ABLE Voices Ep 73: Gaelynn Lea

We are inviting disabled artists and arts educators to be guests and guest hosts on ABLE Voices. Today's guest host is Rivky Grossman.

Rivky’s musical career took off last year, with the writing and recording of her first Album-EP, Angel Sings the Blues. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, Rivky's music combines unique beat structure, a folksy blues style, and the influence of her Hassidic culture upbringing. Rivky's work has been compared to Jacques Brel, Laura Nyro, Billy Joel, Sara McLachlan, and early Regina Spektor. A self-taught musician, Rivky lives with Schizo-affective disorder, which, she says, plays like a fuzzy, backdrop hum in her day to day routine and ignites her creative spark. Today, Rivky will be speaking with Gaelynn Lea.

Since winning NPR Music's Tiny Desk Contest in 2016, Gaelynn Lea has captivated audiences around the world with her haunting original songs and traditional fiddle tunes. Over the years, she has collaborated with artists such as Michael Stipe, The Decemberists, and the industrial rock supergroup Pigface. In 2022, Gaelynn Lea composed the original score for Macbeth on Broadway, starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga. Thanks to a recent Whippoorwill Arts Fellowship, her soundtrack is set to be released in Spring 2025; a Music from Macbeth UK album tour will follow soon after. Gaelynn Lea is a sought-after public speaker about accessibility in the arts. She has been featured on PBS NewsHour, On Being with Krista Tippett, The Moth Radio Hour, The Science of Happiness Podcast, and via two widely-viewed TEDx Talks. In 2024, Gaelynn was awarded the prestigious Disability Futures Fellowship from the Ford and Mellon Foundations, which spotlights the work of disabled creatives across disciplines. One of Gaelynn Lea's biggest passions is promoting Disability Culture. To that end, she co-founded RAMPD [Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities] with NYC-based recording artist Lachi in early 2022. The mission of this fast-growing global network of disabled music professionals is to amplify Disability Culture, promote equitable inclusion & advocate for accessibility in the music industry. 

The ABLE Voices podcast is produced and edited by BIAAE Operations Coordinator, Daniel Martinez del Campo. The introduction music was written by Kai Levin and the ending song was written by Sebastian Batista. Kai and Sebastian are students in the Arts Education Programs at the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education.

For more information about our programs visit us at https://college.berklee.edu/BIAAE

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