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The folk singer-songwriter, who lives on Vancouver Island, has played at several major music festivals and was mentored by legendary Canadian rock musician Rik Emmett.
LAC LA BICHE – Claire Coupland, a Vancouver Island-based folk singer-songwriter who has played at several major music festivals, will be performing on stage at Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park for the Aug. 23 edition of the 2025 Music in the Forest concert series.
For Coupland, this show marks her first time playing in Lac La Biche, something she is very excited about.
The full-time musician has always been passionate about music and taught herself to play guitar in high school. However, it wasn’t until she was in her early 20s when Coupland took her passion seriously and began studying Jazz Voice at the Conservatory in Victoria.
“I was encouraged by my voice teacher to pursue a bigger school/city, so I auditioned for the music degree at Humber College in Toronto and got in for vocals for the four-year program,” Coupland said.
It was during her time at Humber College that Coupland worked with Rik Emmett, vocalist and guitarist for the Canadian hard rock band Triumph. Coupland explained that she learned an “immeasurable amount” from Emmett, who had a songwriting course at the college.
“He taught us so much about how to craft songs, and it was challenging because we each had to bring songs in every week, and Rik and the class would go through and pick it apart – in a supportive and positive way – and I learned a lot doing that,” she said.
Another interesting experience for Coupland was being a featured writer for Humber Music’s ‘Producer in Residence Week’ with Canadian record producer Bob Ezrin, who has worked with such acts as KISS, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, and Taylor Swift.
During this event, Coupland got to go up on stage and talk about a song she had written.
“I guess Bob picked out my song from a list of students who’d submitted. He asked me questions about the song and gave me feedback and challenges, and I really value that,” she said.
Since 2015, Coupland has released one studio album, 2023’s New Light, along with two EPs, ‘On the Other Side’ and ‘For You’.
New Light, she explained, was recorded in Los Angeles with Juno Award-winning musician/artist/producer Sam Webber, something she says was an amazing, once in a lifetime experience.
The most popular song on the album, ‘Find Your Way Home’, is the story of a parent calling out to their long-lost child, wondering if they will ever see them again.
“It’s bittersweet, and a little sad, but people always cry when I play it,” she said. “I think it touches a nerve with parents out there, and people with troubled relationships either with their parents or with their own children.”
Those who attend the Aug. 23 edition of Music in the Forest will get to hear all of the songs from New Light, along with other songs.
“I like to sprinkle in some cover songs that have influenced my writing too,” she said.
When asked if there is a new album in the works, Coupland confirmed that there is, but said the project is in its early stages.
The stop in Lac La Biche is one of several dates Coupland will be playing during the summer throughout Western Canada.
During her career, the folk singer-songwriter has also graced the stages of several major festivals, including Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, Wimborne Folk Festival in the United Kingdom, Scotland’s Arisaig Americana Festival and the Harbour Blues and Roots Festival, which takes place annually in Victoria, B.C.
Getting into these major festivals, Coupland says, is her biggest accomplishment.
“I am really proud of doing that without an agent. It’s tough to get into festivals, and I am proud of doing it for myself,” she said.
The Aug. 23 Music in the Forest event will take place at the Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park campground amphitheatre. Doors open at 6:30 p.m, and the music gets underway at 7:30 p.m.
For more information about this event, contact the Lakeland District Office for Alberta Parks at 780-623-7189.
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