Saturday April 21 

Kristin Hersh has shifted gears once again. The singer-guitarist of Thowing Muses and 50 Foot Wave also goes out as a “solo” artist under her own name, and that’s how her latest CD, “Learn to Sing Like a Star,” is billed. But it’s far from a solo project and her tour, which stops at the Regent Theatre in Arlington Saturday April 21, is far from a solo tour. You’ll see Muses mate Bernard Georges on bass, drummer Rob Ahlers and – most notably – the McCarricks: violinist Kim and cellist Martin. “It’s a big show, it’s a tall show,” says Hersh. “There’s a lot of sound going on. I was around the stage, listening.”
    How did this come about? “The record was confusing from the start,” says Hersh. “It was a series of mistakes. I was trying to make it spacious and atmospheric like and it sounded stupid, like I didn’t know how to play. I played to a click track, and when you do that you lose fluid timing, emotional aspects that make rhythms intriguing. It sounded clean and elegant. These songs wanted to sound anthemic and there’s nothing more anthemic than strings.”
    As to touring the record – most of Hersh’s set comes from “Learn to Sing” -  Hersh says, “I knew I couldn’t do the primary tour on my own. Martin and Kim are aware of potential schmalziness. As rock as this is, the distorition is more painting colors than punk rock  The songs wear whatever they want to. I’ll still love you. The set is so interesting. It’s not a band; it’s an intriguing collection.”
     Hersh is in fine spirits – on tour with her husband, three of her kids and three dogs – but she had a catastrophe last year. The house they lived in in Ohio was flooded while they were away in London. She realized in retrospect she uses “water” metaphors a lot on the new album. “I still have a future,” Hersh says, “but it’s hard to not have a home. The bag lady fears crop up.”
    But she had a successful European tour starting the year off, and she’ll continue for a few months in the States before heading to Australia. At the Regent, it should be a lovely welcome home for one of our own. The McCarricks and Delorean open. Starts at 7 p.m. Tickets available at the Middle East box office. (The club is promoting the show.) They cost $16.50.

7 Medford St., Arlington, 781-646-4849 regenttheatre.com