www.heartlinker.nl | ann & nancy wilson of heart | fansite

This page keeps track of what Ann & Nancy Wilson say about Heart’s current hiatus. 

*newest additions are placed below the picture*

Added August 15th 2018: Nancy keeps putting her message out there that she is ready to talk music with Ann. This time at pursuit.ca: With all of that going on Wilson hopes 2019 sees Heart back on the road. “We’re trying to assemble all the pieces and the communication it would take to make a Heart tour for next summer because the offers are out there,” she says. “It just depends on getting with Ann, sitting with Ann in a room – just the two of us – and talking about what would that exactly mean. What kind of a show would that be? I’m really excited to figure that out. “I don’t know how we would ever not want to do that. It would be so good for the legacy and good for the band. If the ducks all lined up in a row that would just be fantastic.”

Added August 11th 2018: The Chronicle Herald:

But for now, the new group keeps her focused and driven, and excited about being on stage again.

Nancy: “I’m not saying I wouldn’t jump at the chance to go out next summer with Heart either, because I would love to do that,” she says. “But it’s like really good exercise for me to play with a new band and do more singing and solo playing, and bring it to a level of freshness that I can inject back into Heart, whenever we do get back together.”

So it looks like the future of Heart is more of a when and less of an if at this point?

“There’s a lot of excitement about next summer up on the table right now,” says Wilson. “I’ll probably go find Ann and talk to her, and see, like, ‘Whaddya think?’ What would a new Heart be, and what would it sound like on tour? What songs are we thinking about and what covers could we do?

“Right now, I think it’s just a matter of when. Families go through these sort of things, but to me it’s less about the family issue and more about what the legacy of Heart is, and how many fans would be let down if we didn’t make one more valiant effort to go back to a high note with it.”

Added August 4th 2018: UltimateClassicRock.com has similar quotes from Ann as Metro, but with certain essential extra’s: While there doesn’t seem to be any rush for either her or her sister Nancy to return to Heart, Wilson swears the internal problems they faced last year are behind them. “Right now Nancy’s working with her band, Roadcase Royale, and I’m doing my thing, and we don’t have any deadlines for Heart that I can talk about,” Wilson said. “Contrary to urban myth, there’s no feud between Nancy and I. We’re talking. We’re sisters, so everything’s good there. We just wanted to get out and stretch our wings, and we’re loving that. When the time is right, we’ll get back together and do something again.”

Added August 2nd 2018: Metro.us: We’ve come to a new conclusion, a happy one you’re hearing here first, in separate interviews with each Wilson sister. To paraphrase Mark Twain, “the reports of Heart’s death are greatly exaggerated.”

“I’ve been reaching out as there are enticing plans on the table for a big tour in 2019,” says Nancy of the hopeful possibilities of a live reunion. “I’d like to figure out what would be exciting and different for both of us going forward.”

“There’s an over-inflated urban myth that Nancy and I are in some sort of big feud,” says Ann. “We worked out our cranky issues a couple of years ago, and have just been enjoying the freedom of time off and doing our solo things.”

[…]

When it comes to the future of the Heart band and making that work, each Wilson sounded quietly optimistic.

“We’re not at each other’s throats – won’t wind up doing a Mick and Keith,” says Ann. “No matter what you do or say right, musically, for 40+ years, it’s one negative thing that people latch onto and embroider… She’s my sister. We have a band together, but, we’re both growing, and it will be exciting to see – when we do get back together –what we both learned, expanded and can bring into Heart.”

Nancy has been the busiest field offers related to Heart, a Broadway musical involving producer Rita Wilson (not related, Tom Hanks’ wife) about women’s empowerment and incorporating Heart songs.

“We’re singing Heart songs in the Roadcase Royale set, Liv does them so that you’re hair stand up – so different from Ann whose powerful voice we based Heart on,” says Nancy. “I’m looking to catch Ann’s ear soon – sit down in a room with just her, just us. We should figure out what songs we would do and not, what new and different show we would create. I’m anxious to see how this happens. The fans want this, which is the most important thing.”

Added July 26th 2018: NorthWest Music Scene:

Great news Heart fans, it sounds like our beloved Ann and Nancy have been talking and in this current interview with Philadelphia’s classic rock station WMGK, Nancy revealed that talks are underway for a summer 2019 tour.

WMGK’s André Gardner was chatting with Heart’s Nancy Wilson on Wednesday and she told him that she and Ann are talking again and are in the early stages of a HEART reunion tour for 2019!

Added July 23rd 2018: Ann was interviewed by UK based Classic Rock Magazine this month:

Added May 1st 2018: Nancy revealed to ABC Radio, “Heart has a nice offer to go on a tour next year, so [I’m] hoping [for that].” Nancy says that she and her sister “[have] done a little more communicating, more recently,” but notes that the chit-chat is centered around “family stuff,” like “what the kids are up to and who’s gonna get married or have babies.” But, as she admits to ABC Radio, “We have to have the business conversation pretty soon.”

Added April 18th 2018: And here’s Nancy’s view that she pinned on her Twitter page. I see it as a direct response to what Ann gives a as the reason for stopping Heart, a reason that disregards what actually happened and does not explain why she won’t speak to Nancy for 18 months and counting.

