Singer-Songwriter Noe Venable: Pilgrim at Creativity’s Spring

Photo by Chloe Jackman

Singer-songwriter Noe Venable has been called “a homegrown, full-blown musical visionary” (Puremusic.com). Her gorgeously layered songs, rich in myth and poetry, speak to the wilderness in each of our souls. Although she’s still young, she’s already had a rich and varied career, releasing the first of her eight albums when she was just twenty years old. In this conversation, intercut with excerpts from Noe’s diverse musical catalog, host Tanya Shaffer talks with Noe about the mysterious give and take of the creative process, the ways the stages of her life have impacted the evolution of her musical style, why she left a thriving musical career to attend divinity school, and what brought her back to the creative life. 

If you enjoyed this interview, you might also enjoy my conversations with singer-songwriter Vienna Teng, titled Following A Spirit’s Whisper, in which we write a song together during the interview, and my interview with Holly Near, titled I Am Open, and I Am Willing in which she reflects on fifty-plus years of singing for social justice.

You can also see other podcast episodes here, or check out my blog over here.

Photo by Patrick Roddie