Meet Skye Harding

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Skye Harding. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Skye below.

Hi Skye, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I come from a family of scholars, teachers, learners, and storytellers. A curiosity about people and the world has been passed down to me, from trunk, to branch, to leaf of my family tree. This is the purpose of my music. Music is my portal through which I immerse myself in the ecosystems around me.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a folk-alternative artist, powerhouse vocalist, and passionate storyteller from Vancouver, Canada. Raised in a family of teachers, music lovers, scholars, and environmentalists, I am lit by a fire of curiosity, a passion for social justice, and a devotion to fostering community through song. I create music that combines powerhouse vocal acrobatics and poetic lyricism. My soul-filled music and raw live shows create an ethereal atmosphere where listeners see one another eye to eye, bonded by the humanness in the room.

Training for 14 years as a classical vocalist and pianist, dancing to ‘70s rock over the family stereo, belting out Aretha Franklin’s discography, and singing folk songs around the campfire with my family, I grew up exploring the world in a melting pot of music. This is reflected in my debut EP, “Passenger Seat”, with six songs spanning folk and alternative genres, the English and French languages, and exploring themes of love, grief, and life’s impermanence. I am finishing up my debut album, set for release next year.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. Trust the non-linear path! Before I transferred to Berklee College of Music, I studied Political Science at McGill University. I loved the learning, the city of Montreal, and made special friendships. Without having tried out something completely different, I wouldn’t feel the undeniable settledness that I am exactly where I am meant to be and music is what I’m meant to pursue.

2. Have an open mind and don’t say no to yourself before someone else can! I have, within reason, made it my mantra to say yes to as much as possible, even if I don’t think I’m the best one for the job. I’ve done opera competitions, classical piano exams, country gigs, jazz combo gigs, stage management, audio engineering, start-up initiatives, benefit concert initiatives, etc. I’ve learned so much and had a lot of fun in the process, and expanded my horizons that I’m capable of doing anything if I put my mind to it. Sounds cheesy, but it is true. I will get my boots in the mud and do the damn thing.

3. Be kind to yourself and others. It makes the days sweeter and life softer.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

“The Overstory” by Richard Powers deeply influenced me and my writing. The book follows the stories of extremely unique characters and their personal relationships with trees. The book inspired two songs off my latest EP: “Passenger Seat,” the EP’s title track, and “Two To One.” As someone fortunate to grow up in the old growth forests and intertidal zones of British Columbia, climate activism is close to my heart. The book was a deep dive into character studies, a poetic and raw encapsulation of the destruction of our planet, and lesson in life’s impermanence.

This quote inspired “Passenger Seat” and became the album’s overarching theme: “The person in your life’s passenger seat? Always a hitch hiker, to be dropped off just down the road.” (The Overstory, 199)

This quote inspired “Two To One”:
– “She and her father liked to sit on summer nights and listen to what other people called silence.” (The Overstory, 119)

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