Destined to Rock
Growing up in Shelburne, NS, Natalie Lynn (Recording Arts ’13, Music Arts ’15) watched her mom sing and play in local bands since she was little, sparking her love for music.
“I fronted my first band when I was 14 and was always really interested in a full band sound compared to playing solo or writing acoustically,” says Natalie, who started piano lessons at 5 and guitar at 11, which is when she also started writing music.
Today, Natalie is a powerhouse of 90’s-tinged indie rock/alternative pop, performing under her stage name Loviet (pronounced low-vee-it) with drummer Ryan Perry (Music Arts ‘15) on stages across North America, including Lollapalooza, Summerfest and Ottawa Bluesfest.
A decade after graduating from the College, Loviet and Ryan are bringing their energetic performance to the main stage at NSCC’s Spark Creativity in May 2025.
Headlining Spark Creativity
While Loviet describes feeling like a ‘black sheep’ by going into an arts program from high school as it was not the status quo, she was committed to the cause and made lifelong connections.
“My NSCC experience has impacted my career through the friends and network I still look to, to this day. It’s really nice to go out into the world and know so many people who are on a similar journey as yourself. I think it also just better prepared me for the stamina and workload that comes with the job which I’m grateful for now more than ever,” says Loviet.
While Loviet and Ryan are the core band members, they collaborate with various friends for different shows and tours.
“We are excited to be working with two other NSCC alumni currently - both AJ Boutilier (Recording Arts ‘15) as well as Cassie Mann (Music Business ‘19) will be performing with us at the Spark Creativity event,” says Loviet.
“There’s always a wealth of amazing people coming and going from NSCC, so it’s really nice to be recognized and get to share what we’ve been up to since graduating and on a stage as lovely as the Lighthouse Arts Centre.”
After graduating from NSCC, Loviet gained experience performing in Halifax for five years before moving to Toronto where she honed her craft, touring in Canada, UK and the US.
“A lot of the Canadian rock scene came out of Toronto at the time, so I just naturally wanted to be there. It led myself and my band to so many great opportunities that we're grateful for,” explains Loviet.
Putting in the work
Loviet has made a name for herself and grown her fanbase by supporting critically acclaimed artists, including The Beaches, Jesse Jo Stark and Giant Rooks. Making it in the industry has involved Loviet and Ryan wearing a lot of hats aside from releasing music and touring.
“From tour posters, merch and artwork designing, creative direction, video editing, grant writing, social media management, accounting, sometimes even shooting our own press photos or videos if we’re in a pinch - we definitely carry a lot of weight, like most indie musicians have to these days,” explains Loviet.
The latest facet of the industry Loviet has tried is production, which she finds really rewarding. However, while the band continues to evolve and work on other projects their natural place is on stage performing.
“We followed the old model of going to play a million shows before you ever release or record anything which these days might not be as common or necessary. I think that’s what instilled our love for performing live or at least our heavy lean towards being a live band first,” says Loviet.
“Ryan and I equally pour everything we can into our music. We took home our first Music Nova Scotia award for the 2024 Rock Recording of the Year! It's just really effing cool!
Especially in the rock genre, which is historically a male dominated space and a genre that I've had my ups and downs with trying to get back to, but it's really cool to be there and it finally feels right.”