Hear a new track “Celebration Song” here
See the video for “Let Yourself Be” here
Tour dates confirmed
Singer-songwriter and pianist Anne Heaton has captured audience imaginations for over fifteen years with her songs that are, by turns, “tender, barbed and spiritual” (Washington Post). She’s been featured by the New York Times Popcast, played numerous times on NPR and shared the stage with artists such as Jewel, Sarah McLachlan and jazz drummer Max Roach. The New York Times music podcast called her music “absolutely gorgeous” and with To the Light, her seventh studio album, due out November 15, Heaton is surrendering to her love of collaboration more than ever before. On it, she’s worked with friends like Mona Tavakoli (Jason Mraz, Raining Jane), Alex Wong (Delta Rae, Vienna Teng), Grammy-nominated Shannon McNally, Greg “Stryke” Chin and many others.
“Pema Chodron refers to a Hopi Prophecy that says we no longer live in the time of the lone wolf,” Heaton explains, “and instead advises that we look and see who is around us. To me, this means that it’s more important than ever to create and live collaboratively. As each song was written, I thought of a musician-friend who might help me bring it fully to life. Then I reached out to that person. In this way, even though I was rooted to Ann Arbor as the primary caregiver to my now 8 and 6-year old daughters (who also perform on have co-writing credits on the album), I was able to co-produce these songs with some amazingly talented friends all across the country.”
From the electronic rhythm of “Joy, ” the Annie Lennox-esque driving quality of “Rise,” to the layered, soulful, reflective shades of “Hannah” and “To the Light,” these songs offer comfort while exploring a wide breadth of emotion and ways of seeing from celebration to utter silliness to working through grief to risking connecting to our joy no matter the circumstances.
In addition, Heaton has crafted an accompanying book of stories. For each song, she includes the story of how the song came to exist, the creativity key that inspired its completion and reflection questions. Last year, Heaton hosted an online series called ‘How the Song Came to Be’ where she interviewed songwriters about their best writing tools, creative practices and the stories behind their songs. “I’ve always loved stories and it’s my intention that in sharing these songs and stories, others will regard their own stories with tenderness and perhaps even share their stories with me, with themselves, and with each other.”
“You never know what’ll show up when you sit down to write or head into the studio to record, but what I believe has come through on this album is music that’s rooted, “in the body” and danceable, while lyrically what has emerged is an invitation for us to connect to our essential joy and sense of celebration even when we are going through challenges, personally, in our communities or globally.”
See previously released video “Joy” here
Anne Heaton on tour
11/9 – Women In Art Music Festival – Lansing, MI
11/17 – Space – Evanston, IL
12/5 – Club Helsinki – Hudson, NY
12/7 – Winterbloom @ Circle of Friends – Franklin, MA
12/8 – Club Passim – Cambridge, MA *
12/19 – The Ark – Anne Arbor, MI *
12/22 – Space – Evanston, IL *
*Record Release Shows
To The Light Tracklisting
- Joy
- Celebration
- Hannah
- Rise
- To The Light
- Hymn of Hope
- Let Yourself Be
- The Donut Song
- Joy (Acoustic Version)