Cochrane country, folk and blues artist Sharon Marie White is coming off a high note, releasing a new single just after ranking number four on a national online radio Christmas chart over the holidays.
The song, called 'Help Me Fly,' was set for release Feb. 4 and was co-written by White and independent artist Dan Washburn.
It's about feeling encouraged to continue on one's path by those loved and lost.
"I've lost a lot of people in my life," White said. "But I still feel like they're around and pushing me forward, telling me to keep doing what I'm doing.
"They're saying, 'Just go and fly, do what you want to do, and we've got your back.'"
White has been playing guitar and performing since the age of 14, when she lived in her hometown of Napinka, Man.
Not long after she learned how to play, she spent most weekends performing at gigs across communities in southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
White, who now lives in Cochrane and has for 21 years, said she's found herself performing a lot less in recent years.
"I did little gigs, little restaurants and stuff like that when we first moved herem but then we also have a company now, so I'm busy working about eight months of the year in Saskatchewan."
She is never too busy to write and play music at home though, and said the pandemic has given her an abundance of time to do both.
"I think as horrible as COVID has been because nobody could tour, we were all writing and we were co-writing, and just meeting people online who are fellow songwriters and forming this great community in support of one another," she said.
"It hasn't been all bad. There's definitely been a lot of writing going on."
In 2021, another song she wrote, 'Feels Like Christmas,' made it on the Candian Online Radio Christmas Chart at number four, amongst company like Dean Martin and Stevie Wonder in the top 10.
White said she had no idea she was on the list until her promoter reached out about it in early January.
"Because [the chart] was out of 40, there was a lot of big names on there," White said. "I was really pleased and excited and humbled by it, because that was actually the very first Christmas song that I wrote a couple years ago."
White, who has no plans to release a new album or tour in the near future, said she would love to start performing more small gigs around town in coffee shops and small restaurants when it's safe to do so.
In the meantime, she is live streaming concerts from home – and loving it.
She planned a virtual release party for Feb. 4, where she was going to perform her new single live from Facebook.
"It's been a great way to reach people," White said. "If they join my page, then when I go live they will be automatically notified."
To listen to White's new single, 'Help Me Fly,' or any of her other music, visit sharonmariewhite.com
