Gayle Ackroyd’s Musical Identity has always been firmly planted in Roots Music or thatwhich encompasses folk, country and blues.

An Ontario Girl who grew up on a Dairy farm then spent her teenage years in Brampton North West of Toronto, Gayle played piano as a child and then guitar when she started writing songs at the age of 14.

Gayle was influenced in her younger years by Singer Songwriters like Carol King, Janis Ian, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. As her interest in becoming a singer developed she listened to Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt, Janis Joplin, Besse Smith and Billy Holliday. Gayle says “Two of the songs I remember singing were God Bless the Child and Stormy Monday”

After illegally slipping into a bar when she was under age to watch a Toronto Band who came to town she knew she wanted to be a singer and at 17 she enrolled into Oakville’s Sheridan College Musical Theatre Program where she studied Acting, Singing, Guitar, Piano and Dance.

Her first successful audition was as a back-up singer for the cross country touring A&M Recording Artist Cliff Edwards formerly of the hit duo The Bells (“Stay with me a While”) and it is there that her understanding and appreciation for Country Music began. As Gayle recalls “I would sing along with Emmy -Lou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton records and then learn all the harmony parts!” But Gayle wasn't content to simply sing other people's songs. She had been writing since the age of 14 and in the intervening years her productive pen produced hundreds of songs, ranging from folk to country to blues. Gayle would go on to form her own bands and record her collection of original music. She released four albums, to date, all full studio productions, and although they all reflect the artists who influenced her, Gayle's own voice and sound soon became her own and today, more and more her work is now influencing other artists as they build their careers.

When asked, Gayle is humble about her own work and in a recent interview Gayle was quoted saying “I guess by today’s comparisons, you could say my music sounds like Sheryl Crow meets Adele with a bit of Taylor Swift on the side. My passion is and always has been writing songs and every chance I get to perform them I grab that opportunity full heartedly!”

Gayle loves to play live shows, especially with her band member and guitar player of 18 years Ed Kopala. She says, "I can experiment vocally with scat on some of the songs I do and he imitates me with his guitar, it is one the biggest crowd pleasers we do."

While Gayle keeps busy writing new music for a 2012 recording project, she is now also taking festivals and house concert dates for the New Year. Her growing number of Fans look forward to her powerful and energetic live shows--look for one near you this year!

Gayle Ackroyd 519-821-0063, cell-647-449-6909
16 Sherwood Dr. Guelph, ON, N1E1R6
www.gayleackroyd.com
gayle.ackroyd@hotmail.com
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