Biography
Charlotte Cornfield is a Canadian singer-songwriter and drummer born October 14, 1988, in Toronto, where she grew up in the Ossington and Davenport neighborhoods[1]. Her father was an Israeli Jewish classical musician and radio producer, and her mother was a Toronto-based writer and editor[1].
She studied jazz drumming at Concordia University in Montreal beginning in 2006, released her debut EP at seventeen in 2008, and spent roughly six years based in Montreal before relocating to Brooklyn, New York, for two years[1][2]. She has been based back in Toronto since 2021[1].
Her catalogue includes six studio albums: Two Horses (2011), Future Snowbird (2016), The Shape of Your Name (2019), Highs in the Minuses (2021), Could Have Done Anything (2023), and Hurts Like Hell (2026). The Shape of Your Name earned a Polaris Music Prize longlisting, and Hurts Like Hell was shortlisted for the 2026 Polaris Music Prize, with its title track separately shortlisted for the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize[1].
Rolling Stone called her “Canada's best-kept secret” in 2022. She names Lucinda Williams as her single biggest influence, and her work has drawn comparisons to The Band, Bob Dylan, Courtney Barnett, and Neil Young. She has collaborated with members of Broken Social Scene, appeared on Joel Plaskett's 2020 album 44, and worked with Leif Vollebekk and Amy Millan, alongside producers Don Kerr and Josh Kaufman[1][2].
Becoming a parent in 2023 marked a turning point in her process: Hurts Like Hell, her Merge Records debut, was recorded live in a room with producer Phil Weinrobe and a wide circle of collaborators, including Feist, Buck Meek, Maia Friedman, El Kempner, and Bridget Kearney, a deliberate move away from the solitary songwriting of her earlier records[2][3].
References
- Charlotte Cornfield - Wikipedia — Biographical details: birth date, upbringing, family background, education, discography, influences, collaborations, and Polaris Music Prize / SOCAN Polaris Song Prize recognitions.
- Charlotte Cornfield Makes It Hurt So Good | RANGE — Interview on her move to collaborative, live-band recording after becoming a parent, and her comments on songwriting perspective.
- Charlotte Cornfield's new album Hurts Like Hell captures a turning point in the artist's life - The Globe and Mail — Feature on the album's collaborative 'village' recording process and Cornfield's career background.