WOMC Detroit noticed something as well in their article “Heart: On Life Support?“: It’s looking more and more like Heart’s hiatus is going to be permanent. […] Asked backstage Saturday at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony (by Stash of WZBA in Baltimore) if she and Nancy will put Heart back together, Ann completely glossed over the real reason things went south.[…]

Added April 16th 2018: Ann on UltimateClassicRock.com

Hear here say it in a few more words….

Added April 2nd 2018: Cleveland.com: Ann Wilson could have dodged questions about the episode, but met them head-on, and said that while she regrets what happened, some sort of time apart was inevitable for two siblings who’ve been performing together since they were little girls, and the incident is evidence of that. “That in itself is proof why we needed a breather,” Wilson said in a call from a hotel in Los Angeles. It may take a while, and she’s really not sure under what circumstances it could happen, but Wilson said she doesn’t see the band permanently splitting.”I think that people should realize that Heart will exist until you hear otherwise,’‘ she said. In the meantime, she had some advice for fans. “They should listen to what they have – my thing and Nancy’s Roadcase Royale,’‘ she said. “She and I were at odds with what to do with Heart in 2016. That really was the beginning of the transition we’re feeling now. “Heart is what I make it,” she said. “I don’t have a goal for Heart or for myself,’‘ Wilson said. “All I have is getting into the present moment of the journey of making music.”

Added March 31st 2018: Ann was interviewed by Backstage Axxess (published March 30th) and this is what was said about the status of Heart:
BA: I’d be remissed if I didn’t ask you about the future of Heart. I don’t know if you have any comments or if you wanna say anything regarding that?
Ann: Oh yeah euhm… it’s important that people know that we’re not having any kind of big family feud or anything. I think a lot of these headlines from last year were way too tabloidy. And euhm what is happening is that Nancy and I are having a whole lot of fun being independent. And we played together for 45 years and we need some time away from each other and we need some time to stretch out on our own. So there will not be a Heart reunion this year and that’s all I know for right now.

Added March 16th 2018: I’ve written out parts of the podcast mentioned below. It seems things haven’t changed at all and Heart is pretty much in the same place since October 2016.

Bob Lefsetz: Who is the manager now? Nancy: Right now we’re between. […] BL: What’s it’s like being on stage playing Crazy On You forty years later? Nancy: Well it is really a testament to songs like Crazy On You and Barracuda that they’re still fun to play and you see people react to it you know. I don’t think Ann feels the same way. I think she feels more like I’ve done this enough and I wanna do something really different and fun for herself. But I still get a big thrill out of like doing the kick when Crazy On You starts and seeing people go nuts and it just like it is a high. [..] BL: So I mean this is public information but on the last Heart tour the public story was that there was an altercation between Ann’s husband and your children. Where does that leave the relationships now? Nancy: Well you know right now sadly it hasn’t left it in a good place at all. euhm you know. I know Ann and I will always adore each other and wanna you know always attest to loving each other. But that was just kind of a weird… I think it was kind a powermove and a control thing. BL: In addition to the bad behavior it was that subtext? Nancy: Yeah that’s what I believe and it’s been sort of that way ever since. I understand her desire to get out there and not do the same thing and not be hold into the Heart machine you know but I think the sad part.. I mean I respect her wishes to get out there and try new stuff which is great and healthy for her but for me… for the fans I think it is a sad thing cos we still have it in us to take it around you know again. BL: Are you in communication with Ann? Nancy: Not really. I’ve kind of put it out there a few times and it’s just not coming back. BL: You know for an outside observer it would seem that it was her husband who was accused of bad behavior so you think that she would want to be the one to be apologetic. Nancy: Well I think she wants to apologize for him… right and protect him. It is her first real relationship since the very beginning so you know I think she’s protecting her newfound relationship and that’s more informant to her right now than pretty much anything else. BL: So in any event you’re amiable to […] building again first on a personal level so it is more on her end that she’s reluctant. Nancy: Yes. Yes I think she’s reluctant and just gonna have to figure it out for a while and maybe be ready maybe not.  

 

Added March 15th 2018: In this lengthy podcast Nancy is interviewed about the past, the present and the future. Besides the very interesting and new to many mongers glimpse into the career of Heart, Nancy also gives an update about the future of Heart. Unfortunately her efforts to contact Ann still go unanswered. Nancy also lingers about the reasons Ann might have or might be at play in this situation.

Added January 31st 2018: Ann has announced a series of dates as part of the classic rock package tour “Stars Align Tour” by Livenation. This means that 2018 will probably not see a Heart reunion. Nancy is expected to join Bob Seger again this Spring or Fall.

Added December 4th 2017: Nancy at New Orleans Living Magazine: “For Liv to lose her mentor Prince was like losing a family member, and I feel like I kind of lost Ann quite a bit in many ways, and, until we all figure that out, I still have a pretty deep sense of loss about that.” [..] “Our mom was so strong and encouraged us to follow our bliss and follow the joy that we were going to get from doing music. Even though we went to college and kept up with school for a little while, we knew what we were going to do and we went and did it. You know, Heart is a good band and hopefully it has some future still left to it. After me and Ann can finally figure out what that is, that would be great.”

Added November 20th 2017: Nancy at ofpersonalinterest.com: As far as Heart goes, we may have seen the end of it’s long run. It stopped on such a weird, awkward, and unnecessarily hurtful note though, and I really don’t want to go through another holiday season without talking to Ann. Last year was a painful experience. I keep reaching out to her, through our sister Lynn, hoping that we can get together around Thanksgiving. Just so the three of us could be together and talk, as sisters. It doesn’t have to be about Heart, but it has to be about…sisters.

