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Singer-songwriter Lydia Hol to perform at Shorefest

Lydia Hol at Shorefest, part of the 2016 Honda Celebration of Light, July 23, 27 and 30. Visit hondacelebrationoflight.com for schedule and info.
lydia hol

Lydia Hol at Shorefest, part of the 2016 Honda Celebration of Light, July 23, 27 and 30. Visit hondacelebrationoflight.com for schedule and info.

It’s the person-to-person connection that Vancouver-based singer-songwriter Lydia Hol loves most about being a musician.

“That’s what’s fun about playing live: meeting people after shows, hearing what song was their favourite and helping spread music around – that’s definitely part of the folk community that’s cool. It’s all about building community and building connection. I think it all goes hand in hand together,” she says.

A love for singing, ingrained at a young age, as well as English literature, initially attracted Hol to the craft and a whole new passion quickly revealed itself.

“I just really love meeting new people, playing for them and offering what I’ve learned so far in my short life and reflecting that back to people. I’m always just looking for curious ideas every day, so for me it’s a way to collect those ideas and start to form something out of them,” she says.

Hol studied jazz vocals and then started playing with a few different bands, joining them on the road. Eventually she released her first recording in 2012, an EP entitled Boats, recorded on the Gulf Islands.
“I didn’t really know what the reaction would be but people seemed to really like it. It kind of all started from there and I’ve just been steadily working at getting better at songwriting and making connections in Canada, but also worldwide as well, and just getting to know different songwriters,” she says.

Hol’s debut LP, Heading North, was released in January.

“This album was a really great stepping stone in learning how to record and the sound that I’m going for,” she says.

“My first EP was really stripped down, there’s no electronic instruments. It was very kind of back porch-sounding, which was really cool. This new one had a lot more instrumentation, a lot of strings and a lot of organ on it. The musicians did a really beautiful job of bringing out sounds and evoking emotion. There were a few more roots songs, country-tinged songs, which is probably more the direction I’m heading in moving forward,” she adds.

Hol is already starting to think about her next album and is starting to pen new tracks, as well, has some co-writing sessions planned with local musicians.

“I’m studying a lot of other musicians who I look up to and just trying to get more into theory and song structure. Up until now I’ve done a lot of free writing, so I’ll just see what comes up in different ideas and inspiration from literature, and people that I’ve met, and those types of things. I’m trying to mix that with learning from really great songwriters and studying their work. I’m just finding that to be a really interesting way to break down songs and learn more as an artist,” she says.

Further aiding her in her journey are international writing opportunities that she continues to be chosen for. In February, Hol travelled to Austin, Texas, to participate in the House of Songs songwriter exchange program. She was among 12 musicians from around the world who spent two weeks in a house together, tasked with collaborating on songs and performing live.

“It was a really neat way to keep connecting into the global music community,” says Hol.

Next month, Hol is set to travel to Luleå, Sweden for a similar international songwriting initiative.

“A group of writers have been asked to go there and do co-writing together and then I’m playing a little festival there at the end of summer. It’s my first time to Sweden too,” she says.

Hol will cap off her trip abroad with a performance at the Live at Heart Festival in Örebro.

However, before she jets off, she has a number of local stages to take first, including a gig as part of New Westminster’s Uptown Live, tomorrow, July 23.

Next week, she’s set to perform at Shorefest, a free community concert series presented by LG104.3 FM, timed with the 2016 Honda Celebration of Light, July 23, 27 and 30. Performances will be offered at the Sunset Beach stage from 2 p.m. until the fireworks at 10 p.m., as well as at a second English Bay stage starting at 7:30 p.m. until the fireworks. Hol is scheduled to take the Sunset Beach stage Wednesday, July 27 at 3 p.m. Other Shorefest artists include The Matinee, Loverboy, Trooper, Savvie, Dustin Bentall, Jim Byrnes, the Boom Booms and Twin Bandit.

Hol is also gearing up for a North Shore date and is slated to perform at this year’s Harmony Arts Festival, running July 29 to Aug. 7, along West Vancouver’s waterfront. She’s set to take the stage Aug. 3 at 5:45 p.m. as part of the festival’s Garden Concerts in Millennium Park series.