Canadian singer-songwriter Jane Siberry has played in Maine just once: Aug. 19, 1998, at the State Theatre.

She appeared as part of the Suffragette Sessions, a short tour conceived by Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls. The lineup also included Luscious Jackson’s Kate Schellenbach, Gail Ann Dorsey, Lisa Germano, Josephine Wiggs of The Breeders and a few other female artists.

I know this because I was there.

Nearly 28 years later, Siberry is finally coming back to Maine for her own show at One Longfellow Square on April 7.

She’ll be playing guitar and piano in a solo performance.

Siberry is one of Canada’s most distinctive and quietly influential artists, with a fearless approach to songwriting and a voice that possesses both a delicate calmness and full-color vibrancy. Spoken-word elements are sometimes woven into her music. She also is unconventional with some of her phrasing, leading the listener on a journey into an ethereal sonic landscape.

There’s no one quite like her.

Since the early ’80s, Siberry has released 16 studio albums and a handful of live albums, compilations and singles.

Siberry’s sound is an unusual blend of pop, jazz and folk with some alternative and new wave/avant-garde. She’s created a landscape of music that is wondrous, insightful and often full of unexpected twists. Her lyrics can be wildly personal, acutely observational, quirky, weird, political and sometimes heart-rending.

My discovery of her music dates back decades to my Keene State College radio show days, when I’d play songs like “Ingrid and the Footman” and “The Life is the Red Wagon” on vinyl.

Her latest work are the tracks “Bountiful, Beautiful” and “Bailout (Ubuntu).”

“Bountiful, Beautiful” is a hopeful song whose words are both spoken and sung, by Siberry and several others.

Will there be anything to see?
Oh yes, you’ll see colors like you won’t believe
Purple mountains that cross each other as you move by
Purple irises swooping down the gold mountainside

Siberry said during a Zoom conversation that she was inspired to write it after spending time in her cabin in northern Ontario. “Day, after day, after day, I was in such a deep state of gratitude, and it’s on the edge of the water, so I’m often very aware of the water in the beginning of time feeling and just how incredible it is when you see it from afar.”

Both will be on her forthcoming album “In the Thicket of Our Own Unconsciousness,” the first of three planned releases. Siberry said that she just finished all three albums and is working on artwork. She’s hoping the first will be released later this year, and that a long story will be told over the course of the trio.

For her concerts, Siberry often decides on what to play live once she’s settled onto the stage and gets a sense of the audience. She does, however, often include “Love Is Everything” (from “When I Was a Boy,” 1993) and “Morag” (from “Ulysses’ Purse,” 2016).

Siberry has been on major record labels but, since the early 2000s, has been an independent artist who has maintained a direct line of connection with her fans, often deploying a pay-what-you-can model.

The fact that Siberry isn’t massively famous has always bothered me, but that’s not to say she hasn’t had several career highlights. Here are five of my favorites.

1. “Mimi on the Beach,” from the 1984 album “No Borders Here” is considered to be her breakthrough song. With its storytelling and lush musical tapestry, it defines Siberry like “Over the Rainbow” defines Judy Garland.
   
2. In 1993, Siberry released the album “When I Was a Boy” (Reprise/Warner Bros). It’s home to the track “Love Is Everything.” There are few songs I love more, and the album was critically lauded.
   
3. “It Can’t Rain All the Time” appeared on the soundtrack to “The Crow” in 1994, introducing Siberry to a new audience.
   
4. The 2000 film “Pay It Forward” used Siberry’s song “Calling All Angels” (a duet with KD Lang) in the closing scene. It was one of the most devastating and beautiful cinematic moments I’ve ever seen.

5. On Oct. 17, 2025, K.D. Lang inducted Siberry into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Siberry said she initially declined because it didn’t mean anything to her, and she was focused on recording at the time. But her thinking shifted. “I came to realize it was an ego thing. I dissolved that and turned it into something I was really grateful for.”

Here’s my Spotify playlist with 25 of Siberry’s songs.

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IF YOU GO

8 p.m. April 7. One Longfellow Square, 181 State St., Portland, $36 in advance, $40 at the door. onelongfellowsquare.com.