Ann and Nancy Wilson have been the driving force behind Heart, a band with more than 30 million albums sold and 22 Top 40 hits over the past four decades.
Not ones to slow down, they released their 13th studio album last summer and are preparing to kick off a Canada-wide tour with two shows in Newfoundland – in St. John’s on Jan. 28 and Corner Brook on Jan. 29.
The Georgian recently spoke with Ann to discuss the upcoming tour and life as one of rock's most enduring singer-songwriters.
“We’ve never done one of this magnitude,” said Ann, speaking from her hometown of Seattle, Wash. “It will be the first time we’ve gone coast-to-coast with strictly only Canadian shows. I’m really looking forward to it. It has the potential to be something really special for us and for the people.”
While the lineup won’t be finalized until just before the tour starts, Ann noted there would be a mix of songs covering the band’s entire career.
“The new stuff is always my favourite and we’re doing a few of the new ones,” she said. “So that will be fun to see — what people think of the new stuff. We don’t fill the whole set with it because we have a whole body of work to cover, but that should be interesting.”
“It will be the first time we’ve gone coast-to-coast with strictly only Canadian shows. I’m really looking forward to it." - Ann Wilson on Heart's upcoming Canada-wide tour.
The “new stuff” is music from their latest album, “Red Velvet Car,” which debuted in 10th spot on Billboard’s Top 200 album chart.
“I guess maybe we’re brave or stupid, I don’t know,” she said with a laugh, “but Nancy and I just aren’t content to sit back and keep playing the same stuff over and over and over. We still have new stuff to give and … as long as we can keep injecting new blood, we’re going to do it. We’re just not going to sit down and be a jukebox.”
Heart’s upcoming tour coincides with the 35th anniversary of their debut album, “Dreamboat Annie,” recorded in Vancouver. The band had early success in Canada before hitting it big in the United States with such singles as “Magic Man” and “Crazy on You.”
To read the complete intervew with Ann Wilson, check out the next edition of the Georgian, on newsstands Monday.
