Ann Wilson finds her own Thing outside of Heart

Everyone knows Ann Wilson has heart. But she has a lot of other things, too. Right now, she has The Ann Wilson Thing.

The solo side project for the Heart frontwoman kicked off last fall and will ride into the Gallo Center for the Arts on April 20. The new endeavor, which has Wilson performing music outside of her Heart repertoire, has been something the 65-year-old singer and songwriter has wanted to explore for a while now.

Wilson has already been rocking out with her sister and guitarist Nancy Wilson in Heart for more than 40 years. Together since their 1975 album debut “Dreamboat Annie” they charted hits through the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s and continue to be a popular touring act playing to packed crowds across the country. Their indelible hits include “Crazy on You,” “Barracuda,” “Magic Man,” “These Dreams,” “Alone” and more. In 2013 Heart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

But Wilson, the elder of the singing sibling duo, said her new group is a way for her to stretch her musical wings and explore. For The Ann Wilson Thing, the singer handles vocals while backed by a drummer, guitarist, bass player and keyboardist. Wilson also has her older sister, Lynn, out on tour with her skeleton crew. For shows they perform a mix of original songs and favorite covers.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do for quite a while to balance my work with Heart. There are no expectations put on me,” Wilson said from the road in Saskatchewan. “It’s really healthy for me and great as a singer – it’s quite refreshing. It’s an artistic experience. It is so soul satisfying.”

While Wilson said she doesn’t necessarily play a greatest hits cover list, she picks songs that resonate emotionally for her from artists she admires. They includes Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin and Aretha Franklin. Set lists can vary, but she said she connects emotionally with all of their messages.

“They’re artists I’ve admired over the years and songs I never dreamed I could sing. They’re songs that have a message,” she said. “It’s mostly songs that say something and are challenging to people’s minds. And, hopefully, they hit home with people. It gives me a chance to express myself in whole different ways, rather than just being in a rock box.”

Still The Ann Wilson Thing isn’t the performer’s first foray into the solo waters. In 2007 she released her first, and so far only, full-length solo album, “Hope & Glory. She worked with producer Ben Mink – who had worked with the likes of k.d. lang, Rush, Feist, Barenaked Ladies – on the record. But, unlike her current solo focus, that album featured a collaboration with a guest artists. The roster included k.d. lang, Elton John, Alison Krauss, Gretchen Wilson, Rufus Wainwright, Wynonna Judd and her sister, Nancy.

“ ‘Hope & Glory’ was a lot different. For one it was done all in studio with Mink. And just about every song had a different guest artist – they were really amazing guests,” she said. “But this doesn’t have guest artists, no producer, no studio. It’s much more raw. It’s a live entity.”

In September The Ann Wilson Thing released its first EP called, appropriately, “The Ann Wilson Thing! #1 EP.” The four-song release is all covers and mostly live cuts. Wilson said they are already working on #2 EP, which she said will be half original and half live covers.

But Heart fans shouldn’t fret. Wilson has no plans to leave the group or stop doing live shows with the band either. The band has steady shows booked through October of this year already. So her The Ann Wilson Thing gigs are largely fit in between those dates. But, she said, she doesn’t mind the extra work. In fact she enjoys touring with her new group and her new husband (she was wed to Dean Wetter last year) and their dog.

“It’s a lot of work but it is really satisfying work so that makes it good. I don’t think that I would enjoy going on much in the same old mold only. It’s the same old groove. I needed to open it up and switch it up,” she said.

She said she felt comfortable to branch out because Heart is in a “really good place.” They’re still working on new music together and having fun together. Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the release of “Dreamboat Annie.” The band’s enduring appeal, she said, is due in large part to its hard work and loyal fanbase.

“I think it’s a really good band. And there’s an extremely loyal following. So for all those years people liked it and turned their kids onto it and their kids liked it,” she said. “It’s also the songs that Heart does have a human element about it that people can relate to. Some songs like ’Crazy On You’ are still as relevant today as when they were written in 1976.”

Still to be able to do, and enjoy, both Heart and The Ann Wilson Thing, the singer has had to take extra care of her iconic voice. She doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t do things that might dry or irritate her throat. She said it also helps that her new solo project strains her voice less than Heart, where she is known for hitting her signature high notes.

“It’s more about expression than sheer vocal pyrotechnics. It is like doing a power walk as opposed to running. You can probably power walk a lot further,” she said. “With The Ann Wilson Thing people can expect to hear me singing in a whole different way than my singing in Heart. I still go up high, like people love in Heart, but it’s more about being expressive. It’s almost more like me playing different roles. It’s just showing the other parts of myself that are not expected in Heart.”

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Ann Wilson finds her own Thing outside of Heart."