Added November 12th 2017: PopEntertainment.com: I know there have been some problems, and you and Ann are currently taking some time to concentrate on your own music. Do you think the two of you will get back together as Heart – or even as a different band like The Lovemongers – in the future?

Nancy: It’s hard to say right now. I’m still consumed and excited by Roadcase Royale right now. And I know that Ann is still doing her own thing, so I don’t know where the future of Heart might fall. I don’t see it anytime soon, just because we’re both consumed with our other side projects. That might be the healthiest thing, for Heart to just be nowhere for a while. (laughs) I think if me and Ann ever came back together musically, it might be on some completely different kind of project. Something really different from Heart.

Added November 3rd 2017: Washington Times: Q: What will it take to bring you and your sister together again? Nancy: I think that just getting a conversation in the same room with our sister Lynn in person would be a wonderful first step toward resolution. Q: Do you think we will ever see another Heart tour or album? Nancy: I would personally love to see the formulation of future Heart music and Heart shows, and my fingers remain crossed.

Added October 23rd 2017: ClassicRockRevisited.com: Let’s just get this one out of the way.  Ann…Nancy…always mentioned in the same breath.  Are things bad?  Will there be a Heart?

Nancy: When Ann and I can get together and actually sit down and communicate and figure out what Heart is going to be or look like, then I’m all for that. And I have reached out quite a few different times – the time just hasn’t been right. However, I remain optimistic and right now, I’m mainly excited and staying focused on my new project, Roadcase Royale.

Added September 28th 2017: Nancy Wilson on The Daily Times: “At this point, I see Roadcase Royale being my trajectory into the future, and I’m kind of glad,” Wilson said. “I feel excited about this band, and I don’t feel like I have to make a terrible choice between two things that I really love. If me and Ann’s relationship can find its way back, maybe later we can do Heart again.”

Added September 23rd 2017: ABCradio: As for when Wilson will reunite with her sister, Heart co-founder Ann Wilson, that’s still unknown. A rift between the two prompted an indefinite hiatus. Nancy tells ABC News she’s waiting for when “me and my sister can actually have a discussion,” adding, “I’ve kind of reached out, but she hasn’t been ready to reach out.”

Added September 20th 2017: Nancy on Billboard: “I don’t really seem to have much dialogue with my sister any more — she doesn’t write, she doesn’t call…and that’s fine with me,” Nancy says. “If down the line we kind of restore our relationships a little bit and put a little work into that, that’s one thing. But for right now (Roadcase Royale) is what I’m doing. I’m ready to just do this new thing now and not look back.“

Added September 12th 2017: Nancy has been talking in two different interviews.

GuitarWorld asks “What is the future of Heart?” (click here and skip to 32:40)
Nancy Wilson (with Liv Warfield): “Well, people wanna know. I wanna know myself, just to be honest. You know to be really super candid about it I’m really happy with this right now. Because there was a lot of kind of there is some scar tissue there and I don’t wanna like pour salt into anything that happened before that was painful and both of us are coming from painful stuff and finding strength in each other now with Roadcase Royale. So this is the right time, the right thing to do. You know, we’ll be just exactly this inspired after the 8 weeks on the tourbus. […] I don’t know what Heart is anymore, yet. The first thing for me to want back is just my sister. And I want -you know- we know we love each other for ever and we’re unconditionally friends and -you know- good family members, but there is a lot of stuff that is so hard to fix. And especially when it is so deeply engrained in the family. So and the kids are involved and stuff like that. So -You know were working it out gradually. She was in Florida for the hurricane -she’s okay- their house is standing. But that’s sort of where we started actually texting back each other again. Cos. it’s Like -Are you okay, you know. So it’s like the bigger issues than just what’s gonna happen to the rock band.” 

Sirius XM:

Sirius XM: Who between you has to decide for it to happen?
Nancy Wilson: “I think me, cos I think you can go out -you can try to be Heart without both of the sisters but it doesn’t exactly translate as Heart so I think it would probably be up to me to re-interpret the relationship between me and Ann to make Heart be Heart again.” 

Added August 31st 2017: Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): Have you and Ann made any future plans to reunite Heart?

Nancy Wilson: Right now, I don’t see that at all, unfortunately. There’s been some issues that we, as sisters, need to resolve between us way more than anything in the business that we could resolve still. So I’m looking forward to that. But for right now, I’m really excited and super inspired to start over with this new band, and we’re just about to embark on this first tour.

I’m really ready just to go out there and kick some ass. This is what I know that I need to be doing now and for about a year maybe, then reassess the original relationship and see where we get to with that.

Added August 30th 2017: RoadcaseRoyale.com: Nancy Wilson concurs. “You know,” she says, “doing this brand-new band after working with one rock group since I was 19, basically it’s been kind of an emotional and artistic lifesaver for me. And I never expected it. When we first got together to do Roadcase Royale, I thought, Oh, it’s just a side project. And now I’m thinking, maybe not so much. Now I’m thinking, This is my calling.”

Added August 10th 2017: Toledo Blade: She seems optimistic when asked if she sees herself performing with her sister again.

Ann: “I know we will some day in some way because we’ve played together all our lives, whether it was just as kids in our room at our parents’ house, or on big stages or whatever,” she said. “She’s an artist that I admire, and she’s always been a great collaborator. So right now, when we’re both taking our own artistic leave; it’s very, very good for us individually. When, and if, we come back together we’ll bring new stuff to that union.”

