The album was released with the production help of Hawksley Workman, who contacted the CBC after hearing her perform on a local Live radio broadcast. The album was recorded at his studio and released on Workman's Isadora imprint.

Serena is currently signed to EMI Music Canada, and in late 2006, she released her major label debut featuring a collection of Canadian cover songs If Your Memory Serves You Well. This sophomore release featured three originals, including the standout single "Weak In The Knees", which was also featured on the 2007 'Women & Songs Volume 11' compilation.

Ryder soon found herself opening major concerts for the likes of Aerosmith and she won the 2008 Juno Award for "Best New Artist."

In November 2008, Serena released her third album, Is it o.k., mixing original work with a reprise of "Weak In The Knees". She was nominated for two Juno Awards for 2009 - including 'Artist of the Year' and 'Adult Alternative Album of the Year' for "Is it o.k.", which was eventually released in the USA almost a year later.

From Wikipedia:

Serena Ryder (born December 8, 1982) is a Juno Award-winning Canadian singer/songwriter and guitarist who grew up in Millbrook, Ontario.

Ranging musically between folk, roots, country, and adult contemporary, Ryder possesses a three-octave range. She attended the Integrated Arts Program at Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Peterborough as well as Crestwood Secondary School. As a teenager, she performed solo as well as with many bands from the Peterborough area, including Christian band Thousand Foot Krutch and Jive recording artist Three Days Grace.