Heather Nova has been making her own brand of intense, invigorating music since the 1990s, and she arrives at the Freight on the heels of a European tour with a compelling new album, her 12th, The Way It Feels, that American Songwriter says “just might be her best yet,” praising “her gorgeous, still-girlish voice, full of both wide-eyed awe and astute adult perception,” and calling her “an amazing amalgam of Joni Mitchell against a sonic background of The Velvet Underground.” The London Evening Standard recently dubbed her “one of pop’s most enduring enigmas.” She has a unique way of combining raw, emotional lyrics with a cool pop melody – think of her memorable hit, “London Rain (Nothing Heals Me Like You Do),” with its glossy urgency: “I can’t wait to come home to you / and get warm and undressed.”

Born in Bermuda, raised on a sailboat (okay, that may be an exaggeration), educated at the Putney School and the Rhode Island School of Design, Heather made a big splash with her first few albums, Glow Star, Oyster, and Siren, toured as part of the Lilith Fair, placed songs in the films Serendipity and I Am Sam, and gained great popularity in Europe. She has continued to produce an impressive body of work, writing and performing exquisite originals. “Lyrics and melodies usually come together for me,” she says. “At least the first few lines come that way. The words kind of sing out of me – that’s the only way I can describe it. From there I let the melody take me where it wants to go, but the lyrics I work like clay. I am very fastidious with my lyrics – I work each line until it feels like poetry. Every sound, every word.” Enjoy the beautiful results at the Freight!

visit the Heather Nova website

visit the Chris Riffle website