A Road-Tested Songwriter Still Searching for Connection

For more than two decades, Orit Shimoni has been on a search. Not for fame, fortune or easy recognition, but for the kind of genuine human connection that can only be found by staying close to the road, the room and the song.

After years of moving between cities, countries and stages across Canada, Europe and the United States, Shimoni’s artistic identity remains rooted in consistency, sincerity and independence. Often placed under the broad umbrella of folk music, she also draws from soul, Motown, rock and protest traditions, carrying forward the enduring belief that one voice and one guitar can still hold enormous weight.

“I’ve kept it simple, always about the songwriting first,” Shimoni says. “If I can write, sing, and accompany myself on an instrument, and find a place where people want to gather to hear it, that is always enough.”

There is a badge of honor in that kind of autonomy, and Shimoni wears it with quiet confidence.

A Career Built on Songs That Meet People Where They Are

Shimoni’s sweeping ballads and quiet anthems have helped listeners feel less alone, and she shows no sign of stepping away from the road anytime soon.

Her latest album, Winnipeg, earned a nomination for Best Solo Artist at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, adding another chapter to a discography that has drawn praise from outlets including The Calgary Herald, which named her “one of the nation’s most alluring vocalists.”

This summer, with her 14th album quietly taking shape, Shimoni returns to the road alongside visionary songcrafter Dan Bern. Her songs remain as unflinching and warm as ever, searching for tenderness and empathy in times that often seem determined to bury both.

‘Over’ Finds Power in Restraint

Most musicians build songs layer by layer, tinkering until everything feels complete. But it takes a particular kind of instinct to understand when less is more.

With “Over,” Shimoni leans into that restraint.

Grounded in acoustic melody, a tranquil vocal and little else, the song reflects her ability to distill the human condition into a handful of poignant refrains that linger. The track speaks to the double-edged experience of sincerity and isolation that many people felt during the height of the pandemic lockdown.

Unsettled by the divisiveness and viciousness rising through the news cycle and everyday life, Shimoni found herself apprehensive about humanity’s darker impulses. At the same time, she could not ignore the ways people were finding creative, generous and unexpectedly beautiful ways to come together.

That is when the realization struck: it has always been like this.

“The good and the bad and the ugly, and the very beautiful” are not going anywhere, because that tension is part of what makes people human.

There is quiet comfort in knowing that hostility and benevolence have always existed “over and over,” but the song also carries fatigue. Shimoni asks, “Is there even any reason for us to still be watching, keeping score,” before turning the thought into a plea for movement: “come on then, now, let’s just change the tune!”

A Visual Rooted in Memory and Ritual

Considering Shimoni has spent more than two decades on the road, some viewers may be surprised to learn she was once an educator before fully dedicating her life to the arts.

Years ago, she assigned her students to cut out and wear paper plate masks. The image of that uniform group moving through the classroom in a larger-than-life way stayed with her.

That memory finds new life in the “Over” music video.

In the visual, an array of human archetypes emerges from their dwellings, returning to one of humanity’s most ancient rituals as they confront the end of things. Gathered around a fire, the dancers are illuminated by flames that reveal a spectrum of hand-painted expressions: dismayed, bewildered, compassionate, hopeful and everything in between.

The imagery mirrors the emotional range of the song itself. It is stark, communal and symbolic, allowing the remastered track to ache with an even wider sense of humanity.

Dan Bern Adds a Glimpse of What Comes Next

The remastered version of “Over” is deepened by a surprise feature from Dan Bern, whose presence adds another layer of warmth and resonance to the recording.

For Shimoni, the collaboration also offers a glimpse of the creative chemistry audiences can expect as she and Bern head out on their upcoming Canadian tour this summer.

At its core, “Over” is a folk meditation on what people continue to carry, repeat, resist and repair. It does not pretend that humanity is simple. Instead, it recognizes the cycle and still asks for a better song.

What does “Over” mean to you personally?

In a way, this song feels like my most important one, because it says something that all my other songs (and I have many) hope to touch on.    I am a storyteller, and I believe in the importance and validity of using one’s voice – and that every story, every take, every articulation is an opportunity to highlight an aspect of the human condition. Still, with this song, it’s like I’m encapsulating the whole thing.  This IS the human story in its entirety: “the good, the bad, and the ugly and the very beautiful will rise and cry, dance and die, half empty and half full, over and over again.”   It’s like this song is my mission statement as a songwriter, my thesis statement as a thinker – and all my other songs are examples to prove it.

