Country music might be something Guelph’s Nicolette Hoang stumbled upon by accident, but it’s where she eventually came to find herself and her musical stride.
Hoang fronts outlaw country band Nicolette & the Nobodies, which formed in 2016 and is now gearing up for the release of their debut album, The Long Way.
But her love affair with country music didn’t start until later in life.
As a woman, a Vietnamese Canadian and the daughter of refugees, country music wasn’t exactly something she saw herself in growing up; the songs she heard on the radio were almost always by white men and pop-sounding.
“No one looks like me, so it wasn’t exactly something I was drawn to,” she said. “You wouldn’t picture an immigrant singing or loving country music."
Then in her early 20s, she was rifling through some of her parents’ old records, which included the likes of 1960s and 70s country artists Tammy Wynette and Glen Campbell.
Their sound resonated with her in a new way.
“I just love the style of writing, specifically with Tammy Wynette. She’s got such an emotional voice, and that drew me in,” she said. “It was dramatic, and it was direct and simple, but very moving.”
“Prior to that, I kind of migrated around different musical genres, but didn’t really start to feel at home in something until I found country music,” she said.
Hoang has always been musical. She took piano lessons at the Royal Conservatory and taught herself to sing and play guitar. But she didn’t play in a band until moving back to Guelph after a brief stint in Toronto towards the end of her 20s.
“To be honest, I always wanted to be a musician, but I gave up pretty hard,” she said. “I just (thought), maybe this isn’t my calling, I’m not that good at it.”
That all changed after one fateful karaoke night at the Army Navy Air Force club nearly 10 years ago.
A group of people who knew her partner heard her sing – likely something by Loretta Lynn or Wynette – and asked if she wanted to be in a band.
“They made it really chill and welcoming, and a very comfortable and safe place to begin,” she said. “It was because of those people that I felt like I could pursue it again for my own enjoyment.”
The band officially formed in 2016 playing cover songs, when a friend of Hoang’s offered them a gig at the former eBar.
“We (didn’t) even have a band name,” she said. Her friend said to come up with one before the poster was printed, so they hastily settled on Nicolette and the Nobodies, thinking they wouldn’t have to commit to it.
But while the band’s lineup may have changed a few times over the years, the name stuck.
“It makes who The Nobodies can be, be very loose,” she said
They continued playing shows as a cover band, while Hoang began to try her hand at writing originals – something she had struggled with in the past.
But country music, and the support from the band and the community surrounding her, changed that.
“I had people saying, we want to (play what you write), and it’s really sweet to have that kind of support, especially when your internal thoughts are harsher.”
When she was younger, she questioned whether she was good enough to be a musician and if it was worth her time.
“What I came to learn from being in this community is that it makes me feel good, and it makes other people feel good. It feeds the soul, and that’s good enough.”
Nearly a decade later, the band is releasing its debut album, The Long Way. The lineup has changed a few times since 2016, but the Nobodies on this album include Guelph musicians like Ian Bain, Emma Howarth-Withers, Danny Paillé, and more.
The album was produced by Aaron Goldstein and pulls from traditional country, soul country and a lot of rock, with some surprises along the way, Hoang said.
A lot of the inspiration for the album came from stories and personal experiences, both edgy and tender.
For instance, the first single off the album, Show Up, packs an emotional punch about loving someone who will never love you back.
The Long Way is set to release April 12 through ArtHaus. After that, the band is hitting the road with Sarah Shook & The Disarmers on their U.S. tour.
