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Heather Ragnars is a singer-songwriter, composer and performer based in Montreal, Canada. Her first EP, Bench Warmer, came out in November 2018. The album can be described as a mix of folk and retro R’n’B with clear influences from the 50’s, 60’s and strong female vocalists like Amy Winehouse, Adele and Beth Gibbons of Portishead. Heather has twice been voted as one of the Top Ten Singer-songwriters in Montreal by the magazine Cult MTL. She has played shows in Canada, the United States, West Africa and Iceland. Recent performances include the Melodica Reykjavik festival and performances at the Wiggle Room, where she shares the stage with Montreal's finest burlesque artists.
Born in Iceland and raised in the United States and Canada, Heather was raised in a musical family. She was exposed to various types of music throughout her childhood including traditional choir music, opera, musical theatre, pop and rock’n’roll. She started taking piano lessons at a young age and soon began taking classical voice lessons in the hopes of one day performing on Broadway. When she discovered songwriting, she knew she had found her calling: her songs are heartbreaking, yet barefaced accounts of the many things we think but don't say.
While perhaps most known for her regular gigs at the Wiggle Room in Montreal, Heather has performed at various festivals and venues throughout the years including Le phare des mamelles in Senegal, Smitefest in the U.S.A. and The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival in Canada. She maintains strong ties to her homeland of Iceland most recently performing at the Melodica Reykjavik festival in August of 2019. Heather has written two psalms for the Women’s Church of Iceland, one of which appeared on a compilation CD and book by the same name published by Kirkefondet in 2019 (Himlen og Jorden må feste - salmer og sange fra hele verden).
In the spring of 2019, Heather took a 15-week masterclass in film composition under the guidance of Mehdat Hanbali. She is currently studying Composition in the Music Department at Concordia University where she also studies Jazz Voice.
