In 1988, Angel Forrest began her musical career and her first album, Secondhand Blues immediately gained attention from critics and fans. Her first original album, Here for You sold over 30,000 copies and was followed by the other LPs, including Wonderland, her Christmas album, the award-winning album Come After, as well as Mother Tongue Blues, which won her the Lys Blues Album of the Year award in Québec, was nominated for the Recording of the Year at the 2014 Maple Blues Awards where she also won Songwriter of the Year. In 2016, she released Angel's 11, an original concept album with eleven of the best guitar players in the country. The album was such a success Angel went on to win Producer/Recording of the Year, Songwriter as well as Female Vocalist of the Year.
Her live opus, Electric Love, topped the charts around the world. The Montreal artist was named Female Vocalist of the Year 7 times by the Toronto Blues Society between 2013 and 2021. Crystal was the 2018 Memphis International Blues Challenge Finalists. In November 2019, ready to hit the American market, Angel released the critically acclaimed album Hell Bent with Grace.
Denis Columbus is a veteran of the Canadian music scene and has accompanied his partner Angel for the past 20 years as well as other musical projects. In early 2022 Denis, along with Angel Forrest and Ricky Paquette, wrote and released his country album with a roots and blues influence entitled Eleven Dollar Bill.
Nanaimo Blues Society acknowledges that we are on the traditional and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, the traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation.
