Diamonds in Her Eyes

One of Shara Nova’s earliest musical memories took place in Oregon. Nova’s mother was studying pipe organ at Southern Oregon University, where her grandfather was pastor at the First Assembly of God in Ashland. As a young child, Nova, who performs as My Brightest Diamond, heard pipe organ music live for the first time. “I was two-and-a-half years old,” Nova tells Eugene Weekly in a phone call. “The sound of the pipe organ: I was shocked.”

Now based in Detroit, Nova performs in Eugene as My Brightest Diamond on Oct. 17 in the Soreng Theater at the Hult Center, part of the Hult’s 10×10 Concert Series. Nova is touring solo, supporting her new release, Fight the Real Terror, My Brightest Diamond’s first album in six years, featuring Nova’s operatic, classically trained voice against lo-fi electric guitar accompaniment with occasional sparse electronic percussion.

Previously, My Brightest Diamond’s work had full band arrangements, but Nova chose to strip things down to prove something to herself. “What can you do with only the capacity of your fingers?” she says.

Nova is a working musician involved in many projects, notably performing in Illinoise, Sufjan Steven’s Broadway Tony Award-winning adaptation of his 2005 album with the same name. In addition to Illinoise, in 2022, Nova co-composed and performed in The Blue Hour alongside composers Rachel Grimes, Angelica Negron, Sarah Kirkland Snider and Caroline Shaw, one of NPR’s Top 10 Albums of the Year.

Nova says she channels her perspective into My Brightest Diamond material. She began writing Fight the Real Terror upon hearing the news last year of the death of Sinéad O’Connor, an artist who Nova had long admired.

Next to the Southern Oregon pipe organ, O’Connor tearing up a picture of the pope on Saturday Night Live in 1992 was a formative experience in Nova’s life, and her voice carries O’Connor’s raw and primal tension and release.

“Sinead O’Connor was standing up for the innocence of children and looking at powers that seemed untouchable,” Nova says, recalling that landmark moment on SNL. “Those themes throughout humanity remain timeless,” she says.

From Broadway to My Brightest Diamond performances, a certain theatricality is also part of what Nova does on stage, although her Eugene show will be a relatively intimate affair. While planning her on-stage aesthetic, Nova asks what story the song wants to tell, and she often turns to artists who think about space in their performances.

As My Brightest Diamond, Nova says she’s in touch with something spontaneous. “Different aspects of the personality come out,” Nova says. “I can be much more playful in a way.”

“I also believe in music as the path of free imagination and creativity. And so I think that’s why genre — and choosing to stay in one lane — is difficult for me.” Because of that fact, “It has been challenging to have a career in that way — It’s, quote, been difficult ‘branding,’” she says.

Across all her projects, Nova adds, “I am uninterested in creating a consistent product. That’s not what I think I’m here to do. I want to keep exploring questions,” she says.

My Brightest Diamond performs at 7:30 pm, Thurs Oct. 17, at the Hult Center, part of the 10×10 Concert Series; $10, all-ages.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!