Almost two years after her acclaimed studio album Shining In The Blue was released here in Newfoundland and Labrador, singer-songwriter Melanie O’Brien is set to put the record to bed with her first ever tour of the island. It’s an advantageous time – what with the lovely weather – but also since O’Brien is firing away, putting the pieces in place for a welcomed followup record.

“For me it has been one of the most inspiring times of my life, for sure,” O’Brien tells The Herald. “I’m actually working on my second record, and one of the songs I wrote for that I started writing when I was still in the process of promoting and finishing up Shining In The Blue. It’s funny, at the beginning of the process, I assumed I’d need more time. It was like, I don’t know how that’s going to happen. Towards the end of that process I was always getting the urge to do this again and see how that next record would shape up, which to me was really exciting. It’s crazy. Shining In The Blue was released November 2016, so I didn’t think I’d be working on a second record that close, so I’m really excited about that.”

O’Brien shares that, in a perfect world, her sophomore release will hit shelves and digital services ahead of 2019. But she’s in no rush to put the final product out there, letting the songs speak for themselves, and surrounding herself with the best possible team to make a fantastic record, and a worthy successor to Shining In The Blue. 

“I think a lot of writers learn the hard way like I have, that you let the music take you. With Shining In The Blue I wrote the track Something Better and I wrote it late and we ended up going back to the studio to re-record it at the last minute. It was enough time, it worked out, but it was a little bit tricky. This time I’m kind of letting the songs decide that for me, when they’re ready. Hopefully before 2019 rolls around, I’d love to do that. I just need to make sure I have the right people and the right people are available to contribute creatively and that the songs are in a place where I feel they’re ready to go.”

O’Brien’s tour of Newfoundland, her first, kicks off this Thursday in Port Rexton, with dates across Lewisporte, Gander, Brookfield, Joe Batt’s Arm, Freshwater and St. John’s, many of which will see her collaborating with her Duds partner Philip Goodridge.

“Every time I travel around Newfoundland I’m just so impressed by these amazing venues,” she says. “To get to play some, it feels like I’ll be on a little bit of a vacation, but I’ll get to sing a lot, which is my favourite thing to do.”

For ticket information and more visit melanieobrienmusic.com. The final physical copies of Shining In The Blue will be available for purchase on the tour, while quantities last.