Gaelynn Lea in Des Moines

Gaelynn Lea is an American folk singer-songwriter and violinist from Duluth, Minnesota. NPR Music selected her song “Someday We’ll Linger in the Sun” as the winner of its Tiny Desk Contest in 2016. Her recordings include the albums All the Roads That Lead Us Home and Learning How to Stay, and she is also an advocate for disability rights. After performing a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR Music in 2016, she toured extensively in the United States and abroad. Her later concert work included opening performances for Wilco, The Decemberists, Low and The Jayhawks. Her solo concerts center on voice, violin and a looping pedal, which she uses to layer bowed and plucked parts in real time. She has also performed in The Murder of Crows, her duo with Alan Sparhawk of Low.