Folksinger/songwriter and poet Heather Styka will perform at 9 p.m. at Gabe’s on Feb. 7 with opener Liv Carrow.
By Adam Buhck
Heather Styka knew from a young age she had some music talent. By age 14, she was writing and performing her own songs.
Now 28, Styka will bring her songs to Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington St., at 9 p.m. Feb. 7.
“When I was 8, my mom decided to learn piano,” Styka said. “She picked up this little upright piano from an auction down the street, and I remember coming home and seeing it standing where the toy box used to be. I was plinking out melodies immediately … my mom asked me to practice 20 minutes a day, and when 40 minutes would go by without me noticing, I think we all realized I’d found my passion.”
She spent around a decade performing throughout the Chicago-area while finishing a creative-writing degree at DePaul University, then started branching out with Midwestern and Northeastern tours. In the spring of 2013 she decided to relocate to Portland, Maine, her current base.
Despite the stark difference in landscapes and the 1,000-mile distance from the familiar Chicago suburbs, Styka felt right at home.
“Maine is remarkable, with so much natural beauty a stone’s throw away from any given town,” she said. “Everyone knows everybody in the music community, and there are a ton of great writers who write very honestly. Compared with Chicago, it was all so accessible.”
Styka’s fingerpicked guitar, gentle rhythms, and unaltered vocals pull on elements of classical folk and Americana, a genre she has always loved.
“I love the honesty and rawness of folk music,” she said. “I think it’s a genre where listeners want, above all, to believe what you’re singing. It’s not frilly or showy, and we don’t use auto-tune. It’s about the songs, and the stories behind the songs, and the connection between the audience and the performer.”
Liv Carrow, who recently moved to Iowa City, will open for Styka.
Carrow started playing bass in rock bands at 13, but over time, her interest gradually shifted towards folk.
“In high school and college, I studied jazz bass, and choral singing, and composing, but played mostly heavier music,” she said. “I got more interested in folk music and songwriting when I joined my roommate’s band for a weekend tour as a backup singer. That got me mixed up with a lot of songwriters from communities in New York City and Ontario.”
Things took off for Carrow once she moved in 2007 to New York, in which the opportunities to play for an audience were everywhere. She self-released a couple of records while also touring solo and as a bassist with the band Huggabroomstik.
In 2009, Carrow’s desire to escape the craziness of the city led her to Hudson, New York.
“It was a much quieter scene then,” Carrow said. “I was one of a handful of musicians sort of hanging out in this sleepy city of Hudson, which is now known as a happening music town.”
In 2013 she released her latest record, Pile of Needles, which was heavily influenced by the vibes of upstate New York.
“It’s definitely some of my darker content,” Carrow said. “I also feel I was really influenced by the number of people around me struggling with substance abuse and addiction but also very influenced by the natural environment and seasons of the Hudson Valley, which are all somewhat extreme and beautiful.”
Carrow has a full plate for 2016, working on an EP and planning to record some newer material in the Quad Cities. To get to know her new home, she’ll also set off on a tour around the Midwest.
MUSIC
What: Heather Styka, Liv Carrow
Where: Gabe’s, 330 E. Washington
When: 9 p.m. Feb. 7
Admission: Free