Raised in Dieppe, New Brunswick, Theresa Malenfant grew up surrounded by a musically talented family. When she was quite young, her mother introduced her to the big band era of the 1940s. When she first discovered the blues, she was so taken aback by the music; she would spend long hours listening to the recordings of her favorite performers in order to learn their techniques.
At the age of fourteen, she made her singing debut at a high school variety show. Reaching deep into her soul, she sang with such feeling and emotion that the unsuspecting audience went absolutely wild. A few years later, and still underage, Theresa stole quietly into a local bar and asked to sing with the great Dutch Mason – needless to say, she brought the house down. The blues-loving crowd was so thrilled that Theresa had to sing three more numbers and repeat her first before they would let her off the stage! It wasn’t long before Theresa formed her own band and started to make an impact on audiences wherever she played; people raved about the New Brunswick girl who sang like Janis Joplin.