We could all use a hero now… or maybe a heroine? Someone who’ll fight for the factory girl, someone to worry about the kids who keep disappearing from a border town, someone who’ll sit ringside and remind you to brace yourself. That’s who Emily Triggs is. “I’m here to light you up, I’ll come in fighting and I’ll never give up.” She cheers on the underdogs and calls out approaching trouble. She’s as tough as she is sensitive and her roots-based, Americana style music is the perfect vehicle to carry her message. And she conveys her message in English, occasionally French, and always with conviction. She’s also funny or rather, droll – delightfully dry and understated. Who else would write an upbeat bopper about nuclear tourism in 1956, where cocktails were served while atomic bombs were tested in a nearby Nevada desert? Sometimes all you can do is laugh at the absurdity of it all. The Great Escape, her latest album, highlights her exceptional songwriting, underscored by her remarkable humanity. Triggs has also refined her knack for creating melodies that are irresistible ear candy. Not all heroes or heroines wear capes. Some of them, like Emily, strap on a guitar, reach into your heart and remind you how beautiful life can be. - Chantal Vitalis