Heather Styka's image-based lyrics are delivered by a voice possessing the versatility and purity of Eva Cassidy or Joni Mitchell, with a dash of Ella Fitzgerald-esque vibrato. Her songs carry a heartbreaking degree of truth, chronicling the human cycles of despair and redemption, and analyzing the importance of places, relationships, family, and community. In addition to having received airplay on folk radio shows from Alaska to Australia, California to her native Chicago, Styka has garnered the approval of folk veterans such as Tom Paxton, was selected to perform as part of the juried showcase at Folk Alliance Regional Midwest (FARM), and has been interviewed twice on Tom May's nationally syndicated program, "River City Folk." In 2009, she won the Big Top Chautauqua Songwriting Contest and had the chance to open for Suzanne Vega. As "one of the more original of the many contemporary singer/songwriters touring the US" (Tom May - River City Folk), Heather Styka is one new voice not to be missed in today's ocean of music.
When Styka began writing songs at thirteen, the folk music scene provided supportive venues, such as the renowned Two Way Street Coffee House in Downers Grove. One decade later, she has graced the stages of Chicago venues such as Schubas, The Old Town School of Folk Music, Martyrs, and the Double Door, and released four recordings. Her latest album, Travel and Teacups, was among the top plays on folk radio in July 2009, and a number of tracks from the album have received airplay on Rich Warren's "Midnight Special."
Styka's Midwestern background, urban identity, and rural roots remain at the forefront of her songs. Also a poet published in a variety of respected journals, Styka appreciates a good story or a poetic image -- and it shows in lyrics that rely on metaphor, wordplay, and narrative. While Styka's songwriting has been likened to that of Leonard Cohen, Josh Ritter, and Damien Rice, her influences are as diverse as they are rooted, ranging from Celtic to classical, Townes Van Zandt to Django Reinhardt. The resulting compositions "capture moments, impressions, feelings, and thoughts in a way that connects with the listener, a lyrical wave that can carry one to shore with a solid conclusion, or go way out into the ocean, searching for an answer, insight, or direction" (Lilli Kuzma, WDCB).
Armed with a fresh arsenal of evocative melodies and lyrics worth remembering, Styka will be touring with her new October 2011 release, Lifeboats for Atlantis.
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