Styles in music come and go but talent is forever. True talent can turn its hand to whatever is required for it to shine through. It’s the lemons lemonade setpiece that is the stuff of hit singles in the hands of an artist like Taylor Swift. Valerie Shearman is a grad of that Zen, of turning adversity into opportunity, a hard no into an appreciative yes, spinning straw into gold with  crying eyes. The Toronto singer/songwriter comes to her intense love of music through a pedigree stemming from her grandfather, the late Chester Corbett, considered one of the best fiddlers of his era. Another strand leading towards a life of music came when Valerie at age 6 was placed in a foster home child and separated from her beloved siblings. Fate stepped in when she was placed in the care of a loving musical family, the Blairs,

By age 9, Valerie was playing guitar and scratching out her first songs. She caught the attention of producer Terry Shields from the Oral Arts festival of Ontario who recognized Valerie’s gift and encouraged her to perform regularly with the Oral Arts festival on tour. This was a huge chance to learn from other musicians and get her first taste of collaboration, all of which would come into play during recording projects in the future. Life was good until later that year when she learned her mother had been found dead in a field in Calgary. It took considerable time, deep deep digging and music for Valerie to come back from this shocking and crushing blow, summon up the strength and move forward.