Coles Whalen

Coles Whalen’s 15-year career as a singer songwriter is dotted with successes including winning Akon’s Hit Lab, opening for many national acts, hearing her song in a Disney film, and composing the credit track for a PBS television series. After growing her career, the grassroots way, playing hundreds of shows across the country, and releasing 6 albums both on labels and independently, she finally reported a man who had been harassing her for over half her career. Whalen suddenly became the primary witness in a federal jury trial against a guy she’d never met. Sitting on the witness stand, she was roughly six feet from him. Even though he went to jail, she says music became joyless for her. He talked about seeing her perform so she became especially afraid of playing out — a major impediment for the professional musician, who long supported herself by touring. She dropped out of the music scene for over 5 years, she thought she might drop out forever.

Today, she’s thankful to say, she’s moving on, releasing an album about love.

"It is tough to emphasize how lush and powerful this woman's voice is. Those in the audience who had not heard her before were awestruck, and those who already had were mouthing the lyrics to her songs." - Denver Westword