Added August 9th 2017: Yesterday, subscribers to the official heart-music.com email-list received an email (screenshot) consisting of two separate, but equal, parts about Roadcase Royale and Ann Wilson of Heart. The two solo-projects were (re-)introduced to the large Heart fanbase and the subscribers were invited to opt out of any future mails about either RR or AWoH. It seems an elegant way for them to both utilize the existing email-list and enlarging their exposure. Meanwhile, Heart’s official Twitter and Facebook have been silent since June 28th 2017 and the official store has been under construction for roughly the same period. Joining the fanclub or renewing membership has been disabled.

Added July 19th 2017: ClassicsDuJour:

Q: Finally, I’d like to close with this, Ann, and I’d like to preface my question with a very personal admission. I haven’t seen or spoken with my brother in over a decade. What’s the key, do you think, to getting back on the road home, as it were, to repairing the relationship with Nancy?

AW: Time. She needs to go out and do her own thing, and I need to go out and do my thing for a while. It was just getting too close. The room was too small. We are growing up. We both have our own families and our own marriages. I think time is the best answer.

Added June 24th 2017: Mercury News: Ann: “I know that Nancy and I will get back together,” she said. “Our lives will cross. But I also know for sure that Heart will never be that old way again. We’re in our second skin now.”

Added June 22nd 2017: Deseret News: Ann: “The main purpose (of the tour) is for me to stretch out and get to do something different, and begin to lead the evolution of Heart into cooler waters,” she said. “I’m doing exactly what I want to do, and it’s been so fun. We’ve been getting a fantastic response.”

Added June 20th 2017: Billboard: With Heart on hiatus indefinitely, Ann Wilson is plowing her own path on the road — and in the studio in the not-too-distant future. […]  Heart, meanwhile, remains on ice after Wilson’s husband Dean Wetter pleaded guilty to assaulting her sister and Heartmate Nancy Wilson’s teenage twin sons last year backstage in suburban Seattle. But while that was the tipping point, Wilson says a schism was already in the offing. “It was already happening long, long before that, at least a couple of years before, and that was just the straw that got things moving forward,” Wilson acknowledges. “The last 10 years have been mostly constant touring, year-round with different packages. By the end of last year, I felt like I was being imported to do a job, but there wasn’t anything new about it. “I just went, ‘Well, I want to do something else for a while and see if I could get a breath and some distance and recapture my fire.” There’s no guarantee of a Heart return, either. “I really don’t know at this moment,” Wilson says. “But I do know for sure it will never be the way it was before. It will be something out of the box, moving forward and evolved — if it ever happens again.”

Added June 5th 2017: Ann at MyAJC:

Q: You’ve dealt with some family strife recently (in April, Wilson’s husband, Dean Wetter, received a suspended sentence in an assault case involving Nancy Wilson’s teen children on a tour bus in 2016), so what does this mean for your future and the future of Heart?

Ann: The family strife thing is long past. It resonated longer in the press than it needed to. Nancy and I are on an artistic walkabout now. We don’t have any plans beyond this year — we just want to see what happens. If and when we get back together, it won’t be the same old Heart thing, going around the country on a classic rock package (tour), it will be something fresh. We just want to live in the moment.

Added June 1st 2017:

To VintageRock Nancy said:

I know Heart is on hiatus for the time being. Anything you can say about the future of the band?

Right now, there’s an offer for a headlining 2018 summer tour. I’d be very happy to do that. Right now, I’m not sure what’s in Ann’s head about any of that right now. I’m just hoping for the best because Heart’s a great band and I like being in it. Ann’s sort of getting her other creative itch scratched right now, doing all different kinds of things other than the Heart type thing. I guess time will tell. I just have my fingers crossed for the summer of 2018.

Added May 31st 2017:

Nancy spoke to LA radiostation The Sound and said:

“There’s an offer on the table for the Summer of 2018 and I think we’re probably gonna be doing that. A big headlining tour.”

SouthFlorida.com: If the show also brings with it a “life is short” theme, Ann Wilson is tentative but not unwilling to discuss the possibility she and Nancy will be able to overcome the raw emotions that have divided them to allow for a future Heart tour. At least, she won’t rule it out.

“We’re going to be sisters long after there’s been a musical career. I don’t imagine that any kind of musical difference like what we’re having now will really matter in the grand scheme,” she says.

“We don’t have any plans for [a tour] in our minds right now. We don’t want a deadline. We’re just each doing our own thing right now and having a blast,” Wilson says. “It’s never going to be like it was before. Heart is always evolving. It’ll be something new. If it’s Heart, it’ll be something new, for sure.”

Yahoo.com: Heart’s always been sort of like a cockroach. You can set off a bomb, and it’ll still be alive underneath.” So says Ann Wilson. “We have no plans right now with Heart. We’re on creative walkabout. We’re both doing solo things this year… We need to let it breathe. We haven’t made any plans one way or the other.” “What Nancy and I are doing right now is we’re working on our friendship and on our sisterhood,” Ann tells Yahoo Music. “The band, that’s something else again. That’ll come and go and evolve and shape. But we’ll be sisters long after everything else is gone. So we’re working on our own relationship right now… Talking, letting water run under the bridge. Just cool down. Everybody chill.” “We’ve been sort of giving everything to [Heart] since we were in our early 20s,” she says. “That’s been the main focus of our lives. This is the first time we’ve decided to actually look away from it for a couple of minutes… I think that when and if Heart comes back together, in whatever form it comes back together in, it’ll be fresher.” But, she adds, “it’s never going to be like it was before… We’re both individuals, with each other and without each other, so that’s a really cool thing.” As for the future of Heart, Ann shrugs. “What’s important to me is love, especially that. What’s important to me is growing and evolving. But ultimately, what’s important to me is being real and being authentic. I’ve spent enough time in my life holding poses, playing roles… I think coming up with new songs that are real and relevant to this moment is what I’m about.”

