Victoria George has been writing and performing music for most of her life. But, when the San Anselmo singer-songwriter and musician took the stage with her band, the High Lonesome, at Mill Valley’s Sweetwater Music Hall late last month, it felt a bit different. In a room full of her friends, family and strangers, she performed a sneak peek of her upcoming album, “Wilderness,” inspired in part by her recent health journey. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor in February 2024 and underwent a craniotomy and 30 rounds of radiation.
“It was very cathartic to play some of these songs,” said George, whose health has significantly improved since then.
“I think anyone who deals with a diagnosis like this comes through a different person. For me, it changed the way I look at things and the way I want to live my life, which is why I’ve really pivoted back to music. As soon as I could, I started writing.”
Known for her country roots and folk storytelling style, the Marin native’s third album, which is set to come out in June, is the follow-up to 2018’s “Victoria George and The High Lonesome.” Not long after the album’s release, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down her music gigs, her children’s school and, for a time, her momentum. She began recording again in January 2024 against a backdrop of “weird neurological symptoms” and got her diagnosis a month later.
“Victoria is an incredible artist and such a wonderful person. She’s funny and charming, but also wickedly talented. And that voice. It’s always a joy to sing anything with her. And her new album is a true gem; everyone should know about it,” said singer-songwriter David Luning, who performed with her at the Sweetwater Music Hall show.
They will reunite again on May 24 for a show at the Occidental Center for the Arts. Admission is $25. Get tickets at occidentalcenterforthearts.org.
George took the time to reflect on the last few years and her new album.
Q: Why was “Every Little Bit” named the first single off your latest album?
A: A lot of this album was written after I went through all this; it was a way I processed what I was living through. I felt like the experience, while it was terrible, hard and scary, was also so incredibly beautiful.
I say that, and people are like, “What do you mean?” I just felt so loved and supported, and that was such a silver lining of the experience. I had my two-year anniversary of my surgery on March 14. I’m like, OK, what’s the takeaway? The takeaway is I’m super grateful, and thank you. And that song is really easy, I think, for people to listen to. It’s dark times right now in the world, so I think a song about gratitude and positivity and turning lemons into lemonade is a good song for right now. It’s a good first step to be out there with that message.
I also love the idea that if you’re seeing someone struggling, little things you can do for your neighbor, for your friend who’s going through things, do matter. People would say to me, “I’ve been praying for you.” I would say, “I feel like I can tell.” I think the vibrations of good deeds and people thinking good thoughts make a difference. It certainly felt like it made a difference to me. So that’s the other perspective on this song.
Q: Does this album feel your most personal yet?
A: I’ve always been a songwriter for a long time. When I was in Nashville, I was writing in different publishing houses, and you would just get into a room with someone and have an idea for a song. You created this song, and some of it wasn’t personal. You certainly draw from your personal experiences, but they’re not super personal. You create characters, you create this storyline and it’s fun and creative. I always love the craft of songwriting. But a lot of these songs that I wrote from this journey are personal in a way that I’ve never written about, so they feel extra special.
Q: The title song is inspired in part by visions you had during surgery. Tell me about it.
A: I just remember I was in a place where there was this fellow, and he was waiting with me in this waiting room, and I felt like I went somewhere. When I felt well enough and had enough coordination to go on a walk or a hike — I’m so blessed in Marin, I live right near open space — I would just go up into the hills and just hang out on the trail among the trees. The song morphed into this idea of you going out into the wilderness and you walking through the path and making your way through the wilderness. Sometimes it’s dark and you hear things. Everyone told me when I first had this diagnosis that this is very likely a meningioma, which is usually a benign tumor. At first I was like, I just have to survive brain surgery and then it’ll be benign and I’ll just be able to move on.
I got out of the surgery and made it through the hospital visit. I was in the hospital for about a week. I was having a rough time. The first two months I was very uncoordinated; I couldn’t walk. It was so crazy to be like, this is my body. And then I learned that my tumor was not benign, which was a total like, huh? So that’s in the lyrics: “They said I had further to go.” It was so scary to learn now you’ve got this whole other part of this journey. It’s this idea of walking down a path and hearing things around you that are scary, but just staying focused and like trusting that you’re going to get through it.
I wanted it to be ethereal and from my experience of being under anesthesia and like having visions. It felt magical and mythical, which was kind of an escapist way to look at the whole thing because it was so hard. “Wilderness” is a very special song to me, and I wrote it on the piano, which was a new thing for me. I had been taking some piano lessons. I usually write on guitar as my main instrument, but I keep on reading things about how good it is for your brain to learn new things. So I was like, I’ll learn some piano chords. And then inevitably I was like this is a song.
Q: How do you feel now at this stage in your career?
A: I’ve been making music for a really long time. I’ve been around the Bay Area for 20 years playing music, and this album feels really special, and this band feels really special. A lot of these guys I’ve been playing with forever, and I’m stoked to be right where I am right now with this band and this record, feeling good and putting it out there. It’s a good moment.
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