On Friday evening, May 29th, 2026, Diamond House Concerts hosted two performers for what turned out to be two very good, engaging and entertaining hours. Jodee Richardson and Nicole Hand showed up early in the day to do a workshop with students at Glovertown Academy and as I attended their first workshop to Grade Six music students I admit that I was left in a state of wonderment and speculation as to what they might deliver to the general public in the evening. As Jodee has been in the theatrical as well as the musical communities of the province, predominantly in our Corner Brook and area scene for most of his recent years, his experience has brought him into puppetry, acting and stage craft; the latter mostly in sound production. His early career as a musician left any of us who remember Thomas Trio and Red Albino, and the Pathological Lovers expecting the rocky dimension of this chameleon but in a small setting such as Diamond House (with the chance to communicate in the most subtle ways, with sound levels at the very least audible right through to loud) he became something else. His songwriting depth is the stuff of legend. Only someone who is at first gifted in the craft but also experienced enough in life to have something to write about can pull it off. He did it with storytelling, theatrics and one lovely old Harmony Sovereign guitar. 

 Nicole has her Bachelors Degree in music performance from the MUN School of Music with a major in Bassoon. In 2008 she joined the Newfoundland Symphony, has toured with orchestras in Japan and Russia, she champions the recognition of women and their contributions in the arts – especially music. She has beat around the province and beyond in a group named Ouroboros. She has students of her own and runs a business called ‘Artists with Abundance’, an effort to guide those coming up through the ranks to know healthy boundaries, to realize self worth in the music industry, and to help artists ensure they have their finances together.  She contributed with highly skilled piano and Baritone Saxaphone playing as well as vocals; sometimes as principal singer but mostly doing harmonies to Jodee’s lead. 

  As I mixed the sound from the back of the room on our new PA system (the inaugural voyage for the new sound system) I left the piano and sax out of the mix and let those things speak without being amplified in the P.A. The duo balanced the whole on the fly taking the most delicate notes and blending them into a near perfect sound, as much as the room could deliver. That’s the thing about doing shows in small rooms, the audience gets to talk to the performers and at a distance sometimes no further than an arm’s length. The intimacy is to be treasured and surely is one of the biggest benefits of seeing small venue shows. Nowhere was it more evident than with this performance. 

  Both performers write, sometimes recitations as well as songs, and both have stories to relate; to set the songs and give them context. The Bari-sax is an amazing low level instrument and surprisingly compatible with one acoustic guitar. Piano and Guitar are even better in my mind and Nicole delivers. She also has a Melodica which she uses for a number or two, a wind-blown reed instrument consisting of a small keyboard, a sort of dwarf accordion. It comes off as novelty at first, but it too is a serious musical instrument and as she applies it the thing makes great musical sense in particular songs.  

  Overall, the songs are melodic and always harmonious, there are some pieces that are known popular hits from the past filtered through the duo’s interpretation, but by in large most of the material is original. Songs range from the very light Rail Road and Moonshine pieces, The Log Driver’s Waltz and the parody Born in Conception Bay to the deeper character explorations like his biographical pieces Somebody’s Baby  and I’m Alright  where Jodee gets a chance to dive deep into his soul, singing inspirations gifted from the muses and teasing out the most emotion. His topics are deeply human and most are excerpts from the stories of his life experience. Nicole is his perfect accompaniment. She’s generous with the stage, allowing Jodee every chance he deserves to be the focus while never less than an equal, that’s a real duo. 

  We look forward to having them back when next they make a circuit. Keep an eye on our website and Facebook listings.

Diamond House Concerts