Gaelynn Lea: Advocating for Disability Rights Through Music
Gaelynn Lea isn’t your typical artist. She was born with brittle bone disease, a genetic disorder that results in very fragile bones. The classically trained violinist and songwriter won NPR’s Tiny Desk contest in 2016. Lea uses her music as a platform to advocate for disability rights. She’ll perform in Birmingham for UAB’s Social Spotlight Festival. She shares more about her condition and how being a wheelchair user hasn’t stopped her from performing.
Interview Highlights
Living with brittle bone disease:
“A bunch of them [bones] broke before I was born and healed kind of bent, so my arms and legs are bent at a 90 degree angle. I’ve never walked and I’ve needed a wheelchair pretty much my whole life. I have really great parents. They’re both still living and they’re amazing people and they did a good job of just saying whatever I wanted to do that if I really wanted to do it I would figure out a way, which I think is pretty common if you have the right support. It’s just learning how to adapt things to work for you. So I did a lot of different activities growing up and then I got involved in music around the age of 10.”
Finding a love for music:
“An orchestra came to my school when I was in fourth grade and I really loved the way it sounded and I wanted to try it out. So we tried all sorts of instruments the cello and then we tried playing the violin regularly but it didn’t work out. Then, together we came up with this idea that I could play violin upright like a little cello and that ended up working for me. I hold my bow like a bass player, an upright bass player. I started performing first through classical music in school and then I went to traditional fiddle music and then in 2011 I started writing my own songs as well.”
Appearance at UAB’s Social Spotlight:
“This year the goal is to raise awareness about disability rights. By winning that Tiny Desk Contest back in 2016, I also had a chance to start speaking publicly about disability rights and accessibility in the arts and different topics that are important to me. So the coordinator thought that it would be a good fit to have me perform as a part of this festival just knowing my background in activism and music kind of simultaneously.”
On music and advocacy:
“I think art has always been a really important part of activism. It’s certainly not the only way but it’s a good way to reach people. So the more artists that we see with disabilities or the more diversity we have in the arts, I think, the more messages that get out there into the mainstream and I think that’s really important.”
Gaelynn Lea will perform at the Alys Stephens Center Friday, February 8th at 7pm.
Lea will also have free performances at Seasick Records on Saturday, February 9th at 3pm and Beloved Community Church at 6 pm.
How Alabama Power kept bills up and opposition out to become one of the most powerful utilities in the country
In one of the poorest states in America, the local utility earns massive profits producing dirty energy with almost no pushback from state regulators.
No more Elmo? APT could cut ties with PBS
The board that oversees Alabama Public Television is considering disaffiliating from PBS, ending a 55-year relationship.
Nonprofit erases millions in medical debt across Gulf South, says it’s ‘Band-Aid’ for real issue
Undue Medical Debt has paid off more than $299 million in medical debts in Alabama. Now, the nonprofit warns that the issue could soon get worse.
Roy Wood Jr. on his father, his son and his new book
Actor, comedian and writer Roy Wood Jr. is out with a new book -- "The Man of Many Fathers: Life Lessons Disguised as a Memoir." He writes about his experience growing up in Birmingham, losing his dad as a teenager and all the lessons he learned from various father figures throughout his career.
Auburn fires coach Hugh Freeze following 12th loss in his last 15 SEC games
The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three years on the Plains, scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong end of too many close matchups, including twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.
In a ‘disheartening’ era, the nation’s former top mining regulator speaks out
Joe Pizarchik, who led the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from 2009 to 2017, says Alabama’s move in the wake of a fatal 2024 home explosion increases risks to residents living atop “gassy” coal mines.
