Daily Dose — Lila Gray Playing to a Hometown Crowd at the Royal
By Ari Lord
Nelson-raised singer-songwriter Lila Gray is returning to her roots for an upcoming show at the Royal on March 28th with a full band.
“I am so pumped. It’s going to be a full live off-the-floor show,” says Gray.
Gray, known for her unique indie pop sound, came into the spotlight when she placed in the Top 100 of the 2021 CBC Searchlight Competition.
Shortly thereafter, the artist followed her musical dreams by completing a program in audio engineering and sound production at Montreal’s Recording Arts Canada.
The singer says she so enjoyed her last show here in the fall that she decided to do a spring show. Her family and friends filled up a good part of the Royal, there to cheer her on.
“We had so much fun playing a hometown show in the fall.”
Preparations with her band are underway says Gray.
“Everything is just sounding so great. I couldn’t be more excited.”
Gray’s second album, Wild Tension, garnered 10,000 streams on Spotify and she had a well-attended coast-to-coast Canadian tour this past fall.
She is gaining a reputation for her genuine and touching lyrics exploring themes of young adulthood and queerness.
Growing up, Gray was influenced by the Beatles, James Brown, Queen, and the Kinks. Today she is inspired by Arlo Parks, Lorde, Billie Eilish, Bleachers, and Feist.
Her musical inspiration is constantly changing.
“Each album, I make a playlist of who I’m listening to so that I can go back and remember the major influences when I wrote or produced an album,” says Gray.
Gray has collaborated with musicians like Jill Barber, Aza Nabuko, and Aysia Jordan and is building a reputation as a music producer/audio engineer for other emerging artists.
Gray discovered her passion for music at age five when she began classical training in cello.
Gray was born in Vancouver and spent some time in Victoria until she was six when her family moved to Nelson. She attended LV Rogers High School.
“It was such a great community to come up in as an artist because it is such a supportive little arts community. I keep coming back.”
Since then, she has been honing her skills in singing, song-writing, and guitar.
After high school, Gray stuck around Nelson for a year to ski before moving to Montreal for her education. She finished her schooling in the summer of 2023 and then moved to Vancouver, where she is now based.
“It feels nice to be settled in one place for a while now,” says Gray.
The artist is currently busy with production of new music.
“I’m working on my next album and I’ve got a single coming out early this summer that I’m pretty excited about. We’re in production for video for that as well. There’s a lot of exciting things coming up this summer for me and I want to play shows and amass some crowds in preparation for that.”
Gray will be in Nelson for a week and other than getting in rehearsal time before the show, she’ll have a chance to visit with friends and head to the ski hill for a few end-of-season runs.
Opening for Gray is Molly Jo McQuaid who will play an acoustic set. McQuaid is a student in the Selkirk College music program.
More Information:
- Check out Gray’s recent music video for the song Haunt.
- Follow Gray on social media to follow her upcoming projects on Facebook and Instagram.
- Tickets for the show at the Royal are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
- Buy tickets here.
