Alternative rock singer and songwriter Heather Nova is about to set off on her European tour – and is taking two Bermudians for an opportunity of a lifetime.

She is taking violinist Taylor Rankin for the first fortnight and Joy Barnum for the second two weeks of the month-long tour, which is from October 1 to October 31 with 25 dates in cities in Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and France.

She that "it would be great to take Joy and Taylor on the road to help them out a bit with their careers", as in her opinion they are two of the most exciting and dedicated stars on the Island.

"I have heard their music over the past few years and have seen how committed each of them is to what they do," said the artist who has seven albums.

"Taylor and Joy are each unique, individual artists and they deserve to be heard by a wider audience.

"When I decided to take some Bermudian artists on the road with me it was important to choose people whose music my audience would respond to and enjoy; and it was important to me to choose artists who were clearly already working hard to do all they could. It's tough and competitive out there so you have to be dedicated."

Asked if someone had given her a similar chance while she tried to make it in Europe throughout the 1990s, she said: "I opened for various people when I started out, but it wasn't done as a favour.

"It would have been nice to have had a friend take me on the road; a sympathetic audience is a godsend. I often opened for the wrong bands, playing to the wrong audiences, but I also had amazing experiences like opening for Neil Young in front of 10,000 people. He was my hero so that was quite a day for me!

"I spent many years touring in Europe; many nights sleeping in a transit van, but building a live following is really the only way to establish a lasting career in the music industry and that has never been more true than it is today.

"Fewer and fewer people are buying records, as they burn them from their friends, or they download them for free online.

"This makes it very, very hard to survive as an artist nowadays. We are basically making a third of what we used to.

"All we really have left is touring, but that also means that it's very competitive, because everyone is out there trying to sell tickets."

Heather Nova's hope is that by playing to a wider audience they will begin building a fan base outside of Bermuda. She is also hoping that they will make some good contacts, which would lead to bigger and better things for them.

The artist took a road that many budding hopefuls have travelled. She moved to London in 1990 immediately after college with a dream, a demo and a guitar in hand and although London was inspiring it was also a reality check. "There were so many bands and musicians around trying to make it," she said.

"It was good for me to be in that environment, because it forced me to push myself to be the best I could be. There were a lot of times when I was taking my demos around and getting rejected.

"It was disheartening, but it made me better. I think what kept me going was simply my passion for writing songs and singing combined with the realisation that my songs were making a difference to people even if on a small scale at first."

As she recently released her latest album 'Jasmine Flower' she reflected on some of the feedback she received from fans about her albums over the years.

"Sometimes someone would come up to me or write to me about what one of my songs had meant to them – incredible stuff like playing my music as their wedding song, or at the funeral of their mother or the birth of their child.

"Those things are very humbling. It made me feel like I was on the right path, because I seemed to be contributing something."

For budding artists her advice was simple. "Follow your instinct and be an original. Don't try to be like anyone else.

"Then, as the old saying goes 'practice, practice, practice'. Keep working those songs until they are deep and raw and beautiful.

"Take risks. Put yourself out on a limb. Don't be afraid to be strange or uncool. The important thing is to be real and then play live as much as you can to hone your skills as a writer and a performer.

"Don't look for a quick overnight success, as that comes along very rarely and if you're in it for the money, well you're probably better off going into the reinsurance industry, rather than the music industry!"

On whether her plan was to take other budding artists on tour, she said: "I feel grateful to be in a position to help other musicians out.

"There should always be a give and take among artists after all we are all essentially on the same mission and we need to be supportive of each other.

"I love sharing this opportunity and I have no doubt some of the artists I take along will go on to eclipse me in the end!

"It's all good!"

For more information on the tour and for next day MP3 downloads visit www.heathernova.com.