We were lucky to catch up with Sara Van Hecke recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sara, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project that I have worked on is my debut full length album titled “Sun Soul” that was released on the 2022 summer solstice. There was a specific day back in winter of 2021 when I was living in Chicago that I drove out of the city to be in nature for the day. On that drive I was reflecting about my music career and what came next. At this point I had self released a collection of home recordings titled “Melrose Street Sessions”. I realized that it was time to level up and make a professional album with full instrumentation and professional recording quality. From that day, I was on a new journey to make this dream a reality. Through the process of getting together my collection of songs, I was struck by the same theme popping up in my songs. I was subconsciously writing about the sun and its radiance and over and over again. I have always been known to gravitate towards the sun – I love the heat, the feeling of sun on my skin, and the life it brings me. It’s no secret that the sun gives us all life but for me during this time it was especially palpable. Moving away from grey winters of the midwest that had been filled year after year with seasonal depression to the state that’s known to have 300 days of sun a year… This album captures a time in my life of wild transition, a global pandemic, and reconnecting with who I am. It is filled with moments of healing, of hope, and trying to make sense of the world. It captures a time where I am reimagining my life and coming into my own as an artist. I rediscovered who I am and how I saw myself – and that was as a “sun soul”: someone who is deeply and spiritually connected to the sun and all the energy it brings.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a Colorado-based singer-songwriter with roots in Chicago. I have been playing piano since I was 5 years old and creating my own songs since the age of 8. It wasn’t until I was 13 that I attempted to pair the two together to start songwriting, accompanying my voice with piano and guitar. I knew since the moment I wrote my first song on piano that this was my purpose on this earth. My deep love for music and passion for storytelling intersected and I vowed to never stop (with push from my amazing music teacher at the time!). In high school I began recording my own music and started playing local shows with an agent. One of my biggest achievements at the time was playing at the House of Blues in Chicago on three occasions at the age of 17/18.

Transitioning into college I was not motivated by the competitive nature of music school. So, I attended DePaul university so I could still be surrounded by Chicago’s vibrant music scene. I went in undecided and ended up studying anthropology which completely flipped my world upside down. I became invested and connected with social justice and nonprofit work in the city. Music always guided me and was my outlet, but not my main source of energy output. I spent the years in college focused on traveling and learning – which in turn directly impacted my songwriting. After school I spent a few years working at nonprofits in Chicago and finally fulfilled my five year dream of moving out west to resettle in the Colorado sunshine and go “all in” with music and art.

I am most proud of my recent debut album “Sun Soul” that was released on the 2022 summer solstice. Creating a full length professional album has been my biggest achievement as an independent singer-songwriter and has propelled me forward to dream even bigger. Currently, I am grateful to be striking a beautiful balance between working as a part-time teacher at the Colorado Springs School of Music, writing for my next album, and performing locally. There always comes a point as an artist where you just can’t stand anymore not doing what you love. It took me a long time to realize that doing what you love isn’t selfish, it’s selfish not to do what you love.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

There are definitely layers to what drives my creative journey. Firstly, I had been putting music on the back burner for many years which I found to be detrimental to my wellbeing. I was working tirelessly in the nonprofit field and while that work was incredibly eye opening and rewarding I found that at the end of the day I had no energy left to put towards my music – which is the thing that gives me energy in the first place. I was stuck in this negative feedback loop for a while – thinking that doing what I love was selfish. It took the pandemic to slow me down and a lot of inner work to realize I was fighting for something that wasn’t natural to me. I found that I am at my best when I am dedicating my time and energy to music and art. The more I dedicate my life to music the more confident and grounded I feel. It is my natural state and allows me to fill my cup to be my best for others. Music is my way to try and create a better world.

In specific, there is one song on my most recent album that encapsulates this mission of finding my voice while being an activist in my songwriting. The song “Por La Vida” reflects on my visit to the US Mexico border in 2019 and my work with young immigrants in the shelter system as well as survivors of international torture seeking asylum in the United States. The song is one of protest and hope for a better immigration system that welcomes people with open arms and human dignity. I feel that this song precisely lives out my mission as a songwriter as it shares stories of real people and the injustices they face. As a white songwriter, I find it is my duty to be constantly wrestling with my identity and lifting up voices & stories other than my own.

In conclusion, I believe now more than ever we need storytellers to empower and connect people as we become more individualized and isolated from community life. I hope that my music can play a small part in human connection and collective healing. I also hope that me being my most authentic and vulnerable self through my songs will inspire someone else to share and express themselves and their art – no matter how different that may look. I believe that art is the path to set us free.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I believe that what society can do to best support artists is to invest in us and to share, share, share! Speaking as an independent artist myself it goes a long way when my community is sharing my art and music or showing their investment in me. Sharing art is also how we create community, which is vital as we continue to inspire each other.

Sharing is one step but to allow our artists to really thrive we need to see investment in the arts especially in young people. Whether that be in schools, in community spaces, or investing in specific projects for artists. Allowing artists to have to resources they deserve is so important. The only reason I am as accomplished in my songwriting, performing, and recording today is solely because my middle school and high school had incredible resources. I would love to see these same resources across the board in schools and communities to empower young artists.

Contact Info:

• Website: saravanhecke.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/whatthehecke
• Facebook: facebook.com/saravanheckemusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SaraWhatTheHecke