HoustonPress: “We are definitely out of our comfort zone and for me, it’s fantastic fresh, and liberating. I can’t say anything negative about it – except for the money!” Wilson says. “But it’s really good for me, and I’m sure for Nancy.”

Added May 25th 2017: Journal-News.com: “(Heart) doesn’t have any plans at the moment,” Ann said. “We are on a walkabout. The solo tour will continue to nearly the end of the year. Then, my husband and I are going to travel and then come back home and just live and do other projects in our studio. That’s as far as I have it.”

Added May 24th 2017: Cincinnati.com

Q: Have you spoken to her recently?

Ann: Yeah.

Q: If you picked up the phone right now and said whatever Nancy needs to hear, would Heart be back together?

Ann: It’s not that simple. What’s going on right now is that Nancy and I have different ideas about what Heart should be. Anything else that’s happened that’s gotten lots of tabloid-y press is not happening anymore and that’s kind of not really what’s caused us to go on hiatus. It was a difference of opinion between Nancy and me about the music.

Q: All I read about was the incident. I was unaware that the hiatus is due to an artistic difference of opinion.

Ann: It really is, and that other thing that happened was unfortunate in its timing, because it makes it seem like a Jerry Springer-type event within a family. But that’s been taken care of. That’s all settled. It has been for a while. We just have to figure out how we can make it work, so that she likes it and I like it, because I’m not about to let the band go down in an old has-been-legacy-band blaze of un-glory. It’s not about that.

Q: If I’m reading between the lines, I’m guessing there are probably paydays out there for Heart, and Nancy might be interested in certain package tours or marketing efforts that you’re not?

Ann: Yes. Absolutely.

Q: How do you settle a disagreement involving two people? How do you break that tie?

Ann: Right now we’re taking a breather. We don’t have a tiebreak built into our partnership agreement, because we’ve never come to this point before. Now we need one, so we’ve got to figure that out.

Added May 20th 2017: Eddie Trunk: Ann: “I can’t say what’s gonna happen in the future with Heart. I know that it will never go back to the way it was exactly. We are artists and we’re sisters and the important thing is our relationship and we’re gonna deal with that before we deal with anything with the band or businesswise or anything like that. We’re friends and we’re sisters and that’s the important thing.”

Added May 17th 2017: TCPalm: “There’s nothing left but some of the malicious things that have been written,” Ann Wilson said. “That was one of the toughest things I’ve ever been through. But now my sister and I have our heads on right.”

Added May 16th 2017: ABC: Any updates about the Heart hiatus? AW: We haven’t got anything planned after this year. I’m touring all year long with my thing. We’re going to be going until November so that’s all I have planned right now. We didn’t want any big deadlines hanging over us.

Added April 22nd 2017: BestClassicsBands: You and Ann are currently going through a rough patch. Are you confident you will resolve your differences, and Heart will continue forward?
Nancy: In anybody’s story there’s going to be some low valleys—it’s called “life.” Life deals you some rough stuff once in a while. We’ve lived and worked through so many years together. It’s sort of like living in a submarine with your sister, your family and your band’s family. The main focus for me now is to concentrate on my relationship with Ann, to make sure we survive as friends and as sisters, together, more than focusing on the rock band Heart. Time is the ultimate healer. Right now it’s about regaining our balance as a family. Meanwhile I’m really excited and happy about Roadcase Royale. It’s a saving grace, really the only way I can emotionally get through this thing.

Added April 17th 2017: Mark Dean interviewed Nancy about Roadcase Royale and Nancy spoke about Heart’s hiatus as well: You know, right now, for the rest of this year, I know that I’m going to be really dedicated to Roadcase Royale. I know that Ann’s going to be really dedicated to her Ann Wilson of Heart thing. That’s fine, for now. I don’t have a crystal ball. I cannot give you what happens after that. I think it feels right for now the way it is. I guess, you know, time is the great tenure of all things next. […] Then, there’s another benefit called, Women’s Choice, where it’s celebrating strong, powerful women and we’re trying to jockey into position to be Roadcase Royale for that event, which was initially offered to Heart, but of course Heart does not exist at this time.

Added April 16th 2017: Here’s a vid, if you’re more into listening than reading.

Added April 15th 2017:  Seattle PI: The husband of Seattle rock band Heart’s Ann Wilson was handed a suspended sentence Friday for reportedly choking Wilson’s twin nephews during a Heart show at White River Amphitheater in nearby Auburn. Those nephews were the 16-year-old children of Ann Wilson’s sister and co-founder of Heart, Nancy Wilson. Dean Wetter, 66, pleaded guilty March 9 to two counts of fourth-degree assault. He received a suspended sentence of 364 days in jail, meaning he will not serve any time. His plea agreement includes restitution, two years of probation, counseling and no contact with his nephews.

