My Brightest Diamond is the moniker of Shara Nova, a classically trained vocalist and self- taught multi-instrumentalist whose music is as dazzling as it is shape-shifting. Since assembling the project in 2006, Nova has consistently resisted genre conventions, blending elements of rock, art pop, and chamber music into a sound unmistakably her own.

Raised in a family of traveling evangelists, Nova spent her childhood crisscrossing the country, her father leading church choirs and her mother playing organ. When the family settled outside Detroit in the early ’90s, she absorbed the sounds of hip-hop and soul filling the airwaves, alongside the likes of Samuel Barber and Bach in her high school chamber choir. After studying classical voice at the University of North Texas, Nova relocated to New York City, where she formed My Brightest Diamond, producing six bold and genre-defying albums, each inhabiting a distinct musical landscape while remaining anchored by Nova’s singular voice. My Brightest Diamond closes the Freighthouse residency with this performance.