Gaelynn Lea, winner of NPR’s 2016 Tiny Desk Concert Contest, made her second appearance last night at downtown Phoenix’s Valley Bar for her Winter Escape Tour.
The show was opened by two local artists, Raquel Denis and Max Knouse, who sang original and cover songs about problematic relationships, gender identity, and elbows.
Lea began her show with a traditional fiddle tune but overlaid and looped various harmonies to produce an overall unique and dynamic sound.
She began playing the violin when she was in fifth grade but developed her technique when she got ahold of a looping pedal, allowing her to translate group performances into solo pieces.
Due to her osteogenesis imperfecta, more commonly known as brittle bone disease, Lea found it hard to play the cello because of its size. Instead, with the help of her music teacher, Lea found a compromise. She began playing the violin in between her legs, in the style of a cello.
Lea played “Grace and a Tender Hand,” an unreleased song that will be featured in her third full-length album slated to be released in September.
“Grace and a Tender Heart” was the first song that Lea wrote. She got the idea to write the song on her way to work, and rushed to the bathroom to write down the lyrics before she forgot.
Lea also performed “Bound by a Thread,” a new song inspired after reading multiple books about reincarnation. The song explores the interconnectedness of humanity.
The song is one of two in her new album that have been released early on Bandcamp and music-streaming services Apple Music and Spotify to tease and help fund the album.
Lea is currently unsigned and seeks to pay for her third full-length album through donations to her GoFundMe.
Lea’s new album will also feature her most explicitly political song.
The song “I Wait” details the struggles and resilience of the disability-rights movement and the current health care policy affecting people with disabilities in the U.S.
After playing “Someday We’ll Linger In The Sun,” an ode to her relationship with her husband, Lea performed a spoken-word poem titled “Breathe You’re Alive,” reverberating a message of self-worth and love and ending her set of original music with a standing ovation from the audience.
Contact the columnist at Lerman.Montoya@asu.edu.
