It’s Never Too Late

That’s what they always say isn’t it?

“It’s never it’s never too late to live out your dreams.”

New Jersey singer-songwriter Erika Sherger is proof of that.

For years, her original songs lived quietly in notebooks, played only to herself, maybe a few close friends. They were written on long drives, in quiet moments, after heartbreaks and hard days. Never with the intention of fame, just her truth.

But something changed in her late 40s.

Now, Erika’s voice is making its way across the indie folk music scene in New Jersey, releasing vulnerable, story-rich albums like Like Birds, Bad Wolf, and her newest full-length, Wrap Me Up in Colored Feathers.

Her lyrics are full of place and memory, her melodies feel lived-in, and her journey stands as a reminder that artistry has no deadline.

Her path into music didn’t start with a plan.

It started with a geology trip, a campfire, and a gut feeling that wouldn’t go away.

Campfires & Colored Feathers

Before Erika Sherger ever stepped on a stage, she was sleeping under stars somewhere in the Badlands.

It was 1994, and she was on a geology field trip with Lehigh University. A six-week journey through Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, and the Copper Valley. Days spent studying rocks, nights spent by the fire.

One of the geologists brought out an acoustic guitar every night. We’d play and sing around the campfire. It was beautiful and inspiring. It woke me up, so to speak.

The moment she got home, she bought her first guitar. No plan, just a knowing.

Sherger had always written, not necessarily with the intention of becoming a New Jersey up and coming legend, but because she had to.

Even before the guitar, words were how she survived.

I struggled a lot when I was younger, with who I was and where I fit in. I partied frequently and to excess. I wasn’t nurturing myself or growing emotionally. I didn’t have awareness of it then, but songwriting gave me a way to transform those hard things into something beautiful.

Still, for decades, the songs stayed private. Sherger kept them to herself until 2018, when something shifted.

I think I just finally grew up enough emotionally to realize that it didn’t really matter what other people thought of me. It took me quite a while to get there.

That realization eventually led to Like Birds, her 2021 debut EP, a collection of songs that had been quietly waiting in the wings for years.

But stepping into the spotlight for the first time wasn’t easy. Performing her own lyrics in front of an audience nearly knocked her breath out.

I was terrified. My whole body was shaking. My mouth went dry. I could barely sing.

Still, she did it. And after the set, when she spoke with other songwriters, something clicked.

The New Jersey music community is so welcoming, supportive and beautiful. I feel like I found my people.

And that’s when Erika Sherger went from writing folk songs in secret to becoming one of the most compelling independent artists in New Jersey.

The Shape of a Song

For Erika Sherger, songwriting isn’t about control. It’s about listening. Sitting still, getting quiet, and letting emotion take the lead.

She doesn’t begin with lyrics, or even a melody.

I usually start with the guitar and look for a progression of 2 to 4 chords that sounds pleasing to my ear. Then I just kind of get empty and start making noise with my voice…random humming or sounds to find a melody.

That’s where the real magic happens: when something breaks through. A memory, a phrase, a feeling with shape. That’s when the song starts revealing itself.

Eventually phrases push their way through and it takes on form and meaning. I’m often surprised by what the songs are actually about.

The result is something honest and unfiltered. Folk songs steeped in emotion, built from instinct rather than perfection. And you can feel the years behind each verse.

Sherger didn’t release her first record until her 40s, after years of personal change, recovery, heartbreak, and healing. That life experience is woven into every lyric.

I think all of my experiences shaped my voice. The places I’ve been, the relationships I’ve had, the struggles with my health and substance abuse, and my recovery from all of it…that’s what makes me sound uniquely me.

You hear it in the landscapes, too. Her songs feel rooted in real places from Jersey shorelines to small towns and backroads that hold more than memories…they hold ghosts.

I see completely different mental imagery every time I write a song…I’ve spent most of my life in New Jersey, so a lot of the foundations for the songs are set here. But there have been plenty about time spent in other places as well.

One of those ghosts became Parkway Queen, a track from her new album Wrap Me Up in Colored Feathers. On its face, the song is about Hurricane Sandy, but dig deeper and it becomes a metaphor for survival.

In the song, the Parkway Queen refers to Hurricane Sandy. It came together in a way where it seems to be about one thing…but it’s really more about overcoming personal struggle. And how people from NJ are total badasses.

