For the 2022 Central Pennsylvania Music Awards (CPMAs), Keri Edwards of Mountville was nominated in the Best Female Artist category. Each year, the Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame hosts the CPMAs to recognize top local talent, and the organization will host the 2023 induction ceremony for award recipients at the Hershey Theatre in March.

Edwards grew up in Mountville and graduated from Hempfield High School in 1998. For the last 23 years, she has lived all over the world with her family, due to her husband's career in the Air Force. Although Edwards has been writing and performing music since she was young, she took a break from playing shows while her husband's career took their family from place to place. The Edwards family even spent time living in Germany and Italy and moved back to Mountville last year. "Once we settled in, I was ready to start doing gigs again," Edwards said. "I've only been gigging since this past summer, but it's taken off and is going really well. I'm having a lot of fun."

Edwards was introduced to the music world by her father, Stu Huggens. Huggens toured the country with his band when Edwards was a child and taught her how to sing, write and play music. "I grew up watching him make music for a living. I've always been playing music, even if not in a professional capacity," Edwards said.

Early in her career, Edwards would fly to Nashville to work on music with her father and other artists. She became familiar with the local scene and collaborated with labels and other songwriters, and even had one of her songs picked up for a publishing deal. Due to complications surrounding international travel in the early 2000s and health problems she was experiencing, Edwards became less busy in the music industry and instead shifted her focus to her family at home. Although Edwards was less involved in the Nashville scene, she remained musically active by performing at church and writing songs on her own.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Edwards became involved with Nashville Songwriters Association International, which operates chapters around the world for musicians to collaborate on their work. Edwards wrote songs with artists from all over via online Zoom meetings and befriended a group of artists based in Michigan. Edwards and her colleagues in Michigan started Power Pack Studios; their mission is to empower women in music through strength-based collaboration. The collective of artists assist each other with writing and producing songs and learning about different aspects of the music industry. "When we're working together, we're able to accomplish more than we would without one another. It's been a whole lot of fun," Edwards said.

Edwards said that she is thrilled to be back in the music scene and she is excited for this new chapter of her career. Edwards put out two singles over the past year: "I Am Woman" and "Releasing You," both of which are available on all major streaming platforms alongside her previous releases. For more information, visit http://keriedwardsmusic.com.