Today we’d like to introduce you to Aly Aleigha.
Hi Aly, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Thank you for having me! Something about music is captivating, life-giving, and energizes the soul. It has a unique power to it; I see it as a sort of “transcendental,” able to reach into the deepest parts of our hearts and at the same time, it can elevate our hearts and minds to something bigger than ourselves. I’ve seen this truth very present in my life since childhood. Whenever I’ve felt isolated and burdened by insecurities or in dark times of great loss, music was an inexplicable comfort.
In times of joy & triumph, music was the energy buzzing through every fiber of my being bidding me sing out at the top of my lungs or motivating me to power through to the finish line and emerge victorious. In early high school, my sisters and I had an opportunity to go to a church conference with a handful of friends. The conferences originated in small-town Steubenville, Ohio and by that time had expanded to sites all over the nation.
At each site, there were thousands of young people gathered in a stadium with amazing speakers, flashing lights, and a band that captivated me with fun, energetic beats but also powerful, peaceful melodies. I had gone into that weekend with an aching & burdened heart, but I experienced a surreal amount of healing there. I recognized the power of music to express and validate the deep parts of us that are wounded, to affirm our innate goodness and unbreakable worth, and to give a voice to the deepest parts of our hearts that we don’t know how to express.
I felt drawn to do that myself for others someday, to play music on a stage like that to give others their own experiences of freedom as I had at that conference–but it seemed too impossible a dream for me. Still, it inspired me to begin to sing and play guitar awkwardly in public, to bring a piece of that conference back to my little hometown. Though I was insecure about singing in front of anyone, my sisters and I began to play music for the church more and more, I joined high school choirs and still flew very much under the radar, but began to experiment more with exposing my heart through song.
Those youth conferences originated at a small university in Ohio, which I found myself attending. During my freshman year there, I had the opportunity with my dad to travel to Israel for the first time, and during my junior year, I studied abroad in Austria, living in the mountains and spending every weekend on various trips to surrounding countries; these travel experiences brought newfound inspiration for my songwriting.
Returning to Ohio, the atmosphere on the main campus was very music-oriented; seemingly every night, there were coffee-house-style open mic nights and frequent organized opportunities to play. I began to step out of my comfort zone, playing on stages with my sister, and I eventually worked up the courage to share some original songs I’d been working on. The response shocked me. Friends and family urged me to record (to which I balked at first, but eventually I gave in and booked a recording session). I cut my first EP “Jealous Love” (a 4-track record) at Innovation Studios in Steubenville, OH in 2015.
On the day of my graduation, I literally crossed the stage, took some pictures in my cap and gown, and raced back to the studio to finish it. I didn’t know anything at the time about the music industry, but I was soon invited to play music around the country and in Israel. I recorded my first full-length album “The Labyrinth” in 2016 and the following year, I discerned it was time to take a leap of faith by quitting my job to pursue a full-time music career. I leaned into the genre of indie folk-alt style music, drawing inspiration for my songwriting from my adventures and life.
In the summer of 2017, I hiked the Camino de Santiago with a few friends. We did the Primitivo route, a roughly 3-week trek through the mountains of Spain with nothing but what we carried on our backs, following seashells and yellow painted arrows that marked the path through cobblestoned towns, farmland, and muddy rural wooded foot trails. “El Camino” means “The Way” in Spanish; this hike follows the course St. James is said to have walked as he evangelized the Iberian Peninsula two thousand years ago.
Traditionally the Camino is a pilgrimage beginning from wherever you set out on your journey and culminating at the beautiful Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. We continued our hike beyond Santiago and ended our voyage at the glorious ocean of Finisterre (the “end of the known world” in ancient days). People do this hike for all sorts of reasons, to find themselves and whatnot. I did it mainly to see if I had it in me.
It was incredibly hard but incredibly good. And I did “find myself,” in a way–I didn’t realize it at the time, but this excursion not only marked my transition into a full-time music career but was also a significant turning point in my life in other ways. About two years after returning from the trip, I realized that for a while now I’ve been extraordinarily fulfilled and joyful in my life, freed from the insecurities I used to battle with, and truly feeling fully alive.
I thought back to when this might have changed, and while I couldn’t trace it to a specific moment when at the snap of my fingers everything was different, I realized the Camino was a turning point for me. We are all much stronger and more capable than we give ourselves credit for, and the Camino was noteworthy in teaching me that.
My adventures and how they’ve shaped me are a big source of inspiration for my new album, actually–I have two songs “Wait Out the Rain” & “Camino” about my time on that trek in Spain; a song called “Leave It As A Memory” that I composed after a rock climbing trip to El Potrero Chico, Mexico about wanting to hold onto the good moments in life; a song called “Plow” about how the discomfort of being shifted like soil by a plow is actually what we need in certain seasons to help us grow. (Fun fact about that one: I mentioned to my drummer that I would love to incorporate the sounds of an actual plow into the percussion, and he made it happen for me. We took the audio from a video of a farmer tilling the soil with a small plow, put it on a loop, and used it in my song. I’m excited about this, it sounds rad.)
As a songwriter, more often than not it feels like a song exists already within me and I am just a vessel through which it can come to life. Michelangelo described sculpting in much the same way; he wasn’t carving David so much as letting David out. Not that I’m comparing my art to the genius of Michaelangelo. But you get what I mean. I’ve been working on honing my craft, creating new music & video content, and releasing singles from the upcoming album periodically while touring as well as working on collaborative projects with other creatives–all the while trying to quiet my sense of perfectionism and comparison.
