Naomi Bristow Canada's Singing Cowgirl

Canada’s Singing Cowgirl

By BILL BORGWARDT

Photos:

Naomi Bristow performing at 2015 Country at Creek Music Festival in Ness Creek, Sask.

Photo by Bill Borgwardt

Not all the Canadian cowgirls come from the West, especially when it comes to ones who can yodel.

Naomi Bristow grew up on a small farm near Beeton, Ont., less than an hour northwest of Toronto. From as far back as she can remember, Naomi has had two loves — horses and singing. Since her dad, Eugene Bristow, was a bull rider, her whole family, including her mother, Lynda, and her three siblings, all followed the local rodeo circuit. Naomi may not have made her mark in rodeo as a competitor (although she did try mutton bustin’), but she certainly became well known as an entertainer. By the time she was six, Naomi was already singing traditional cowboy and western songs at all the local rodeos, fairs, or anywhere else that would have her.

One day while watching television, Naomi saw a young girl from Tennessee, not much older than herself, who was a selftaught yodeler. Right then she decided this was what she wanted to do. Her grandfather ordered her an instruction book and cassette tape on how to yodel, and by age eight, Naomi had mastered the skill.

It wasn’t long before Naomi recorded her first album, Cowboy Sweetheart, followed by The Yodelin’ Cowgirl, and then Ridin’ High in 2009, which was declared the Best Traditional Yodel Album of the Year by the National Traditional Country Music Association in the U.S. Naomi’s strong spiritual upbringing led her to record a gospel album, Blessed Trail, in 2012. Joining her on this album was none other than Grand Ole Opry member, Vince Gill. Her recorded library now contains ten traditional country, gospel, and Christmas albums — many of them recorded in Nashville and featuring duets with other Opry legends like Jim Ed Brown, Richard Sterban of the Oak Ridge Boys, and Bill Anderson. She also released a DVD that featured many of her performances.

Naomi has t ravelled and performed all across Canada and the U.S. for the past 15 years. She has opened for numerous Nashville legends, including Moe Bandy, Marty Stewart, Gene Watson, Rhonda Vincent, David Frizzell and many others. Her enthusiasm and vivacious personality, along with her beautiful vocals, quickly capture the hearts of all who see her.

Her grandfather ordered her an instruction book and cassette tape on how to yodel, and by age eight, Naomi had mastered the skill.

In 2019 she did two cross-Canada tours with the Scott Woods Band, performing in nearly 90 different venues in 95 days. For the rest of the year, her personal show schedule was packed. In addition to live shows, Naomi has done multiple TV appearances, including three seasons of the Shotgun Red Variety Show and regular appearances for the past six years on the Midwest Country show, both on the RFD-TV network in the U.S. Her 2019 video version of the gospel song “Hallelujah”, released on Facebook, has garnered over 14 million views.

The awards have been numerous, including the 2016 Traditional Country Rising Star at the Josie Awards in Nashville, and twice receiving the Youth Yodeler of the Year award from the Western Music Association in the U.S. The B.C. Cowboy Heritage Society also presented her with their Rising Star Award, and in Texas she was declared the Female Vocalist of the Year at the Valley Star Awards.

Despite the uncertainties that 2020 has brought, for Naomi it will be a year of milestones. Although she had close to 100 shows booked that were all put on hold, the now-22-year old has kept busy with “window shows,” entertaining outside local seniors’ homes, where the residents can sit in isolation watching the show through their bedroom windows.

Newlyweds Naomi Bristow and Nick Wilcox

Photo by Bill Borgwardt

Earlier in the year, she released her tenth album, You’re Lookin’ At Country, which for the first time includes a song that she has written herself, “I Tried To Warn You.” To top it all off, Naomi was kept busy planning for August 22, when she tied the knot with her local cowboy sweetheart, Nick Wilcox. Due to COVID restrictions, they had to keep it a small event with only family attending, but the couple pulled off a beautiful country-themed wedding. They will now have time to settle into their new married life on the Wilcox farm, but don’t count her out. The requests for appearances keep pouring in and as soon as things return to normal, you can bet she’ll be hitting the tour trail once again. c

For further information or to hear her music, visit NaomiBristow.com.