Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Nancy Wilson of Heart chatted about their “Royal Flush Tour,” being a rock band in the digital age, and her artist management company Roadcase Management.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” This quote applies to Nancy Wilson of Heart.
Background on Heart
Fronted by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, Heart is a rock group that formed in 1973 in Vancouver, BC. 1975 saw their first album “Dreamboat Annie” break out to global success.
Heart effortlessly blends the sounds of 70s hard rock and acoustic rock, punk and even at times symphonic. Their career in the music business spans five decades.
Heart boasts over 35 million albums sold worldwide including over 22 million in the U.S. alone with 20 Top 40 singles, and also holds an ongoing streaming presence.
Heart has released 16 studio albums, seven live albums, eight compilation albums and 64 singles.
‘Royal Flush Tour’
On their “Royal Flush Tour,” Wilson said, “It has been really amazing; it feels like a big victory, especially since we had to postpone it due to Ann’s health issue.”
“Ann was challenged with cancer, and of course, she kicked its ass, and we are back out there,” Wilson said.
“It is more than a victory than ever to get back out. It’s just a big rock show and we are doing what we love doing the most, and we are having a great deal of fun doing it,” Wilson explained.
“We are digging the tour; it is really going great,” she exclaimed. “There are a lot of younger college-age people and loyal original Heart fans that keep showing up decade after decade.”
“Now, they are bringing their children and their grandkids to our shows. It is really a multi-generational experience; it’s exactly that,” she added.
Radio City Music Hall performance
Most recently, Heart performed at New York’s historic Radio City Music Hall.
“It was a really good night; what a great room too,” Wilson said. “It’s just a really special music room. It is built for sound; it has such a rich history. I was so excited to be there that I forgot to tell some of our Radio City jokes (that Ann and I made up one time).”
Roadcase Management Division
Wilson discussed her artist management company, the Roadcase Management Division, which includes DeLoyd Elze, Madisenxoxo, and Sketchygoat.
“We have a couple of really good upcoming artists,” she said. “They are really talented. DeLoyd Elze just got signed with Concord, and he is about to release his album.”
“Madisenxoxo is an amazing singer, performer, player, songwriter and she is in the process of mastering her new album.”
“We are just about to unleash some beautiful new talent into the world. I support the new talent because it is harder than ever now. There is not so much of a communal experience around music these days. It is all separate social media silos that everybody is in.”
“So, I am trying to help out with that so that everyone can connect musically, because there are some really talented, worthy, and deserving young artists out there that deserve their break.”
The digital age
On being a part of the digital age, Wilson said, “When you see a Heart show, it is completely 100 percent live, authentic music. There are no pre-records that we use in our show, which a lot of people do (it’s not a bad thing).”
“As a result, there is a complete authenticity when you are not using any pre-records,” she noted.
“We are among the last of the true rock bands out there in the world, and the fact that it is a multi-generational experience now makes it a super-special event to be at a Heart show,” she elaborated.
“These players are so fun to play with; everybody is really competent. They are some of the best players I’ve ever gotten a chance to work with,” she explained.
“It is kind of a variety show,” she admitted. “We go from super romantic to kick-ass rock to the spiritual songs, and the acoustic tunes. Lately, we’ve been doing ‘The Rain Song’ by Led Zeppelin, and it is one of the most spiritually beautiful poetic song ever written similar to ‘Stairway to Heaven’.”
Wilson continued, “At the Kennedy Center performance, Jason Bonham was playing the song ‘Stairway to Heaven’ with us, and a part of the reason that Robert Plant was so choked up was to see Jason Bonham in the bowler hat that his dad used to wear; that was very touching for him, so it wasn’t just our performance of the song. It’s a family history of seeing Jason up there.”
Stage of her life
On the title of the current chapter of her life, Wilson revealed, “Victory.”
Career-defining moments
On her career-defining moments, Wilson remarked, “A million, billion moments that swing together like a string of pearls have defined me.”
“All of the moments defined me. They make up the beautiful jewelry that becomes your outfit later. The moments that I remember as a child were music related because I was born into a musical family. I always had music in my head,” she elaborated.
“That’s one of those moments that I ended up reliving… mainly with music because it is so timeless and music touches on all times of your life simultaneously,” she explained.
Future plans
On her future plans, Wilson shared, “The ‘Royal Flush’ Tour should be taking us into springtime (into March of 2026), and then we are talking about festivals after that.”
“For now, I’m thinking about staying strong and being healthy for the tour, and continuing to tour with the ‘Royal Flush Tour’ for as long as possible,” she said.
“I think it’s a really beautiful time for Heart right now to be doing a World Tour. We’ve got the strength, the energy, and the songs. That’s the focus of the next chapter,” Wilson acknowledged.
