Heather Miller’s debut full-length album, Count It in Moons, arrives as a testament to her personal journey of self-discovery and embracing her truest self. It explores a transformative period that followed a mutual separation, ultimately leading to divorce and relocating from Iowa to Austin permanently. “Even though I was aware my marriage was on shaky ground some time before the end, there was still an element of shock the day we decided to call it quits. It was challenging to hold the juxtaposition between the pain of loss and the expansiveness that came from the newfound freedom of being single.”

Produced by Katie Marie (Sophie B. Hawkins, Ruthie Foster), Count it in Moons was recorded in bits and pieces at a time over a couple of years in home studios all around Austin. Players include Sweet Gary Newcomb, Jana Pochop, Shawnee Kilgore, Lindsey Verrill (Little Mazarn) and Chris Gebhard (Fastball). It was mastered by Grammy Winning engineer Isha Irskine.

Evoking the lineage of acoustic folk songstresses such as Nanci Griffith and Joni Mitchell, the 10 songs run the gamut of nostalgia, loss, compassion, growth, and healing. Heather hopes they will bring a sense of companionship and heartbalm to the listener.

Heather’s unwavering trust in the power of music remains steadfast, as evidenced by the release of this album, music has the ability to guide her to celestial heights and count her successes like the phases of the moon.

Heather cultivated a deep passion for music at a young age, being introduced to the acoustic guitar and legendary artists such as Donovan and The Beatles from her father while growing up in Fairfield, Iowa. In college she began to find her own musical groove. Lilith Fair was at its peak, and Heather dove into the catalogs of Sarah McLachlan, Dar Williams, and other prominent female singer-songwriters.  She also taught herself how to play guitar and started performing at open mics. In 2008, Heather began DJing her own show for women singer-songwriters called Lyrical Venus on KRUU, a solar powered radio station in Fairfield.  Her passion for music and the women artists she was inspired by transformed into a platform to share their music with a larger population. 

It was 2011, however, that brought about a seismic shift in Heather’s relationship to her path in music.  While she was championing the art of so many songwriters via her radio show and blog, she still felt a void in relation to her own art.  The nagging calling to do something led her to find Rubicon Artist Development in Austin, Texas, a recording studio and year-long mentorship program founded by producer and musician Daniel Barrett.  Rubicon offered intensive study and goal-oriented mentoring in writing, musicianship, performing, and recording. Diving into the mantra of learning by doing, Heather performed 157 open mics that year to hone her stage stills. She also closed out the experience by recording and releasing Anchor in 2012, a 5-song EP that showcased her talent and growth.

However, she didn’t rest on her laurels. Heather pushed herself even further, joining songwriting groups, classes, and workshops, and eventually embarking on a creative challenge of writing and recording a brand-new song every week for over a year, exclusively for her devoted Patreon supporters. In 2016, her commitments extended beyond her own music once again as she hosted a weekly open mic, contributing to the vibrant musical culture of Austin.

Daniel Barrett beautifully describes Heather’s body of work as “songs of connection,” perfectly capturing the essence of her talent and dedication to the craft she keeps well fed, releasing a holiday EP, Ornaments & Memories in 2019, and a live radio studio recording, Heather Miller Live at KOOP in 2020, and her debut full-length album Count it in Moons in 2023.