Gaelynn Lea
Tiny Desk to Broadway: The Creative World of Gaelynn Lea, Disability Rights Activist
Gaelynn Lea is a violinist, singer-songwriter, disability rights advocate, author, and public speaker. Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, Gaelynn began her musical journey with the support of a childhood music teacher and her musical family. You’ll hear about how her big break happened when she won NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2016, which led to a fascinating creative life which in the last few years has included international touring and scoring Macbeth on Broadway, starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga. Gaelynn is really open to trying new things, and this came through as she talked to me about how she’ll never have enough time to explore all her curiosities, reflections on her collaborations with mentors Alan Sparhawk and Charlie Parr, and how she created a new musical fable for the stage called Invisible Fences with disabled storyteller Kevin Kling .
You’ll be hearing clips from some of Gaelynn’s albums during the podcast, and her Bandcamp is linked in the show notes for you. We begin with a look at her upcoming memoir—It Wasn’t Meant to Be Perfect— a warm, funny and deeply-felt exploration of disability, music, and the messy creativity of an artist’s life. I plan to welcome Gaelynn back for a future episode focused on that work, which you can pre-order Order her book It Wasn’t Meant to be Perfect To be published by Algonquin Press in April 2026.
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Gaelynn Lea Website Albums on Bandcamp
Other episodes you’ll love: Jesse Stewart, Renée Yoxon, Mark Growden, Martin Hayes, Kelly Thoma Catalog of Episodes
