Getting hit by a truck was lucky for this OKC soul singer and Norman Music Fest headliner

Nia Moné was reluctant to pursue her passion for music, until she was literally hit by a truck.

"In 2018, I was hit by a semi. Luckily, I was, for the most part, OK, just a few bulging discs. But it just put things into perspective for me, like life is too short and it's very fragile. And your life can change in a matter of seconds, so instead of withholding your gifts, you should just share them with people," she said.

The Oklahoma City-based neo-soul singer-songwriter is among the headliners for the 2023 Norman Music Festival, which returns through April 29 in the Walker Arts District. The free, independent music showcase annually brings hundreds of acts and thousands of music fans to downtown Norman for three days of live music at several indoor and outdoor venues.

On April 28, Moné will close out the outdoor West Stage with her set starting at 11:10 p.m.

"Just personally, I'm a huge fan. I think her stuff is fun and relevant, and (she's) just incredibly talented," said Cody Giles, who is on the board of directors of the Norman Music Alliance, the volunteer-run nonprofit entity that produces the festival.

"When our team was building the lineup, she was one that we definitely wanted to have."

After Norman Music Fest, Mone, 25, will open for local Latinx performer Lincka's EP release show at 8 p.m. May 5 at Factory Obscura, play the first show of the season for the 2023 Summer Breeze Concert Series at 7:30 p.m. May 14 at Lion's Park in Norman and perform on a Bricktown Water Taxi at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. June 22 as part of ArtAfloatOKC’s third summer season of the Showboat Concert Series.

Moné recently chatted with The Oklahoman about her global upbringing, her new single, her debut EP and more:

Q: What can people expect from your Norman Music Fest set?

A: I'm actually getting ready for rehearsal. ... I just gotta get with my dancers, make sure they're all nice and tight on their counts and that everything looks good. ... I'm definitely going to have a backing band this year. And I've really been studying the professionals like Doja Cat, all the girls that really kill the festival game, and I've been taking notes.

So, it's just gonna be a lot of interacting with the crowd ... and just fun music that some of it is released, some of it is unreleased. I actually just added my new drop that I just released ... called "Wasting Time." That's going to the big finale for this year. So, I'm excited.

Q: Tell me a little bit about the new song.

A: "Wasting Time" is just a quick, little bop about dancing through hard times in both relationships and love but also just life in general — and making sure to keep that upbeat tempo within yourself, even though sometimes life throws jabs at you.

It's Afro pop-inspired, so it has a lot of African drums and sounds. But it's also dance/electronic-inspired. So, it's a mix of the two.

Q: Your bio lists you as a lo-fi, jazz and R&B singer, but I know you can rap as well. I've also heard you described as a soul singer. How would you describe your style?

A: I call myself the Saturnian singer because I'm a Capricorn. The Saturnian singer, she just arrived from the beautiful planet Saturn, and Saturn has a reputation for being very cold and almost vacant. But it's weird, almost an oxymoron, because I'm pretty warm, I think, as a person. And I'm not very empty: I'm actually very full of information and love, and I share it all with everybody. But I just love that I can say that my ruling planet is Saturn as a Capricorn, because I think it's one of the coolest planets in the whole solar system. ...

I do have a love for all different types of genres. I just love everything from alternative rock, which is exactly like how I started writing, to R&B and jazz. Then, I just love Afro music as well. I've been fortunate enough to live all over the world, and I think that's why I like so many different styles of music.

Q: Can you tell me about your experiences living all over the world?

A: I was born in North Dakota, but when I was maybe 1 or 2, we moved to Japan. Both my parents were military — they were both Air Force — so we've lived in Japan, Guam and England. ... We've been here for about, I want to say, a little over a decade now.

But ever since I started music, that is the most I've gotten to experience Oklahoma City, because I was just an at-home-body type of person. I didn't really go out, but in music, you kind of have no choice but to go out, so you can see what's going on.

Q: After your accident, how did you get started making music?

A: It happened when I was 20, so I was about to turn 21. And first thing I did when I turned 21, I was like, "OK, I'm gonna go for it." So, 51st Street Speakeasy was the first bar I ever walked into because they were having an event. I just was like, "OK, I'm going to network. I like talking to people, so let's see how we do this music thing." And I met (hip-hop artist) Original Flow, I met (music talent representative and concert promoter) Desiree Yearby ... and I met (audio engineer and producer) Stefani Heller. Those were the first three people I met at 51st Street Speakeasy.

Q: So, how did you go from walking into 51st Street Speakeasy a few years ago to opening up Beer City Music Hall last year with a set that seemed like you'd been doing it your whole life?

A: I was not reluctant to be a student. I really love when people tell me their perspective on things, because I know I can take it with a grain of salt. But also, there's just so many different ways to put on a show, and I just found my formula, what I enjoy most about a show when I go. ... I was working with Tower Theatre, and I got exposed to so many cool acts that came through ... and I just soaked it in.

I'd take notes; I really did. I wouldn't go down to the crowd. I would always try to sit in the balcony so that I could sit and literally take notes in my phone of what I liked about a show — the lighting and just like all different kinds of things — so I just made sure I was a student every time I was either on stage or saw somebody else on stage, whether it was a local or professional.

Q: You released your debut EP 'Dysphoria' last year: What went into making that initial release?

A: "Dysphoria" was definitely a product of like a lot of heartbreak, unfortunately. ... It was confessional poems put to tracks, and it was like a coping mechanism for me to get over relationships that just weren't working in my favor. And I just wanted to put that out there, one, for myself, but also because I knew there was going to be at least some people who could relate to some of those lyrics that are in those songs. ...

My favorite artist of all time probably is Amy Winehouse, and she pretty much put her diary pages on tracks. When I was sitting by myself with my little iPod Shuffle, listening to "Back to Black," I just felt like I was getting to know her and how she loved people. So, I've always had a huge respect for that.

Q: It seems like you're popping up on more lineups. Do you feel like you're making a way for yourself and your career in OKC?

A: I would definitely would say I'm paving a way for R&B here to be a little more mainstream, because it's not that it's not here, I think it's that it's not in certain spaces here, if that makes sense. ... I think I've proven myself a lot, of what I'm capable of. And I'm very competitive with myself. So, I want to continue to do that and keep having better and better shows.

NORMAN MUSIC FESTIVAL

• When: April 27-29.

• Where: Walker Arts District, downtown Norman.

• Information: https://normanmusicfestival.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC soul singer Nia Mone is headlining the 2023 Norman Music Festival