Added April 10th 2017: Ann & Nancy have opened up about recent events leading to their effective separation and Heart’s current hiatus in a long article on RollingStone.com. It is safe to say that things are much more dire than many of us thought. Here’s a selection of quotes from the article:

The Wilson sisters have not been in the same room since Heart’s final show of the tour last October – Nancy describes the relationship now as “pretty strained” – though they occasionally talk via text message. The assault put Ann in an unenviable scenario: Defend your husband or defend your sister. […] They managed to finish the tour, performing 20 more shows – Nancy calls them “excruciating“; Ann, “complete hell” – with the sisters, for the first time in their 43-year career, opting for separate dressing rooms and only communicating via third parties. Nancy considered walking away from the rest of the tour, requesting that Wetter not be allowed backstage, close to the stage or near her children.

“I’m an eternal optimist because I’m from a really strong, tight family, and I don’t think any drama that’s temporary is going to change our strong relationship,” says Nancy. “We just have to get through this first. It’s been kind of a nightmare.” Ann agrees with the sentiment, but adds that Nancy “feels Dean is a monster and is always on the attack.” “Dean is a Zen warrior; he’s not a fighter,” she says. “That was a really unfortunate situation that gave everyone the wrong impression about this guy. If she can look around and see that everything really is OK and that her boys were scared, but not hurt, harmed or even marked, then we’ll get back together as a family.” […] “Nancy and I love each other,” she says. “We want to be friends. My side really hurt her side. Her side really hurt my side. We’ve got to let those heal and get some counseling.” [added April 12th 2017: Inquisitr is quoting Nancy: “As much as my sister would have liked to solve this as a family matter, it is categorically against the law not to report any violence against minors,” Wilson said in a statement. “The parents could face serious charges for not reporting.”]

In an interview last month, Ann referred to Heart as being on a “temporary hiatus.” Asked if that is still accurate, she removes a key word. “I wouldn’t say it’s a ‘temporary hiatus.’ I would say it’s a hiatus,” she says, laughing. “We don’t need that little qualification right there.”

Still, both sisters insist the group hasn’t broken up. “I do see a positive way forward and that’s our friendship,” Ann says. “Nancy and I didn’t do this thing. We are each other’s friends and have been and will after this. Right now, we’re supporting each of our families. Nobody in this situation is evil. We have to be like trees that grow around the little imperfections.”

For Nancy, who appears to be the more optimistic of the two sisters, the “victory lap I was hoping to have this summer” is on hold, perhaps indefinitely, until “feelings all settle down and people can just be adults and talk to each other. “If [Dean] makes [Ann] happy, then I’m really glad for her,” she says. “Everyone makes mistakes. It’s been freaky and more negative than it needed to be, but I’m willing and ready to humanize it all and get back into a dialogue, with Ann in particular, about if we’ve still got Heart. I feel pretty positive that we do, but it’s been impossible to know that for a long time now. “It’s so unnecessarily competitive and those are the kind of destructive behaviors that harm big, positive relationships like me and Ann’s,” she adds. “I just know in my gut that me and Ann are going to be fine. We love each other and we’ve weathered all kinds of stuff in the past together no one would ever imagine and this is just one of those things. We just don’t need the high school drama swirling around the camp. We just need to talk to each other.”

 

Added April 6th 2017:  Ann Wilson last week: “At the end of last year, I reached a point where I had to do something new. It was becoming mechanical for me. I just kind of walked out of that machine. It became obvious that it was just replicating.” The condition wasn’t serious enough that Heart shut down for good. “Heart is on hiatus,” said Wilson, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legend. “Both Nancy and I needed a break. With regard to Heart, there is no breakup. But, there is also no deadline on starting up again.”

Added April 5th 2017: Audio clips of Nancy’s recent comments can now be heard here.

Added April 4th 2017: Nancy has spoken to Billboard Magazine in a similar interview as earlier today: An internal issue may also have played a role in Heart’s hiatus. Last Aug. 27 Ann Wilson’s husband Dean Wetter was arrested in suburban Seattle on charges of allegedly assaulting Nancy Wilson’s 16-year-old twin sons backstage at a Heart show. Nancy Wilson says the matter is “still sorting itself out legally” but has understandably created tension within the ranks.

“When something like that happens inside a really tight family, it’s really scarring for everyone involved. There’s a lot of victims besides my own kids in the scenario,” she says. “I think that’s part of the reason Ann wanted to take another direction, until that stuff’s more resolved. I hope it can [be resolved] and I think it will. Time is the healer. I’m just wishing and hoping for the best. The thing to do is go forward, and be positive and stay as affirmative about everything as possible.”

Heart will, of course, hang over anything the Wilson sisters do this year. Ann Wilson says that “we’re not going to give ourselves a deadline when we have to get back into Heart. We both need to go out there and venture.” Nancy Wilson, meanwhile, is looking forward to giving Roadcase Royale a good start. “I’m hoping for Heart to come back, and I’ve got my fingers crossed for that,” she says. “I’m always proud and interested to play with Heart, of course, but this is a Roadcase Royale summer for me, and I’m thrilled to be doing this. It’s so fulfilling.”

