Born in the rural village of Kill, County Kildare, Ireland, Talbot began singing in the church choir run by her mother. At sixteen, she enrolled at Dublin's Bel Canto singing school, studying for the next year and a half under its founder and director Frank Merriman.
Singing career
When she was 18, Heidi moved to New York, where she spent two years working in bars and clubs before being invited to join Cherish the Ladies in 2002. In between the band's touring schedule, Talbot continued to develop her solo work, releasing Distant Future on Nashville roots label Compass Records. Produced by John Doyle, the record featured such guests as multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell,[1] concertinist John Williams and fiddler Rayna Gellert. Three years later, the recording of In Love and Light coincided with her decision to leave Cherish the Ladies at the end of 2007.
In Love and Light won an Indie Acoustic award for best album in 2008[6] and was nominated for an Irish Music Award 2009 in the best female vocalist category.[7]
In 2023, Heidi Talbot won Composer of the Year at the prestigious Scots Trad Music Awards.[8]
Personal life
Talbot lives in the suburbs of Edinburgh. She was married to musician John McCusker for 11 years; they have two daughters, Molly Mae and Jessica. She married Scottish lawyer Ronnie Simpson in May 2024.