‘He Said, She Says’ one-woman show
Most recently, Wilson had the privilege to do the original music for the one-woman show “He Said, She Says,” which is a deeply personal and moving solo show written and performed by Emmy award-winning TV producer and GLAAD nominee Caragh Donley.
The show “He Said, She Says” was directed by Robert Galinsky and it was subsequently produced by Gina Rugolo Judd and Galinsky.
It was a part of the 2025 New York City Fringe this past April. “He Said, She Says” explores identity, transformation and self-acceptance with humor, vulnerability, and truth.
Favorite song from the Heart catalog to sing live
On her favorite song from the Heart catalog to sing live, she said, “I love singing ‘These Dreams.’ It is pretty much the song that I sing.”
“I loved that song the minute I heard it; I fought to sing it, and I got it for Heart. I was right about that song because people always adore that song, and it is just a beautiful moment,” she exclaimed.
“I also like a newer version that we’ve been doing better than the album version called ‘Love Mistake.’ There are a couple of cool ‘me’ songs along the way but I’m a guitar player who sings,” she explained.
“When you are in a band with somebody like Ann, she is just insanely talented… Ann is just a force of nature and she was born to sing; I was born to play guitar,” she elaborated.
“Once in a while I have a good song to sing but I concentrate on my guitar most of all,” she added.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction
In 2013, Heart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Chris Cornell.
On her induction, Wilson said, “It felt good. I would never have the ‘Seattle musicians disease’ and be a reluctant hero about getting an award like that because we earned it.”
“It’s really nice to have the acknowledgement of all the hard work and the decades to achieve a lifetime of musical work. I think it was really cool, and I put the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trophy on my grandma’s piano, and that’s where it sits today,” she elaborated.
“There are so many people that are still waiting to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame… that are continuously snubbed,” she said. “It is ongoing… we haven’t run out of great artists just yet.”
Nancy Wilson on Link Wray
When asked if Link Wray was an influence on her guitar playing growing up, she said, “I was influenced by anything ‘rock’ definitely. Link Wray was so great; he did ‘Rumble.’ It all started with the rock guitar.”
“It doesn’t really matter if there is a pedal, all you need is a good guitar and a good guitar amplifier and a good player. That’s all you need,” she added.
Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie duet
Most recently she did a duet with Ben Gibbard from the band Death Cab for Cutie
“A Million Goodbyes” is a song written and recorded by Nancy Wilson, featuring Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie. Wilson co-wrote it with Sue Ennis.
“It’s a bonus track on my re-release for the ‘You and Me’ solo album that I did but so far, it’s in the merch booth of the Heart shows,” she explained.
Remembering Carol Peters
Wilson also remembered Heart’s late manager of 17 years, Carol Peters. “Carol Peters was my beloved Jewish mother,” she recalled. “Carol was such a hard worker. She was really a wonderful woman. We were sorry to see her leave.”
Success
On her definition of the word success, Wilson remarked, “Success means that I feel really appreciative more than ever. I knew that I wanted to play music in my life at an early age, and I am still finally able to do that, even today.”
“So, when I was that younger kid dreaming of my older self, musically, it all came true for me because I knew that was my destiny from a very young age,” she elaborated.
“I feel luckier and luckier that I had that destination set for me at an early age,” she added.
Message for Heart fans and supporters
For their fans and supporters, Wilson said, “It takes an army, it takes a village, it takes a world of trust and appreciation.”
“I think our fans are particularly great because they are particularly loyal, and our band lives up to its namesake Heart because we have a lot of heart realistically. We bring love to our music and people respond to that. It’s different from heavy metal,” she said.
Wilson continued, “The kind of audience that we’ve always attracted is more of a family-oriented and a heartwarming kind of experience, and it has really paid off. It is pleasing to know that we see the same faces decade after decade still coming to the Heart shows; they are so loyal, their kids come now, and their grandkids come now.”
“It’s really cool with how the legacy of Heart has been running. We are not going dark on people, especially these days where there is enough darkness and evil everywhere you go and everywhere you look,” she noted.
“Everyone is happy at our shows, especially at a time when there is so much corporate greed and so much unnecessary negativity and opposition, so we are a really nice safe place to land,” she acknowledged.
“We bring the love, the skill to show the love, we have a love conversation with audiences and people need that today more than ever; we feel supported by them, and they feel supported by us and these songs are still really meaningful in people’s lives,” she elaborated.
“Our music is the soundtrack to people’s lives, and it continues to be touched on and it continues to save your life sometimes every day,” she said.
“Music is the best kind of escapism because there is no harm done; it is only inspiring and aspirational. That’s why I love doing the music right now; it feels highly aspirational in a really dark time,” she concluded.
To learn more about Heart and their “Royal Flush Tour,” check out their official website, and follow her on Instagram.
For more information on Nancy Wilson, follow her on Instagram and visit her homepage.