Added April 4th 2017: This new interview with Nancy has some insights Nancy hasn’t shared before. In the article “Heart on ice due to Wilson family tensions” the author first describes the reason for the family tensions and then quotes Nancy:

KSHE95: She admitted to us that she really wanted to be spending all summer on the road with Heart: “From the time Ann started to split off a little bit, I was trying to get this summer to be, kinda, ‘The summer of Heart,’ where we do the festivals and the Europe run — but she was on her different path, so, y’know. . .  Y’know, right now, I’m hoping for Heart to come back and I’ve got my fingers crossed for that. But for this summer, I’m just thrilled to be doing this.”

We asked Nancy if she believes the issues with Ann’s husband and her two sons is the reason Heart is staying on ice for at least this touring cycle: “Well, yeah, I mean of course it would go down a little bit because — or a lot — because when something like that happens inside a really tight family, it’s really scarring for everyone involved and so there’s a lot of victims besides my own kids in the scenario. And it’s just sorting itself out legally now, so I think that’s part of the reason Ann wanted to take another direction until that stuff’s more resolved. I hope it can resolve, and I think it will resolve. Y’know, I’m just wishing and hoping for the best. I’ve got prayers aloft.”

Added April 2nd 2017: DCSpotlight.com:

Wendy Thompson:  So what are you working on now, what are your fans, what can we look for in the future from you?

Ann Wilson: I’m going to tour all year.  So I’ll be on the road until the end of October, I believe.  And then after that my husband and I are going to travel.  We’re going to go to India.  We’re going to spend some time in Mexico.  During that time, we’re going to decide what to do next year.

Added April 1st 2017: call.com: Question: Yeah, I was going to say, 45 years ago, could you imagine that you would still be here at this point? And do you guys have any plans to mark those anniversaries at all?

Ann: “We don’t have any plans for that right now. As I said, we’re pretty much in the moment. Um, yeah, Heart’s been together so long that it’s not just a band. It’s more like a life’s calling or something. But we will always honor it, and we’ll see what happens. “But all I can really concentrate on now is this thing I’m doing this year.”

Added March 25th 2017: The Eddie Trunk interview has been picked up by radio station i95 that has made a news article: “Is The Future Of Heart In Doubt“

Added March 23rd 2017: The below mentioned Eddie Trunk interview (added March 18th) is now available in full audio at this link as a podcast. Eddie reflects on the interview before he airs the interview. Only after the interview did he start connecting dots between what Nancy said and what has happened according to the press. The podcast features more of Nancy’s interview than the soundcloud below. If you don’t have any interest in Eddie’s views, just skip to the 15 minute mark. An interesting quote from Nancy: “She took the name, she took the logo, she went running off with those things”.

Added March 22nd 2017: Ann on WOTP: “At first, it was kind of hard getting people to understand that Heart’s still all right, but this is just me being me and stepping out on my own,” Wilson said. “Nancy’s doing that too this year. She has a little solo thing going called Roadcase Royale. So, we’re both just taking some deep breaths and doing it.” […] “This is my attempt at getting outside the box,” Wilson said. “It’s me coming out and displaying myself as a vulnerable artist outside of the Heart machinery, just to have a night with people. It’s kind of a brave thing to do, because everyone wants me to go out and recreate Heart. I do honor Heart — and I really want to do that — but this is me stepping out there bravely by myself. We’ll see what happens!”

Nancy at CrypticRock: “When times come around, for instance, recently, Ann needs more space from Heart and she needs to do something different from Heart. So I said, “Okay, too bad,” but I was kind of relying on Heart for my living this summer. But I got comfortable with it and I said, “Okay, take your space and I’m going to figure out my own space,” and I got my new band! So, actually it was a blessing in disguise.”

Added March 18th 2017: Nancy Wilson phoned in to SiriusXM to speak with Eddie Trunk. Click on Nancy Wilson talks to Eddie Trunk about Heart’s uncertain future — ‘TRUNK NATION’ on SiriusXM to listen. Read the transcript or listen below:

Eddie: “Is it a plan to come back together at some point? Where do you see this all going?”

Nancy: “You know, I guess only Ann’s hairdresser knows that for sure. Because I mean I was ready to go out this Summer and do festivals and do Europe. She got another idea. I can’t read her mind and answer that question. But ehm that’s what I’m hoping we could do. [..] I hope to be faced with the challenge of figuring out what Heart’s gonna do next. […] I apologize to the fans if there’s confusion for a little bit right now. But, I can’t even answer, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.”

Eddie: “So you’re rooting for it but it seems like it is a bit of a questionmark even for you as to how this is all gonna sort of wind up.”

Nancy: “Yeah, that’s exactly what I mean. Yeah. we’re hoping for the best. [..] it would be nice if we had a victory lap with Heart another… maybe next Summer? I’d still really would like to get to the festivals and get to Europe with Heart. So it’s out there. I’m putting it out there! Let’s hope the universe will bring it back.”

Added March 17th 2017:

Added March 11th 2017: What’s Up Magazine: Ann: I want them to take away that Nancy and I are individuals and that she’s doing a solo thing too this year and as with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, they can go off and do their own thing as an artist. It’ll be interesting and fun. There’s more to Heart than just what’s in the heart box.

Added March 10th 2017:

Salina.com: After concluding a long tour last year, Wilson said she and sister Nancy decided to put Heart on temporary hiatus and explore other musical areas with different bands.

“There’s Heart with Nancy and me, and then there’s Nancy solo and myself solo,” Wilson said. “We’re different people, different souls, and there’s different ways our artistry can be conveyed. In this tour, audiences will see who I am as a person, out of the old box.”

