Calgary’s Lisa Anderson is on her way to Fernie, and can’t wait to share her ‘silly, fierce, perky, and passionate’ music.
After graduating university for French and Spanish Literature in 2010, Anderson was drawn to a life of adventure and learning. She packed her bags and moved to Spain where she worked as a French language assistant in a Spanish-speaking elementary school. During this time, she found herself, and discovered what freedom truly meant. While there, she not only fell in love with the culture, but also took on the role of a protagonist in a romantic love story. As time progressed she realized that the relationship was not healthy, and decided it was time to move on.
Returning home to Calgary in 2015, Anderson’s mind was fueled by her adventures and she was inspired to write; she shifted her gaze towards a new path as a musician. These tales, lessons and ponderings from abroad have found their way into her music.
Later that year, she received an honorable mention at the 2015 Calgary Folk Festival song writing competition for her song “Beautiful Night.”
Her voice has been described as ‘beautiful and powerful’ by Pablo Garcinuno of Spain’s Los 4 Palos Blog.
While in Spain she released her first album, but did so without clear direction. That album served as a compilation of songs she wrote since the age of 16. The now 31-year-old believes her latest album, which she has dedicated much more time and effort to, will better reflect her talents as an artist.
Anderson is especially proud of several individual songs she wrote in the past. One highlights her father’s struggles with health problems, and how this change in his life forced him to slow down and enjoy life more.
“Sometimes, these terrible things that happen really make us wake up and appreciate the good things,” said Anderson.
Although Anderson sometimes pairs up with local acts, she will be performing solo during the majority of this Western-Canadian tour. Speaking to this, she said she enjoys the atmosphere of smaller, art-filled cafe’s.
The Calgarian enjoys playing live music because she loves to connect with people through her stories. She especially enjoys it when people come up to her after the show and discuss how a song resonated with them.
“Just to feel that human connection,” she said.
Anderson is soon to release her second album, A Hundred Lives, in the fall of this year, and will be previewing it during this tour. The name traces back to the first track on the album, appropriately titled A Hundred Lives. Anderson wrote it shortly after returning to Canada in 2015.
“It’s essentially about how when you live life to the fullest, you experience all these amazing things so that’s like living a hundred lives,” she said.
Her main goal with the album was to show every aspect of living, not just the good or bad, but also the grey areas in between.
Anderson will step into the limelight at Infinitea on July 14, at 7:00 p.m. This will be her first time performing in Fernie.