Belfast singer Janet Holmes began performing as a teenager in the 1980s, when she sang with SOS, which recorded a single. In the early '90s she recorded an EP as part of the acoustic duo Bare Bones, and in the late '90s she sang with Bird-Dog, which mixed bluegrass, traditional Irish music, and swing jazz, putting out the album Traditional Roots. Her first solo album, 2004's The Road to the West, took a singer/songwriter rock approach, often but not always leaning toward folk-rock arrangements. However, it was almost wholly devoted to covers of other songwriters, including Bert Jansch, Lyle Lovett, Terry Woods, Paul Carrack, Isaac Guillory, and her occasional guitarist Colin Harper. ~ Jimmy James, All Music Guide