Although she misses having her sister beside her onstage, Wilson said she wanted to try a different way of expressing herself as an artist “outside of the ‘Heart’ machine,” she said.

Added March 2nd 2017: Seattle Times: Ann says she doesn’t know when she and Nancy might reunite musically. Nancy has formed Roadcase Royale, with Prince protégé Liv Warfield as singer. They’ll likely play Seattle this year, too. As for “Ann Wilson of Heart,” as the band at the Moore will be billed, Ann says the Heart songs she’s sung for so long “have to evolve,” which is what she promises to explore onstage. “I’ve gotta go out and carve some new ground for Heart,” Wilson says.

Added March 1st 2017: OffBeat: Ann Wilson: […] You want to be there for it and keep working on it. But you also have to know when to give it some space. So this is one of those years where she and I take a breather. If and when we come back to Heart, we will do it because we really want to, not because we’re part of some big mechanism that says we have to make our nut.

Added February 21st 2017: KKLZ: Ann Wilson: “Right now Heart is on hiatus, and that’s all I know, really. Nancy’s doing a solo project this year, too, and we’re not gonna give ourselves a deadline when we have to get back into Heart. It’s just we both need to go out there and venture. That’s all I can say about it, really.” She adds that it’s important for the sisters to put Heart on hold periodically, especially after busy periods such as the last few years which saw the group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, publish a memoir and release a new studio album (last year’s Beautiful Broken) and several concert albums, including last year’s CD/video package Live at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Symphony. “You know, Heart was started back in the 70s in an atmosphere of super-high idealism about it being real and being authentic, and we’re really there. We mean it, and so I really don’t want to see it get to a point of being numb or automatic or just a cash cow…That’s just immoral to me.”

Added February 9th 2017:  ABC: Meanwhile, Nancy wants to assure Heart fans that the band is “not over.” “A break is a healthy thing for somebody who lives in each other’s pockets for 40 years sometimes,” Wilson maintains. “I think we’re not done making a lot of noise quite yet.”

Added January 20th 2017: Nancy has released a press release about her side-project and she touches this subject; Wilson has said, ROADCASE ROYALE’s activity doesn’t mean Heart is going away. “ROADCASE ROYALE is a side project,” she notes, “and not a replacement for Heart.”

Added January 14th 2017: The official Heart Fan Club has emailed all members the following message:

In 2017, both Ann and Nancy will be embarking on solo projects outside of Heart. […] We will keep you updated about Heart’s 2017 plans as soon as more information becomes available. […] Please note that your Heart Fan Club membership is not associated with either of these side projects, so you will need to get info about pre-sales from each side project separately. Heart Fan Club Membership only includes pre-sales for Heart shows.

Added January 10th 2017: Adding a quote from Ann this time from her solo tour announcement today for “Ann Wilson of Heart”: “heart is always evolving, changing,” says ann. “it is a living organism. right now it’s in a cocoon of metamorphosis, and we will see what emerges when the time is right.”

Added January 9th 2017: Piecing information together, the appearance of both Ann & Nancy together on one stage under the name “Heart” is not expected by heartlinker.nl for the coming months.

January 6th 2017: iHeartRADIO published an article a couple of days ago about their perceived rift between Ann & Nancy these last months. Heartmongers have reacted in a lot of different ways while discussing on heartlinker.nl Facebook.

This website has been aware of many rumors among fans since the summer, many of those rumors are claimed to be from sources close to the band, but this article is by someone actually from the industry. That does make a difference.

Here’s the article:

This perceived rift might explain the lack of announced Heart tourdates this year. This last decade we’ve grown accustomed to having a whole list of dates before the year starts.

Looking at it objectively; the fanclub president has said that there are personal issues to be dealt with. But also both Ann & Nancy still classify The Ann Wilson Thing and Roadcase as their side-projects. Heartlinker.nl hopes that –if true– the Heart brand will only be sitting on cinder blocks in the back yard for a short while. Leaving you with this quote from Nancy referring to a Roadcase 2017 tour: “We’ll see where Heart lands after that”.

Added October 29th 2016: Heart’s management posted on the official bulletinboard in response to worried Heartmongers speculating about “Is the end near?”: No need to speculate. Everything is fine. The girls just ended a 9 month tour this year and last year. They are tired/exhausted. Yes – there’s some personal issues to work on but that’s their business – not anyone else’s and no need to gossip or speculate unless given strong reason to. Carry on folks – enjoy your winter and we should all expect to see the band out next year. Good night.

On October 26th 2016 Heart made a point and tweeted and posted on FB: Did you know that fan club members get first access to HEART tickets before the public? Join the #HeartMongers fan club today! heart-music.com/fanclub

October 22nd 2016: No news or tourdates have been issued by Ann & Nancy or their management. On October 22nd, the date of Heart’s last 2016 show, Ben Smith (Heart’s longtime drummer for 22 years) did a live video on Facebook. He did say that he thinks Heart will tour in 2017. Ben Smith said the following: “My understanding is that we’re gonna have some more big tour dates with Heart again. So that will be fun.”  […] “Nancy is working on lots of scoring opportunities and she’s got some other music things going on that I won’t talk about today, but we’ll see what pops up later this Fall.” Ben Smith typed this later on: “Hey there, yes, I’m sure Heart will play next year!! I don’t know whom we will tour with or anything, but show will happen!”. He also made some remarks on returning to the UK.

Added December 2017: Ordinary pictures that now have a different value.