When Carla Harvey exited Butcher Babies in July 2024 after roughly 15 years, the question hanging in the air was obvious: where does a band built on two distinct frontwoman identities go when one of them walks?
Heidi Shepherd has been answering that question ever since — and her answer, delivered in a recent interview on Knotfest's She's With The Band hosted by Tori Kravitz, is both practical and blunt.
"Being a co-lead vocalist, I think that each of us had our own identities in this as well," Shepherd said. "I think that I learned so much in all the years of the give-and-take. I've run this band, this business out of my living room for the last almost 20 years. And so it kind of really was just the next step, taking all those lessons that I had learned in the past and just kind of like putting it all in. But it's been fine. And I feel comfortable. And I'm so lucky that I have my team."
What Actually Changed (And What Didn't)
The practical reality of the transition is more mundane than the drama around it might suggest. Shepherd picks up extra vocal lines on stage. The band — guitarist Henry Flury, their longtime management team, their lawyer of nearly 17 years — kept going. The business infrastructure that Butcher Babies has been building since their 2010 founding didn't collapse with a lineup change.
That context matters to Shepherd. She pushed back explicitly on the idea that this is a one-person story: "This isn't just me. Henry has been in this band from the beginning, and my team has been here forever. My lawyer has been my lawyer for almost 17 years now. And so this is so much bigger than just two singers in a band. This is so much bigger than that. There are people that feed their families off of what we do."
There's a responsibility angle to her framing that's different from the usual "we're still going" talking points. She continued: "There are people who, their jobs are coming on tour with us and helping our show be as successful as it can be day in and day out. So when it came to moving into the shoes of just the sole lead in this, there's a responsibility to keep it going for these people."
Therapy, Doubt, and the Story You Tell Yourself
Shepherd is also willing to get specific about the psychological weight of the transition in a way that most rock vocalists avoid. She worked through the anxiety in therapy — specifically, the fear that the audience wouldn't trust her alone at the helm.
"That was the initial thing, is, 'People, are they even gonna believe in me? I've been the lead vocalist of this band for 20 years, but are they gonna think that I can still do it?'" she said. "And [my therapist] told me, 'But that's a story you're making up in your head. That's something you are making up in your head.'"
Her response to that realization is pure Shepherd: "I don't mind having something to prove. In fact, that's how this band became successful in the first place. So that's how I've always lived my life. I've lived my life by the 'no'. When people tell me 'no', I say, 'Actually yes.' So, doubt me."
That's not spin. That's someone who came out the other side of a difficult transition with their instincts intact.
'Sincerity,' the New Album, and Current Band Energy
Butcher Babies' first single since Harvey's departure, "Sincerity," landed to strong fan reception — and Shepherd noted that the live reaction has tracked accordingly even if she doesn't read comments. "The shows have been really fun. There's just such a fire in this band right now."
A new album is in the pipeline for 2026. Shepherd called out the broader team energy as a factor: "Our whole team has just this incredible fire right now. And so I feel, when I am a little overwhelmed or I feel a little bit of doubt or anything, I have my whole team to back us up."
The Harvey Exit, In Brief
Harvey's departure followed a difficult 2023 European tour absence — she underwent emergency eye surgery and the band continued without her, which she later described as feeling "kind of squeezed out." She cited personal life changes and a demanding touring schedule (10-12 months a year on the road) as reasons her situation with the band had become unsustainable. She has since launched a new project, The Violent Hour.
The split was framed publicly without bitterness, though Harvey's "squeezed out" comment added texture to the narrative. Both camps have largely kept it professional.
What to Watch
A new Butcher Babies album in 2026 will be the real measure of whether this transition holds. Shepherd's track record and the continued presence of Flury and the band's core infrastructure give the project a credible foundation. The fire she's describing — in the shows, in the team, in her own approach — sounds genuine. Now it needs a record behind it.
Grab the latest Butcher Babies music on Amazon while you wait for the new record. For more on hard rock and metal band news, keep it here. And when tour dates get announced, check the tours section for the full routing.
