Heather Maloney
Heather Maloney’s path to becoming a nationally touring singer-songwriter has been anything but typical. After being raised listening to folk music, Maloney went on to study jazz vocal improvisation, classic operatic and music theory in New Jersey for several years. Her first musical performances were jazz shows in New York City, which she says were fun but not the right fit for her. After her studies, Maloney lived and worked at a silent meditation retreat center in Massachusetts. It was there, in the midst of seven-day vows of silence, that Heather Maloney says she discovered her true voice. “There was the difficulty of it, the suffering of it, and wanting to channel that into something creative,” she says of her experience at the retreat center on her website, “In my cottage away from the designated silent area, I just sang, and wrote, and cried. And for the first time, I felt I was using my voice in an authentic way.”
Using her newly discovered musical identity, Maloney began writing and performing music throughout New England. The release of her 2013 self-titled album on Signature Sounds Records moved her career onto the national touring scale. After touring for much of the following two years, Maloney sat down with Grammy-nominated producer Bill Reynolds (Band of Horses, The Avett Brothers), to develop an artistic vision for her next record. On her website, Maloney states that she wanted to blend her folk upbringing and influences with an indie-rock sound that she had come to admire in her adulthood. The result is 2015’s album Making Me Break.
On Making Me Break, Maloney’s vision of musical synthesis comes to fruition. The sweetly smooth melodies present on her previous album are still brought to life by Maloney’s commanding voice, but this time around there are more fleshed out arrangements that give the music a desperation and force. The music feels reminiscent of the 90s alternative music of Beck, Jeff Buckley and Fiona Apple, which compliments Maloney’s hyper-sincere lyrics and delivery. In addition to theses influences, the songs occasionally drift into harmonies and melodies more reminiscent of country music, which harkens back to Maloney’s previous work. These sounds and influences are blended seamlessly thanks to Reynolds’ production and Maloney’s vision, as each song fits together to contribute to a cohesive, albeit varied, whole.
Heather Maloney’s career is still just beginning. Over the span of two albums she has shown incredible musical growth, moving from a strong debut to a more far-reaching, ambitious sophomore project. Maloney has displayed the desire and follow through to see a project come to life without compromising her vision, which is something that sets her apart from other singer-songwriters. Audiences can expect Heather Maloney to continue progressing and pursuing her artistic vision, using her diverse musical background and strong voice to constantly push her music into new places while maintaining her sense of identity.
Opening the show will be Calvin College student Maddy Wiering. Wiering is a member of the newly formed Pop Music Guild on campus designed to develop bands and songwriters and has been writing songs for a number of years
- Jordan Petersen
Presentations at Calvin University
Heather Maloney + Maddy Wiering
Thursday, November 12, 2015 08:00:00 PM
Ladies Literary Club Auditorium