Gaelynn Lea was the 2016 winner of NPR's Tiny Desk Contest. She is a violinist and singer from Minnesota who has performed her mix of original songs and traditional, live-looped fiddle tunes for over a decade. Gaelynn Lea has a disability called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, and regularly advocates for disability rights.  This is  her first time performing at Folk Alliance International.
You're invited to the debut of
Gaelynn Lea
at Folk Alliance International
Gaelynn Lea Debuts in Missouri for #FAI2017

2016 was quite a whirlwind year for Gaelynn Lea, the Minnesota-based singer and violinist who won NPR Music's Tiny Desk Contest last March. After an NPR-sponsored victory tour last Spring, Gaelynn secured her own booking agent at Green Room Music Source and began touring  extensively across the U.S. and the U.K. Now she's headed to her debut at Folk Alliance International in Kansas City!

Watch Gaelynn Lea's Tiny Desk Concert, which has nearly 1,000,000 views:

"Karen Dalton and Joanna Newsom melt together in the form of Gaelynn Lea and set about absolutely obliterating your heart." -Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys)

"The way her voice resonates is so unusual and beautiful, like nothing I've ever heard before." -Jess Wolfe (Lucius)

"Gaelynn Lea, the winner of NPR's Tiny Desk Contest, makes music like nobody else." -Bob Boilen (NPR)
Gaelynn Lea's Official Showcase and Panel 

Gaelynn Lea Speaks on Panel: Accessibility Beyond Compliance
Friday Feb 17th, 10:30am-11:45am
Location: Pershing East/West

Explore ideas for increasing representation of artists with disabilities on stages, the responsibility of programmers to ensuring access, and suggestions for cultivating diverse audiences. This panel will explore tactics to ensure accessibility, compliance, and a musical community that is inclusive of all. 

Gaelynn Lea Official Showcase
Saturday Feb 18th, 7:00pm-7:30pm
Location: Pershing East/West

Join Gaelynn Lea for her unique blend of live-looped traditional fiddle tunes, haunting original songs, and captivating poetry.  Gaelynn Lea has been playing violin for over twenty years, developing an improvisational style all her own.   Her aim is to create a meditative, layered sound that allows the listener's mind to drift. 
Gaelynn Lea's Private Showcases

Wednesday 2/15/16 Green Room Private 10:30 PM  
Wednesday 2/15/17 MN Music Coalition Private   11:20 PM
Wednesday 2/15/17 The Wisconsin Room 12:10 AM
Wednesday 2/15/17 MPress Records Private 1:00 AM
Wednesday 2/15/17 MN Music Coalition Private  1:30 AM
Wednesday 2/15/17 Momentary Love 2:30 AM
Thursday 2/16/17 Sweet Beaver   10:30 PM
Thursday 2/16/17 The Warming House Private  11:50 PM  
Friday 2/17/17 Acoustic Grill, Acoustic Jam Records 10:30 PM  
Froday 2/17/17 Green Room Private 11:45 PM  
Friday 2/17/17 Combo Plate 1:50 AM
Saturday 2/18/17 KC Music Collective 
10:30 PM

Gaelynn Lea's Upcoming Area Shows

Before winning the 2016 edition of Tiny Desk Contest, the annual online talent competition overseen by the NPR program "All Songs Considered," very few people outside of Gaelynn Lea's hometown of Duluth, Minn., had heard of the remarkable fiddler and singer-songwriter.  Now, just under a year later, Gaelynn Lea is on a full-scale national tour which brings her to The Show-Me-State for performances at The Tank Room and Replay Lounge. The Accidental Project, Phil Wang and Cindy Novelo will also perform at the Tank Room on Saturday. Signal Ridge will open Sunday's show at the Replay Lounge.  Read more in  The Kansas City Star.

8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 at The Tank Room in  Kansas City, MO.
Contact:  816-214-6403.  thetankroom.com . $10 in advance

5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12 at Replay Lounge in Lawrence, KS. 
Contact: 785-749-7676.  replaylounge.com. Cover charge is $3.
See Gaelynn Lea's Full Tour Schedule: