ALYSHA BRILLA
2025 Women In Music International Leadership Honouree, 2024 Canadian Screen Award nominee and three-time JUNO Award nominated songwriter, composer, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, audio engineer and artist Alysha Brilla creates healing music by weaving together global roots sounds. Brilla composed the score for Fawzia Mirza’s acclaimed feature film The Queen Of My Dreams, a work that showcases her talent for emotionally resonant, culturally rich compositions.
As a songwriter and musician, Brilla has collaborated with a stellar lineup of artists, including The Black Eyed Peas, Bedouin Soundclash, Digging Roots, No Doubt, Paula Sofia and three-time Grammy-winning mastering engineer Emily Lazar. In 2013, Brilla made history as one of the first self-produced female artists to receive a JUNO Award nomination, setting a new standard in Canadian music. She later won Producer of the Year at the 2018 Independent Music Awards for her album Rooted, with her music featured across film, television and Spotify Editorial Playlists.
With her original music, Brilla has toured the world, performing at renowned festivals like WOMAD and captivating audiences across South America, Australia, Asia, Europe and North America. As a 2022 Keychange Artist selected by the European Commission, Brilla’s unique ability to blend technology, music and community has made her an influential voice in the industry. She has served as a resident artist and guest lecturer at institutions around the world, including the School of Audio Engineering in Australia, University of Waterloo and Berklee College of Music.
Awards & Nominations:
- 2025 Women In Music International Leader of The Year Honour
- 2024 Women In The Studio Cohort, Music Publishers Canada
- 2024 Canadian Screen Awards Achievement In Music - Original Score
- 2022 European Commission Keychange Artist representing Canada
- 2021 “Best Local Artist/Band” Best of Waterloo Region Awards
- 2020 Waterloo Region Arts Award, General Arts
- 2018 Producer of The Year, Pop category, Independent Music Awards
- 2018 Juno Music Award Nominee Adult Contemporary Album of The Year, “Rooted”
- 2016 “Best local artist/band” Best of Waterloo Region
- 2015 Anokhi South Asian Media Award Music Artist Of The Year
- 2015 “Women of The Year; 30 Canadians who rocked 2015”, Chatelaine Magazine
- 2015 Juno Music Award Nominee Adult Contemporary Album of The Year, “Womyn”
- 2015 International Songwriting Contest Lyrical Finalist “Immigrant”
- 2014 CBC Music Awards Rising Star Shortlisted
- 2014 Winner Oktoberfest Woman Of The Year Award Arts and Culture
- 2014 Juno Music Award Nominee Adult Contemporary Album, “In My Head”
Panels & Speaking:
-2025 National AccessAbility Week, "Creativity, Community and Connection", Waterloo
-2025 International Women's Day, WRSBC, Waterloo
-2024 CTV National News Canada, Women In The Studio Program 2024
-2024 SXSW Music In Film Roundtable, Austin Texas
-2024 Music Publishers Canada "The Music of The Queen Of My Dreams", Los Angeles
-2023 St. John's International Women's Film Festival “Lunch with Queen Of My Dreams”, Newfoundland
-2022 Folk Alliance International “Healing Through The Power of Sound”
-2022 Iceland Airwaves Gender Equity in The Music Industry, Reykjavik Iceland
-2022 Femme Folk Festival Keynote Music Technology X Spirituality, Kitchener
-2022 Breakout West Healing Through Sound, Calgary
-2022 M for Montreal Panel, Independent Artist Distribution Tips
-2021 Guelph Black Heritage Anti-Racism Summit “Queer BIPOC Representation in the Arts”
-2021 Wilfrid Laurier University “Women, Art and Activism”
-2021 Northern Power Summit “Music Gone Global”
-2021 Folk Music Ontario “BIPOC Artists and Music Festival Bookings”
-2021 Multicultural Artist Panel, Good Co Productions Kitchener
-2021 London City Music Awards “Music Producer’s Secret Sauce”
-2020 Manitoba Music w/Zaki Ibrahim “Cultivating Community + Healing Through Artistry”
-2020 Folk Alliance International Panel “Women In Music: A Continued Call for Change”
-2020 Folk Alliance International Panel “The (Music Industry) Future Is Green”
-2019 Wilfrid Laurier University “Encounters In Music & Community; A Racial Justice Perspective”
-2019 Cape Breton Regional Municipality Arts, Culture & Events “Women In Music”
-2019 Canadian Music Week “Women In The Studio” Panelist Toronto
-2018 Women In Music Canada “Play Your Gender” Documentary Screening & Discussion
-2018 Canadian Music Week “The Producers; Spring Time for Hit Lists” Panelist Toronto
-2018 YWCA She Talks Speaker Cambridge
-2018 If I Ruled T.O. Youth Conference Speaker Toronto May
-2017 Folk Alliance International Panel “Global Roots Music & Folk”
-2016 Diversity in Folk Music Panel, Kansas City
-2015 Mundial Montreal World Music “Contemporizing Tradition”
Select Reviews & Publications:
New Feeling “Demystifying Sound Healing: Alysha Brilla on Her Album Circle”
CBC Arts “Why Alysha Brilla Aims to Heal with Music”
The Community Edition “Alysha Brilla’s Musical Path to Healing”
SOCAN Magazine “Music as Medicine”
Select Public Performances of Original Music:
Zanzibar, Tanzania - Mercury’s Jazz Bar
London, England - Amazing Grace
Reykjavík, Iceland - Iceland Airwaves Festival
Cannes, France - MIDEM Music Festival
Rishikesh, India - Rishikesh Yog Peeth
Santiago, Chile - WOMAD Music Festival
Singapore - Singapore GP Festival
Yellowknife, NWT - Yellowknife Pride Festival
Queensland, Australia - Woodford Folk Festival
Montreal, Canada - Montreal Jazz Festival
Los Angeles, U.S - Legacy Blues & Jazz Festival
Hamburg, Germany - Reeperbahn Festival
Halifax, NS Canada - Dalhousie Pride