Waitressing to put herself through college, Rose began to study criminal law, but gave it up to begin performing on the local Boston music scene.

She released a self-funded folk album and fronted the indie-rock bands Daisy Chain, Medici Slot Machine and then Fledgling.

When Fledgling split, Rose moved into an old cottage on a dairy farm in Essex and began to write and demo what she has described as "very personal songs"[3] that would form the core of her first two albums.

The album was engineered and co-produced by Jerry Boys (The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Buena Vista Social Club).

US label Compass, run by Grammy-winning banjo-player Alison Brown, added three of the tracks from that EP to Shine Like It Does when they released it in the US that April.

Rose's second album, Long Shot Novena, was released in February 2002 through Rough Trade in the UK and Compass records in the US.

It was recorded at Troy Town Studios in Rochester, Kent, with Harvie and Dollimore using guest musicians including Bull, Payne, Harrison and Del Amitri drummer Mark Price.

[7] The resultant album, Come the Storm was recorded at the famous Long View Farm studios in Massachusetts with local musicians including guitarist Seth Goodman.

[9] In the UK, BBC Radio 2's Bob Harris playlisted "Doesn't Mean A Thing", and invited Rose to record a session for his show.

[11] In September 2008, At Our Tables was re-released with an additional live CD of tracks off the album which was recorded at Long View Farm studios with the touring Holy Wreck band – Gilbert, Ward, and James Murray on drums.

It includes nine original Rose compositions and a cover of the country classic "Luckenbach, Texas," which was a hit for Waylon Jennings in 1977.

When she is not recording or touring her own material, Rose plays on Nashville's Lower Broad, with her classic country / honky tonk covers band, The Silver Threads.

[16] Rose has also opened for many artists in the US and Europe, including Ryan Adams, Ron Sexsmith, David Gray, The Pernice Brothers, Handsome Family, Eddi Reader, Ani DiFranco, Judy Collins, Jonathan Richmond, Frank Black, The Ramones, Tim Finn, Joe Ely, Radiohead, Butch Walker, Alabama 3, Tanya Donnelly, The Lemonheads, Joe Bonamassa, Cracker, Wayne Hancock and Lonnie Donegan.