Released this past April, the debut album from Hamilton, Ontario’s Nicolette & the Nobodies was 10 years in the making. On The Long Way, the group’s frontwoman Nicolette Hoang eases into a place of comfort within the realm of country music—traditionally a place for white men to express patriotism, rather than an outlet for a child of Vietnamese immigrants to share personal stories. “I had never envisioned myself in country,” shared Hoang, who was instantly drawn to the genre upon first hearing Tammy Wynette. “Why would I? I had never seen anyone who looks like me in that world. But now that I’ve found my voice, I want to see what it has to say.”
With the record out for a few months now, Hoang and bandmate Ian Bain brought one of its tracks, “Losing More,” to a brief “Neighborhoods” set in Bain’s backyard where the twangy tune is performed as a soaring acoustic duet. Check that out below, and catch the Nobodies at the upcoming US and Canadian dates listed on their website.
