Camden Opera House’s Blue Café series made a standing-room-only return last month, and on Friday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m., IVA will take the stage.
IVA (pronounced EE-va), based in Brooklyn, N.Y., is a vocalist and songwriter with an ethereal quality to her powerful voice and a cinematic feel to her music. She trained at Princeton University, Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music before moving to Stockholm, Sweden, on a Fulbright scholarship to study the music of her ancestors. She was poised for a career as a classical singer, winning rave reviews for her concerts abroad, until a chance meeting at the gym changed her direction. She chatted with the casting director of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and was invited to sing on the show. Bandleader Max Weinberg took notice, and IVA returned many times as a singer and actress. She realized her voice suited more modern settings for music.
IVA, who also plays guitar and keyboards, is touring in support of her new EP, “Nobody’s Woman.” The new songs touch upon heartbreak, addiction, friendship, love and more. No wonder the Tonemill blog said, “If Kate Bush and Joni Mitchell ever were to have a love child, she would sound like IVA – sophisticated, heartfelt, authentic, and deeply moving.”
The Blue Café, on the opera house’s third floor, holds about 50 seats, with an adjacent lounge with cash–bar lounge provided by 40 Paper. There is no admission or reservations, although donations to the sponsoring Community Arts Fund are welcomed. Entrance is via the opera house’s elevator lobby door at 29 Elm St. For more information, visit camdenoperahouse.com.
