| Carleigh Aikins Bio: Carleigh Aikins is a Canadian vocalist (Toronto) who has certainly put in her “ten thousand hours” traversing the globe and its stages. Since building her name across North America as a sought-after live/studio session back-up singer and band member, she now finally emerges with her own debut solo record entitled JUNK JEWELRY. JUNK JEWELRY is a collection of songs Carleigh wrote over the span of a decade while touring. The songs all began as junky demos that were diamonds in the rough, waiting to shine; with the assistance of collaborators including Marcus Paquin (The National. Arcade Fire), Brad Barr (The Barr Brothers), Don Kerr (Bahamas, Ron Sexsmith), Drew Jurecka (Dua Lipa), and members of Patrick Watson, The Mynabirds and Zeus. Having spent years as the shiny pretty thing supporting other artists, on the sidelines, Aikins touches upon many themes on JUNK JEWELRY. The album title speaks to her imposter syndrome induced by the stars she worked with. She expresses experiences with industry colleagues who’ve treated her like garbage, and the devastation of being on the road while attempting to lead a domestic life. She sings about relationships torn apart by her ex-partners’ severe addiction and secret double life as they both embodied the ‘rock star” lifestyle. The album is also sprinkled with lyrics touching on the toxic influence of the Catholic Church, and empowering anthems for women, victims and anyone who’s been treated like junk. Her voice shines and sparkles as the common shimmering thread across its ten tracks. Aikins is a former member of Colorado-based band Paper Bird, whose self-titled record was produced by John Oates (of Hall & Oates). She is a member of the Toronto super-group Dwayne Gretzky; performing her uncanny renditions of Janis Joplin tunes to sold-out North American crowds. Carleigh is known for her work appearing with Juno-Award winner Bahamas on tour and on records including the Certified Canadian Gold single Lost In The Light. She has also appeared as a member of the live line-up for artists such as Jack Johnson, Macy Gray, Royal Wood, Dan Mangan, Patrick Watson, Hannah Georgas, Donovan Woods, The Weather Station, La Force ft. Feist, Jason Collett, Jeremie Albino, and has made guest appearances with Shakey Graves, Lucius, The Weakerthans, and on tour as a trio with Jon Russel and Josiah Johnson of The Head and the Heart, to name a very few. Her career singing with various acts has lead her to sharing stages with legendary Artists including Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Robert Plant, Hall & Oates, The Rolling Stones and contemporary acts such as Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Michael Kiwanuka, Calexico, City and Colour and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. Her voice has graced many world stages such as Royal Albert Hall, Red Rocks, The Ryman, The Fillmore SF, L’Olympia Paris, Massey Hall, Budweiser Stage, Rogers Centre and Roy Thomson Hall among countless others. She’s appeared on Conan O’Brien, the final season of The Colbert Report, and performed with several Orchestras including the TSO and The Colorado Symphony. With syncs on shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Sportsnet Hockey Night In Canada, and The Ranch, her voice can be heard on an extensive list of recordings, with collective streams totalling over 150 million and counting. She was named by Tom Power of CBC q as “CBC q All-Star” having made more appearances on the National radio show than any other Artist. As quoted by Arts & Crafts Records’ Artist Dan Mangan: "Every musician I know owes Carleigh a favour. We’d cross paths at a summer festival, or five. She’d sing in a band that was performing, or three. Never centre stage. Didn’t matter. She would inevitably end up the focal point. It was never her name on the badge around her neck, but everybody knew her, and she knew everybody. Carleigh was my favourite part of every band she didn’t lead, on or off the stage. She is a magnet. It turned out she’d been writing songs the whole time, making wildly creative demos. She was stockpiling ideas. Like a student who takes a decade to complete a dissertation that revolutionizes their field. Watching Carleigh sing makes me feel like a teenager. It doesn’t feel like a musician-friend trying to have a go. It feels like an action for the sake of the action. It feels like joy." | 
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