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“It’s a fair bet that you’ve heard the phrase 'singer/songwriter' being used a fair bit on this show, and I'm certain I've used it many times. For me, though, one of the things that makes a songwriter stand apart from the rest of the pack is the person’s ability to craft songs that stand on their own merit. What I mean by that is that their songs will not lose any of their appeal or immediacy if they are performed without a band. Often times, they pack more poignancy if they are performed at say, a spoken word show. Lauren Best has this gift for writing songs that stand on their own merit. Her auspicious debut album, Sticker Collection, is filled with intimate, confessional poetry. Essentially, this is music for thoughtful contemplation.”
~ Errol Nazareth, CBC Radio's Big City Small World
Lauren Best lives where the Pottawotami River meets Georgian Bay, on the territory of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (now known as Owen Sound, Ontario). She published her first full-length poetry collection, Just Leaves, in 2023.
She is an interdisciplinary creative with a multifaceted community arts practice that interweaves with her work as a poet, musician, and composer. Her latest project, the Infinite Improvisation Podcast (2022), is a collaboration with Seattle-based saxophonist Steve Treseler. Lauren was selected for the inaugural Rural Creatives Springboard (2022), a collaboration between Artscape Launchpad and the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity.
Lauren left her small Ontario town as a young keyboard-playing singer-songwriter and returned to become Poet Laureate Emeritus (Owen Sound, 2017-2019). Her music has been heard coast to coast since her debut album release in 2011, including collaborations ranging from electro pop bands, to experimental improvised choral music, to interactive theatre and film.
Lauren has developed a thriving professional arts practice through engaging communities as a facilitator, artist-educator, creative/music consultant, instrumental and voice coach, musical and choral director, and program designer. She has been nurtured to be a creative innovator by formal mentorship from professional artists and community arts advocates including musicians, playwrights, directors, and songwriters.
Lauren completed the Artist-Educator Professional Training Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music with the designations of Mentor/Lead Artist (2013), and went on to become RCM faculty. Her work included curriculum development and teacher training mentorship for a variety of organizations, including RCM and the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Hospital.
She is an interdisciplinary creative with a multifaceted community arts practice that interweaves with her work as a poet, musician, and composer. Her latest project, the Infinite Improvisation Podcast (2022), is a collaboration with Seattle-based saxophonist Steve Treseler. Lauren was selected for the inaugural Rural Creatives Springboard (2022), a collaboration between Artscape Launchpad and the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity.
Lauren left her small Ontario town as a young keyboard-playing singer-songwriter and returned to become Poet Laureate Emeritus (Owen Sound, 2017-2019). Her music has been heard coast to coast since her debut album release in 2011, including collaborations ranging from electro pop bands, to experimental improvised choral music, to interactive theatre and film.
Lauren has developed a thriving professional arts practice through engaging communities as a facilitator, artist-educator, creative/music consultant, instrumental and voice coach, musical and choral director, and program designer. She has been nurtured to be a creative innovator by formal mentorship from professional artists and community arts advocates including musicians, playwrights, directors, and songwriters.
Lauren completed the Artist-Educator Professional Training Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music with the designations of Mentor/Lead Artist (2013), and went on to become RCM faculty. Her work included curriculum development and teacher training mentorship for a variety of organizations, including RCM and the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Hospital.
"An auditory fiesta that could be described as klezmer meets cabaret with flourishes of pop and jazz... her lyrics make the songs come off sounding fresh and fun... a smoky alto with a wry and sophisticated delivery... Talented and unique, Lauren Best is definitely one to keep an ear out for."
~ Cindy Filipenko, Herizons Magazine (February 2011)
