Some have described Ann Pascoe as the one of the best country singers currently within the New Zealand shores. She is certainly an authentic country girl who was born on a back country sheep farm, milked cows after her marriage, and raised five children, with her husband, Ross.
It was only in the last few years after listening to lyrics of Merle Haggard, the Statler Brothers, and Hoyt Axton, and always having been a writer; and also a poet (of simple verse) that it seemed a natural progression to write country song lyrics.
“I started writing songs and wanted someone to sing them, but nobody seemed keen. I thought I should do them myself,” she says. She took singing lessons and learned the basics of singing, then stylised to country music.
Her first public singing was in September 2001, singing with a live band at a country music club and Pascoe hasn’t looked back.
Pascoe is exposed to a huge range of country music through her work with The Little Country Radio station (107.7fm) (NZ Country Music Network Ltd.) The station - one of six dotted around NZ - is based in Stratford, its transmitter installed atop the Taranaki Backpackers Lodge and it plays country music 24 hours a day from Kiwi through to American artists. At least six to eight CDs appear in her mailbox each week from independent artists wanting airplay: “I hear some really good music.”
She does voice work for the Just Country fm stations in Christchurch as well as 106.7fm in New Plymouth.
Since her debut she has produced four albums, all receiving excellent feed back. Currently her name as an independent artist figures on the world wide country music radio playlists, and charts compiled from this have often seen her up in the Top Five on the ECMA charts Top 100 and she gives full credit to Canada's Hillcrest multi-artist releases introducing her to the wide world of country music radio stations. And also Amercian songwriter Roy G. Ownbey who gave her his songs to sing.
Over the years she has supported both American and NZ touring artists, including Terry Smith, Charley Groth, Shirley Raye and Bill Murphree, NZ's Dennis Marsh, Roger Tibbs, Joy Adams and Dennis August and featured in festivals with her own band OLDOGS, and other shows around New Zealand.
Reviewers have said listeners who like Patsy Cline will like Ann Pascoe's music and describe it as having solid traditional country sounding vocals, with excellent Nashville music behind her.
While described as a country music artist, Ann is just as 'at home' with pop songs of the past.
Her new 13 track album, called "Somewhere Between Memories and Dreams" has four of Pascoe's original songs, some of Roy G.Ownbey songs and songs offered to her by American songwriter Glenn Erickson and other country songs, again with faultless Nashville backing music. (November 2007)
