The life of a solo singer-songwriter can be lonely by nature, but Canadian JUNO Award-winning Halifax, NS-based Rose Cousins believes that it doesn’t always have to be that way. Indeed, it’s no small feat to stand alone on a stage and create an instant community out of a room full of strangers, but this is Rose’s secret weapon. With her four full-length albums and more than a decade of touring, Cousins has mastered this by employing her sharp, wry humor and candid honesty to pull the audience through the fourth wall. “In my work, I seek connection,” she explains. “Sharing the stage is about connecting with who's there and sharing that connection with the audience. It creates an experience, a memory.” She frequently brings her openers onstage to collaborate and has been known to wrangle more than a dozen other players for a comprehensive chorus during festival performances. Regardless of how many people take the stage with her, by the end of a Rose Cousins performance, all those present are linked—a group of strangers who came together in a room for one night, who were moved by the same stark moments in her deeply emotional, stirring songs.