What keeps you inspired after more than 20 years of making music?

There isn’t a dull moment in this existence.  There is always stuff to react to and process, and songwriting is my ultimate way to do that.  It is my own therapy and medicine of expression; I have also experienced what sharing it with audiences does. It breaks down barriers and creates such a sense of camaraderie, I can’t imagine anything else working quite the same magic and impact.   I can’t imagine giving it up, even though the challenges of making it work seem to be ever-increasing.  I am banking on a combination of fan support and “the universe” providing me with what I need to keep it going.

How did your time as a teacher shape who you are as an artist?

I had a profound love for my students that is very similar to the love I have for my audiences,  and that’s the most important parallel.  I feel responsible for the safety and well-being of whoever enters my performance sphere in the same way I felt about my classroom..

I learned as a teacher that it’s my job to keep everyone there engaged -and if I lose’em, that’s on me- and that it requires attentiveness and improvisation to keep the room alive and together.

I went into both teaching and performing with the hope that I could inspire and move people toward heightened awareness and empathy  –  Both were my forms of activism, but I realized I can reach more people with songs than I can in a classroom.

What was the writing process like for this song?

Like with all my songs, there’s an inquiry, and there’s an insight.  I was trying really hard to figure out why on earth anyone would be thinking and feeling in a way that was profoundly different than me, and the idea that “everyone’s behaviour is all a culmination,” or “just what we’ve inherited” – was somehow comforting – so it started with that – and then the insight just deepened the more I explored it and it led to more questions.

Really, songwriting for me is like old-school philosophical inquiry.  It’s a deep conversation with my inner self – trying to understand why things are the way they are, and then what I wish for if they were to be different.

Why did you want to explore the idea of people repeating the same patterns over time?

I think on one level, I was actually pretty annoyed with the daily dismay people were expressing –   I felt like, “why are you all so surprised? History is already so full of the most terrible of human behaviour –  but also great acts of heroism and bravery.”  And I was also intrigued by the way that that insight was both comforting and disturbing at the same time.

What was it like working with Dan Bern?

Well, thankfully, this wasn’t just a one-off.  Dan and I have been working together very seriously since 2019, after a significant encounter at a Canadian music festival. We realized we have a lot of heart and soul in common when it comes to our creative impulses, and also that our voices blend rather gloriously when we sing harmonies and we enjoy sharing the stage.  We both immediately knew we wanted to do both whenever we could.  We’ve been writing together ever since and touring together when we can (the pandemic put a major wrench in our plans but we’ve managed a few joint tours since  and are planning more.  I love working with him because even though he’s been at it for longer and has reached more fame and success milestones than me, he treats me like an equal in every step of the process, and we’re intensely productive together.

What was your favorite part of making the music video?

I was just so moved when friends agreed to be in the video and then seeing what the masks I made looked like when they animated them with movement utterly blew my mind.

How does working on your fourteenth album feel compared to your earlier releases?

Haha.. That’s a nice question.  I’m less “oh my god oh my god, I’m making an album” and the calm makes me more engaged in the production and arrangement side. Rather than think about who’s going to be impressed that I have an album, I’m looking to serve the songs.  Less ego, for sure.   The first few albums made me feel like I was “real.” Being a recording artist and musician were not just some fantasy.   Now it’s less about that (though it hasn’t lost its excitement).   If I’m in service to the songs, I can’t go wrong.

What are you most excited about for your upcoming tour?

I am grateful to be on tour with Dan again.  The camaraderie of shared travel and the joy of harmonizing on stage cannot be topped.   I’m excited to bring everything we’ve been working on, individually and together, to old and new fans.

Before we go, is there anything else you’d like to share?

Yes. I have pursued this career quite outside of the box – deeply and hardcore DIY, and it’s only been possible thanks to fans who share my music, recommend venues, offer places to stay for the night, and support what I do by purchasing tickets and merch.  It blows me away that I’ve been a full-time artist this long and survived but it would have been impossible without fan support and without them spreading the word about my music!  Every subscription, follow, and share goes a very long way!   So do press and interview moments that help me talk about my work and share it with more people.  Thank you!

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