Her latest album is full of that same emotional layering. The title track alone feels like a mantra for transformation.

I think it’s about experiencing and getting through hard things. About digging deep, finding out who you really are, and coming out transformed on the other side.

In a world that pushes perfection, Erika Sherger chooses the fragile human experience. Her music doesn’t promise clean lines. It promises change.

And that might be the most healing thing of all.

The Long Road to Colored Feathers

Wrap Me Up in Colored Feathers Album Art

Before Wrap Me Up in Colored Feathers came into focus, Erika Sherger’s recording journey was paved with hesitation, heart, and hard-won clarity.

Her first EP, Like Birds, almost didn’t happen at all.

I literally had no idea who or what I wanted the songs to sound like,” she says. “I was intimidated and actually abandoned the project for about eight months during the mixing phase because I didn’t think it was any good.

Eventually, she pushed through, not because she believed in it yet, but because she needed to prove to herself that she could finish. And once she did, everything changed.

It was definitely a learning experience.

By the time she began working on Bad Wolf, her sound had started to take shape. But the process was still scattered.

Those songs were all recorded in different places — some in my house, some at different studios, with lots of different musicians laying parts on after the fact.

The production wasn’t as cohesive as she hoped, but there were flashes of something real, something resonant. With the help of longtime friend Victor Philips of Sonic Fix, she began to carve out a genre and voice that felt more grounded.

He was lovely to work with and I credit him for his stamina, his level of care, and his patience with me.

Still, it wasn’t until Wrap Me Up in Colored Feathers that everything truly locked into place.

Recorded entirely at Pinebox Studio in New Jersey with producer Damian Calcagne, the album features ten songs, one band, and one clear creative vision.

Damian and I have pretty similar taste, so there wasn’t much debate about which direction to take the songs. All ten songs were done with the same band of killer musicians, so there’s a really consistent sound and vibe.

More than any project before it, Wrap Me Up in Colored Feathers sounds like an artist who’s stopped trying to prove anything and started trusting everything.

The entire experience was a total joy. All of the musicians that played on the album are phenomenal and I feel lucky to have had the experience. I love all the songs. I enjoy listening to them. I hope to do another album there.

For Sherger, collaboration hasn’t just made her music better. It’s changed the way she hears herself.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” she says. “It’s made me start to ‘hear’ other instruments when I’m writing and playing. But more importantly, it’s led to really meaningful friendships with super-talented people I never would’ve met otherwise.

Where She’s Headed Next

Even now, three records deep and performing all over New Jersey, Erika Sherger still feels the nerves creep in before a show.

'Are you really doing this?' I still whisper that to myself before I go on.

But the answer is always yes.

And it’s a braver yes than most people realize.

This isn’t a career she chased from the time she was 18. It’s a calling that revealed itself slowly, after storms, stumbles, and long stretches of silence. That’s what makes it so powerful. Every show, every note, every lyric comes from a place of earned clarity.

She’s not trying to reinvent herself. She’s trying to deepen.

Sherger’s newest album Wrap Me Up in Colored Feathers was a creative turning point, the first time she recorded an entire project in one space, with one band, under the guidance of one producer.

The result is a cohesive, emotionally resonant folk album that sounds like it’s been lived in.

And she’s not done with that team.

I hope to do another album there. The Pinebox Studio has a vibe I totally dig, and working with Damian Calcagne just felt easy. He and I have pretty similar taste, so there wasn’t much debate about direction. I trusted him fully.

That trust shows. You can hear it in the songs. You can feel it in the comfort of her voice.

But what she really hopes, more than any chart or stream count, is that her music finds people the way she needed music to find her.

I just hope the lyrics and the feel of the songs touch someone’s heart somehow. That they feel something. Maybe they’re in their car, late at night, headlights on, and they hear a line that makes them feel less alone.

For Erika Sherger, this whole journey, from the Badlands to the bar stage, from private notebooks to public streaming platforms, has never been about performance.

It’s about connection.

Where to Find Her

If you’re looking for heartfelt folk music from New Jersey that tells the truth and tugs the soul, Erika Sherger should be on your radar.

You can stream her newest album Wrap Me Up in Colored Feathers now on all streaming services and make sure you follow her on socials and check her website for upcoming performances.