The ultimate pleasure in witnessing musical icon K.D. LANG perform on stage - besides basking in the beauty of her astonishing, incomparable voice - is the deep connection she shares with her audience. Their mutual admiration and affection is undeniable, and it has arguably been the fuel propelling lang from one remarkable recording to the next.

"You have to respect your audience," lang asserts. "Without them, you're essentially standing alone, singing to yourself. That's not particularly appealing to an artist who craves the communal experience of sharing new ideas and sounds. The ideal scenario is to have an audience; to build and nurture a bond with them."

The bond lang shares with her fans has deepened over time and extended through such recordings as Shadowland (1988), Absolute Torch & Twang (1989), Ingenue (1992), Live By Request (2001), which garnered multiple Grammy Awards, and A Wonderful World with Tony Bennett, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration. Her most recent release is Hymns of the 49th Parallel (Nonesuch, 2004), a collection of 11 songs by some of her fellow Canadians, such as Jane Siberry, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Leonard Cohen.