Since she joined her sister Ann in the already-existing band Heart back in 1974, the group has played every kind of show: openers, headliners, multi-act bills, festivals, guest appearances, as a duo, and one-offs.

But for their recent summer tour, the band is opting for the “An Evening With…” format. Two sets, one intermission, and more time onstage to not only plow the audience with hit after hit but dig deeper into the nooks and crannies of their catalog, along with the occasional cover song (hint: the sisters love the Zeppelin).

It’s something that Nancy Wilson—Zooming in from her kitchen table—is definitely looking forward to.

“We’re always really interested in switching things up and keeping them fresh. And adding new sections to the set so it’s not rote and we don’t get bored,” she says. “We’re also learning old songs we haven’t done for a while and plug them in. It’s just a more special show than the arena tour we just did. We’re really a mixed bag!”

They’re also playing smaller but more intimate venues than a “regular’ tour.

“We have a lot of cool songs, and we try hard not to do too many covers—though with Zeppelin, that’s hard not to!” she laughs. “And we used to do ‘You’re the Voice’ by John Farnham. It’s an [anti-war] anthem to pull people together for times like now when things are crazy in the world.”

Heart does indeed have a lot of “cool songs.” From the ‘70s FM radio classics like “Barracuda,” “Crazy on You,” “Magic Man,” “Even It Up,” “Dog and Butterfly,” and “Straight On” to their cache of ‘80s hits including “What About Love?” “These Dreams,” “Alone,” and “Never. And all sorts of stuff in between and from the past decades.

In addition to Nancy on guitar/vocals and Ann on lead vocals, the current lineup of Heart includes Ryan Waters and Ryan Wariner (guitars), Paul Moak (keyboards), Tony Lucido (bass), and Sean T. Lane (drums). As to what this lineup means to Wilson apart from others overs the years, she’s succinct.

“Well, this lineup is kick ass!” she says. “We’ve had so many great lineups, with the one consistent being me and Ann. For this one I brought my guy, Ryan Waters, from my solo band. I love having that extra guitar. We just have that thing together that allows me to stretch out as a player.” (In 2022, Wilson toured as “Nancy’s Wilson’s Heart” during a period of separation from her sister).

In 2013, the “classic” ‘70s lineup of Heart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and included the Wilson sisters, Roger Fisher, Steve Fossen, Howard Leese, and Michael DeRoiser.

Inducted by fellow Seattle musician and Soundgarden frontman, the late Chris Cornell, their 3-song set included “Crazy On You” with the inducted lineup, the Wilson sisters alone on an acoustic “Dreamboat Annie,” and the then-current lineup for “Barracuda.”

To this writer, it was a summation of the band’s evolution in one neat package and unlike any other induction performance ever.

“That’s interesting—I never thought of it like that!” Wilson says. “But the thing I loved the most about the Hall of Fame experience was Chris Cornell’s introduction. It was spectacularly well-crafted, and beautifully written and delivered. And Lenny Kravitz wanted to be my guitar roadie. I always thought he was cool. And I guess he thought I was too! And Dave Grohl was already a buddy.”

Over the years, the Wilson sisters have also put out solo projects or records with other bands. In 2021, Nancy released You and Me, which featured a combination of originals, co-writes, and covers (Pearl Jam’s “Daughter”; Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising,” Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Boxer”).  A special edition with a new track will be available for sale at the Heart merch table on the current tour.

“That’s my pandemic album! It was really nuts and bolts and was recorded [remotely] by emailing and DropBoxing and with notes,” she says. “Finding the songs was interesting. Some things I had laying around and some were [new]. It was a collection of creativity in progress and a way to keep from going crazy.”

The mostly gentle track list concludes with the instrumental “4 Edward,” her tribute to Eddie Van Halen. The two groups toured together back in the ‘80s with Heart opening. At one point, Nancy gifted Eddie with an Ovation guitar because the king of electric shredding and tapping didn’t seem to have an acoustic model handy.

And as the sisters noted in their 2013 autobiography Kicking & Dreaming, there was at least one half-hearted attempt by the Dutch-bred Van Halen brothers to, um, pair off with the Wilson sisters romantically after one show.

“There were bars and brawls and drunk and high nights. We got pretty tight as party people. Crazy stuff you can only imagine,” she remembers.

“They were such an incredible rock band. And Eddie’s major key sensibility was amazing. You can hear it in the music and see it on his face,” she says. “When he left us too early, I wanted to give him something back.”

The title track of You and Me was also co-written with Sue Ennis, who has done the same with both sisters on scores of Heart songs. Ann and Sue went to high school together (Nancy is younger). Nancy says on the first day of school in 1968, the pair bonded over a shared love of the Beatles and soon the three were writing and playing together, with Nancy not even reaching her teen years yet.

For so many performers and bands who had their commercial heyday in the ‘70s and ‘80s, there’s sometimes a sharp division on the idea of putting out new music. Some feel it’s a necessity to stay creative and engaged, while to others there’s no point as only the diehard fanbase will ever hear it, and definitely not on the radio.

Heart’s last mostly original/non live/non-re-recorded songs album was 2012’s Fanatic.

“I think it’s up to the individual. For me, I’m always looking for a new way to express something. And I know for a fact that Ann is working on some new music with her Tripsitters band,” she says.

Wilson adds that she hopes to write original music for both a theatrical film and a documentary about Heart—the latter of which she says there are more than one suitor companies wanting their cooperation. She’s looking forward to digging deep into her own archives of music and film taken over the years.

Finally, when asked about any particular memories of Houston, an instant smile grows across Nancy Wilson’s face.

“Houston! Well, it’s always been a little bit overwhelming to me, because it’s such a big oil place and a country unto itself. So is Texas,” she says.

“But it’s also part of the charm of Houston you see the guys in the three-piece suits and big cowboy hats walking through the hotel lobby. I’ve always admired it as a curiosity because I’m from Seattle. And the food in Houston is really good. I love a good barbecue with molasses and slaw.”

Molasses?

“Yes!” Wilson says enthusiastically. “That’s the secret part of the sauce!”

For more on Heart, visit Heart-Music.com or NancyWilsonofHeart.com

This article originally appeared at HoustonPress.com