Tara Holloway

Some artists punch the clock. For others, like Tara Holloway, the membrane between performance and life is thinner, if it’s there at all. “My fans think they know me, and they really do know me,” says the Canadian-bred singer-songwriter. An inveterate road dog and seasoned couch-surfer who was bounced between Ottawa and Vancouver in her youth, Holloway claims “the iPhone is my home” and has spent half her life on stage. Now, some 15 years into her career—and with the help of some very auspicious friends and a back story that reads like a movie—Tara Holloway has finally compiled a debut album, Sins to Confess, of staggering depth and personality. But the first thing you notice is the voice—a grainy and versatile thing that can elevate a Bourbon-spiked country soul number like “This Time fer Sure” just as comfortably as it sits inside the carnival-esque coming-out anthem “Boyfriend” and the twisted pop-noir of “Misnomer”. In any setting, Holloway’s pipes are a thing of towering character, seasoned over years of club performance and put to use demoing tracks for the likes of Christina Aguilera and Cher. Told you the back story was a head-turner,... more...