Jess Hill slept on a speaker stack as a child, and in high school woke up with a guitar and began her journey as a singer-songwriter. 

Hill will be travelling through Jasper for a performance on May 11, to end a lengthy tour that brought her across Canada. 

The artist says she grew up in a musical family in East Vancouver, and her love for music grew early. 

“Music was constantly being played and my parents have often joked that I would fall asleep on the speaker stack as a child,” Hill says. “They say I was reared at volume 20.”

Growing up in that environment led Hill to finally pick up a guitar near the end of high school, kicking off her career as a folk songstress. 

“I learned four chords and started to write songs immediately,” she says.

Her songs are drawn from the many beautiful sights in every day life – white skies, birds, weather, wounded hearts and aging tales, she says. 

“Songs are delivered on the ether by some secret muse and seem to be surprises of an occasionally prophetic quality,” Hill says. 

The songs act as a healing ground for her, but she is often surprised at how they become more to her as she strums out the chords more and more. 

“As much as I think song writing is how I process the world around me, I’m often surprised at how a song deepens in meaning to me as time goes on,” Hill says. “It’s almost as though the life related to the song is sometimes lived after the song’s inception.”

She describes her style as a hopeful melancholy carried by the melodies of folk noir, and has been described as the hypothetical child of Regina Spektor and Tom Waits. Her music is soft, with nature sounds and intricate poetry laced through. 

“As a music lover I borrow from all kinds of musical traditions; folk, blues, country, jazz, pop,” Hill says. “There is sometimes a dark undertone but I hope that they come across as dreamy places to cozy up to.”

Hill has never been to Jasper, besides rolling through town on a train, guitar in hand. 

“A couple of winters ago I sang for my super, safe passage across the country by train. Jasper made for a stunning, snowy white work of art out the windows as we barrelled along.”

In a live performance, expect Hill’s smooth vocals with an underbelly of sadness.

“If you like your music sweet and occasionally sad you’ll probably find that I have a song for you,” she said. 

The tour is in support of Hill’s newest album, Orchard, which she calls a dream come true. It was recorded with the help of friend Aaron Joyce who produced the record. 

“I hear myself and literally feel like I need to pinch myself,” Hill says. 

Orchard is a follow up to her 2006 debut Road, which saw her featured on CBC Radio, and earned her a spot at the Vancouver Folk Festival, Vancouver International Jazz Festival and more. 

For more information on the upcoming show in Jasper on May 11, check out Hill’s website at www.jesshill.ca