The moniker “Doug Wimbish & The Collection” sounds like a musical collaboration. But Wimbish says “The Collection” isn’t necessarily that. 

“The ‘collection’ to me just feels like the broader community,” Wimbish said. 

“Sometimes ‘the collection’ represents other band members. Sometimes it’s the people who come to the shows or listen to the music. My hope was that the project name would reflect more than just me. Even though it’s a solo project, it can be a variety of things.” 

Fans can be part of the “collective” when he performs on Thursday, Oct. 8, at Phoenix’s Last Exit Live and on Friday, Oct. 9, at Tucson’s 191 Toole. He is touring to promote his album “Heavy Love,” releasing on Friday, Nov. 13.

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Wimbish said many of his fans don’t expect to feel a mélange of emotions.

“I’ve been told by other people that the shows often make them cry — but in a good way,” he said. “You can expect to need tissues.”

That sentiment carries over into “Heavy Love,” which grew out of a season he described as “a lot of difficult relationship spaces.” He doesn’t sugarcoat it. 

“I went through a pretty big, very difficult breakup,” he said. “And I went through quite a few friend breakups as well and moved to a new place.” 

Then came Hurricane Helene. 

“I was living in Asheville [North Carolina] and just watched my city get destroyed,” he said. “All those things were affecting me a lot.”

The album’s central idea emerged slowly: relationships are hard and staying connected takes work.

“In our modern therapy‑speak culture, we’ve gone into a really far end of how we understand relationships,” he said. “If we have even the slightest problem with somebody, we’re like, ‘We’re cutting them out of our lives.’

“If you want to not be lonely, there’s a cost to it. Sometimes that cost is inconvenience, difficult conversations, or people you don’t always like. Loving people is heavy.”

For Wimbish, writing is how he processes the weight.

“Writing songs helps you take a difficult emotion and give it a place to live,” he said. “It’s not just living in your body all the time.”

He said, “Heavy Love” is “the most honest piece of work I’ve ever done,” noting that he recorded most of the instruments himself. “It comes from a very deep personal place,” he says.

Wimbish grew up in North Carolina, a state whose musical traditions seeped into him long before he realized it.

“There’s such a rich history of acoustic music there,” he said. “Poor folks used their music to survive a lot of poverty and struggle.” 

He also lived in Durham, home to Merge Records. “Bands like Arcade Fire and Spoon were signed to Merge. That history definitely affected my writing.”

His first concert was unforgettable for reasons no one could plan. 

“Jennifer Knapp was playing, and it was pouring,” he recalled.

“Her guitar was literally filling up with rain,” he said. “She kept dumping water out of the sound hole. I must have been 9 or 10, and I remember thinking, ‘I want to do this when I grow up.’”

With “Heavy Love” on the horizon, Wimbish is focused on touring, writing and possibly expanding the album. 

“I’m trying to work on some more songs, maybe for a deluxe version,” he said. “Right now, it’s just keep moving forward and soak up all the gratefulness.”