NXNE Live: Kathleen Edwards LEE'S PALACE - JUNE 7 Helping kick off the first night of NXNE at Lee's Palace, Kathleen Edwards played to a full house of eager fans, waiting to see what Canada's premier alt-country singer/songwriter had in store for them. Performing tracks from her albums Failer and Back To Me, along with new material, Edwards — in a hoodie, with short hair, acoustic guitar in hand — didn't disappoint. With two guitarists in tow, the Canadian singer — who is indebted to past NXNE exposure, which helped launch her career — started aloof, but after a few opening tracks she warmed up, lost the sweater and started to playfully banter with the audience. Playing some of her best material, such as "6 O'clock News," "In State" and "Good Things," Edwards also peppered her performance with some new stuff, which will be great fodder for her next album. On the same note, Edwards shared a great new track with the audience, "I Make The Dough, But You Get The Glory," a charming tribute to fellow Canadian singer/songwriter Jim Bryson. The elegant and nostalgic song, with its softly cascading notes, makes you feel a certain kind of longing that only Edwards' music can convey. It was a hallmark example of her intimate and honest songwriting, with lines such as "I was in love with you, now I love you like a brother," which make you feel as if she is truly, unabashedly sharing a part of her being with you. Switching gears from soft and sweet, Edwards moved on to do an electric guitar solo, laying out some heavier, funkier guitar riffs, showing her prowess as a guitarist. Getting chattier — and charmingly more profane — as her set progressed, Edwards had the crowd laughing at her facetious banter by the end. Topping the set off, she pulled out her fiddle and slowed things down with a ballad, leaving the crowd wanting more.