Eve Selis, one of San Diego’s most gifted performers, performs at the Museum of Contemporary Art La Jolla campus on Friday, May 13. The occasion marks the release of her first album in five years, “See Me with Your Heart.” The new album tops a career that’s seen Selis go from fronting one of the most popular cover bands ever to play San Diego, The Heroes, to becoming one of the original music lynchpins of the local music community, with seven San Diego Music Awards to her credit. For this show, Selis plans to look back and forward on her career. “My whole band will be with me,” she said, “including my main collaborator, Marc Intravaia, bassist Rick Nash and drummer Larry Grano, plus we will have Doug Pettibone as a special guest on pedal steel.” She points out that the show also has special meaning beyond the CD release. “Feb. 14, 2016 marked 25 years that Marc and I have been writing and performing songs together,” she reflected. “The first set of the evening will be a rundown of the new CD from top to bottom, and the second set will be a retrospective of our songs over the past 25 years.” Selis chalked the time between releases up to the simplest of reasons: “Life.” “When ‘Family Tree’ was released, my son was 4 years old, and Marc was homeschooling his son.,” Selis said. “The economy was down, and making a living as a musician was a bit more challenging than usual. The we toured in the UK in 2012 and 2013 supporting ‘Family Tree.’” She also found time to record two side projects, “Cactus Honey” (2014) and “BHST” (2015). Health issues also took a toll. “In between both projects,” she recalled, “I was injured while Rollerblading, and that started the beginning of a soul-searching stage in my career, where I began looking at who I was and what I was doing and wondering why I was still singing. That injury actually helped me rediscover myself as an artist, and I began working with a life coach. Once I started facing truths in my life from my childhood and paradigms that weren’t working for me any longer in my life, that is when the songs began to come to me for this album.” She notes the album was hard work but well worth the process it took to get in the creative frame of mind. “Once the concept of this album became clear to me,” she said, “I began writing from an open-hearted, vulnerable place, and each song was not done until every word, every melody and every note was right. It took over 18 months to finish writing with this new approach.” The Sherwood Hall show is the precursor to Selis and her band’s upcoming tour of the UK, where she has built up a significant fan base. “This will be our 15th trip over the past 13 years going to the UK,” she said of the road trip, which opens July 8. “We have very loyal fans, and Americana music is a genre made very popular by a DJ named Whispering Bob Harris of the BBC. He has been a fan since early on, and I believe he has had a great deal to do with our success, along with our label, Proper Records. The English people love American music and really love to listen to lyrics and the stories behind the songs.” Logistics on tour are tougher than ever; how does she deal with the pressure of touring? “One of the reasons my band members have been around so long is that we all get along and tour together very well,” she remarked. “I put together what I call a Tour Bible that includes travel directions, accommodations, radio interviews and a timeline to get us everywhere we need to go. It’s a lot of work! Thank God our agent, Bob Paterson, puts together the tour. This year, a few friends who have never been to England are coming out to join us and tag along – having that new energy will make it even more fun for us.” Looking back on an amazing life in music, Selis is happy with what’s gone before and hopeful for the future. “In all my years of singing and touring,” she said, “I’ve finally learned that performing on stage is not about me. It’s about what I can give to the audience through my songs and my art. Music is so healing and allows us all to connect to our emotions for 3.5 minutes or however long a song lasts. “When I am giving all I am on stage, I allow the audience the space to feel with me… and I am no longer a singer; I am a heart surgeon.” Eve Selis: Friday, May 13, at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Sherwood Hall, 700 Prospect St. 8 p.m. All ages. eveselis.com