Sheila Swift
Rock-star-in-waiting Sheila Swift makes no bones about a few things: she’s from Houston, which she’ll proudly announce at the top of her live set even when playing at worlds-away venues like the Whisky A Go-Go and the Cat Club on the Los Angeles strip. She’s evolved into a full fledged rock singer, largely leaving behind the pop-rock leanings of her previous work in favor of a more pure rock sound, which shines through on the new material that she and her band debuted at a pair of shows in LA this March after a stop-off in Austin at SXSW. And despite taking the serious-seeming move of turning up all the knobs on her music of late, she likes to laugh.
She’s got the kind of offstage affability to lightheartedly joke around about the fact that she shares a last name with country star Taylor Swift (no relation, for the record). But Swift’s easy going nature off the stage belies the fact that she’s got the kind of sweet-tinged yet gravitas-laden vocals suited for rock and roll, and an outsized stage presence to match.
Those who want to hear what Sheila’s new rock-inspired tunes sound like will have to wait for the record to be finished or catch her on the road. Her latest EP entitled, The Striving is Over will be out in the US August 13th.