ABOUT | Alysha Brilla

"Brilla is an incredibly thoughtful, self-produced female artist on a mission to promote healing through music"

- Tia Julien, New Feeling

Alysha Brilla is a 3X JUNO Award nominated composer, music producer and multi-instrumentalist weaving together global roots sounds into healing music. Alysha is the 2024 Canadian Screen Award nominated music composer for the score of Fawzia Mirza's 2023 Feature Film "The Queen Of My Dreams"

The child of an Indo-Tanzanian musician, Brilla’s original music is a colourful tapestry. Themes of re-connection with ourselves, each other and the earth are woven into uplifting rhythms and soulful melodies. In 2013, Brilla became one of the first self-produced female artists in history to receive a Juno Award nomination (Canada's Grammy Awards) for her debut album.

As a songwriter and musician, Brilla has collaborated with Bedouin Soundclash, Digging Roots, No Doubt, The Black Eyed Peas and Justin Nozuka. Her recent single, "Love", was mastered by 3X Grammy Award winning engineer Emily Lazar.

Touring the world performing live music and collaborating with communities, Alysha's musical mission unites cross-culturally by featuring a mosaic of genders and ancestral backgrounds on stage. Her distinct and powerful voice and musical tapestry have taken her across Australia, South America, Canada, Europe and Asia. Whether sharing intimate storytelling sets of music or headlining festival stages of tens of thousands with her all-star band, by the end of the show, Brilla always has the audience singing along and leaving with a positive feeling in their heart.

Awards & Nominations:

- 2024 Canadian Screen Award Nomination (Original Music Composition for Queen Of My Dreams)

- 2024 Women In Music Canada Entrepreneur of The Year Honours

- 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 Independent Music Awards Producer of The Year, Pop category
- 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:

-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