Since winning NPR's Tiny Desk Contest in 2016, Gaelynn Lea has been touring nonstop, sharing her violin music and disability advocacy nationwide. Lea, a classically trained violinist, was born with brittle-bones disease. At age ten, an orchestra performed at her school, and she immediately fell in love with the music. The following year, she joined the school's orchestra, where a teacher taught her how to adapt her instrument, playing it in an upright position instead of under the chin; she's been performing with the violin ever since. While she didn't start out playing music to champion a cause, she hopes her performances will raise awareness about both disability pride and some challenges people with disabilities regularly face that are too rarely discussed.
Westword caught up with Lea to talk about her music, looping pedals and disability activism.