But “comparison is the thief of joy!” I heard that once and it has become a motto I live by because it has been so true in my experience. Each of us is gifted with our own unique set of talents and experiences, and if any single person suppresses their light, the world will be dimmer. Comparison has no place. I hope my music can inspire others to live fully alive and share their gifts in a way that brings life to them and others because the world would be severely missing out if it didn’t have YOU and all your goodness.
Music continuously makes apparent to me the gift of each person I have the opportunity to meet, and I am grateful for the way music can unite people from all over the world who share a love for the same song. I will never fully understand the depth of this mystery, how for every thousand people who hear a song, it can take on a particular and unique meaning for each person.
A song I write can mean something specific to me, but when another person hears it, that very same song can give that person hope for whatever hardship they are going through, remind them of someone they love, or evoke a memory of their adventures exploring this beautiful world. That blows my mind and it’s an honor to create something that so many people can find meaning in their way. In the heart of the 2020 pandemic, while quarantining with my family, I composed a song called “Auburn Skies.”
With all music events canceled and finding myself with a sudden surplus of free time, I began to teach myself piano. I composed this song at my parents’ house while looking out the window at gorgeous colorful sunsets each night, realizing this uninterrupted quality time with my family was an incredible gift, even though it was brought on by challenging circumstances. One line in particular that came to me was “the world’s pressed pause but your heart still beats.” I interpreted this in light of the world shutting down but life continuing to move on, and yet this line ended up being eerily prophetic for my family.
On November 2nd after wrapping up a day filming the music video for Auburn Skies, I was getting ready for bed when my sister called. I immediately knew something was wrong. “Mom’s heart isn’t beating,” she told me. “Pray. The paramedics are with her now.” My mom’s heart flatlined for 8 minutes. The paramedics delivered 3 shocks via defibrillator, and they worried they wouldn’t have enough power for more than 4 shocks. By some miracle, the 4th shock revived her.
She was airlifted to the hospital in Duluth (where I live), where we spent the next few sleepless nights and the medics tried to figure out what happened. It’s still a mystery, but all the doctors said it’s nothing short of a miracle that she survived–with perfect brain functionality. It wasn’t until later that we pieced together how prophetic my song was: “The world’s pressed pause, but your heart still beats”? My mom’s heart stopped and our whole world pressed pause, but then it started beating again. And I am so grateful. And music has been there through it all, through the joys and sorrows, fears and excitements.
My songwriting helps me process the deep movements of my heart and serves as a memento of special memories–and when I expose that vulnerable piece of my heart to the world, it’s amazing to me how others grab onto the music for themselves, and my songs take on a whole new meaning based on their own experiences and interpretations. Something about music is captivating, life-giving, and energizes the soul. It has a unique power to it that remains a profound mystery that I am ever grateful to get swept up in.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
“If Lauren Daigle is Chocolate and Gregory Alan Isakov is Peanut Butter, indie folk-alt artist Aly Aleigha is a Reese’s Cup.”
2015. “Jealous Love” EP (“extended play” — a 4-track album). Recorded at Innovation Studios in Steubenville, OH
2016 “The Labyrinth” full-length album. Innovation Studios + The Library Studio in Minneapolis, MN.
2017 “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” (single). Engineered by Nate Reinhardt.
2018 Signed with a Record Label in Chicago.
2019 “Waltz of the Traitor” (Single). Recorded with Rekindle Records, Chicago IL at Fort Knox Studios.
2020 Returned to Independent Career, released singles: “Gallicantu” & “Auburn Skies.” Recorded at Fort Knox Studios.
2021 Built Home Studio & recorded singles: “Solstice” & “Hark”. Engineered by Andrew Christopulous of Chicago, IL.
2022 Independently working on new music & collaborative projects with other creatives.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Oh, I love the beauty, the culture & people…. I will always hold a special place in my heart for Ohio, especially for all the ways I was formed during my time there. While attending Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH, I emerged from my shell and began timidly sharing the music within me. Ohio is the origin place of those conferences I attended that first sparked a desire for music in my heart; Ohio is where I began to step out of my comfort zone and onto a stage; it is where I recorded my first EP, and it is where I enjoyed adventures like road trips and hiking through the beautiful rolling hills. I love every opportunity to return. I live in Duluth, MN now, and when I’m not creating music or touring, my favorite place to find myself is rock climbing the beautiful cliffs that plunge into the bright blue-green waters of Lake Superior about an hour and a half up the shore from my house — or on a climbing trip somewhere in this beautiful world. Or adventuring in general! Hiking, camping, kayaking, horseback riding, traveling & experiencing new cultures. In Ohio I always loved hiking and wandering through the green trees. There’s something incredibly special about Ohio, and I love that it impacted my life so deeply. It will always be home.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aly-aleigha.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alyaleighamusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alyaleighaministries
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG-7N4tIvic
- Other: https://linktr.ee/alyaleigha?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=5dbf8a95-382e-45d2-855a-c473a6c73f2a
Image Credits
Kelsey Green Photography, 2023 (Instagram: @kelseygreen.photography), Laura Schissel, and Laura Schissel
