Barbra Lica

Thanks to Atwood Magazine for featuring “On Christmas Eve” on their “Best New Holiday Songs” list. Check out the link to learn more about the background of the song and maybe find some new holiday music recos. While I’m on Facebook, has anybody here had a chance to listen to “On Christmas Eve”? Any thoughts and feelings? 🤩

Mistletones 2023: The Best New Holiday Songs, Pt. 2! - Atwood Magazine Atwood Magazine’s “Mistletones” showcases the best new holiday songs and exciting covers of beloved classics to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year! This year features Markéta Irglová, Mimi Webb, Äyanna, Beta Radio, Elle Darlington, Gareth Donkin, laye, and many more!

I know this is my fanpage, but for those looking for a bit of insider scoop on what it's like for working musicians in today's industry, check out the latest episode of refolkus with host Rosalyn Dennett and special guest, me. I actually think a lot of this is applicable to a whole bunch of careers!

Episode 24: Reimagining A More Sustainable Music Industry w/ Barbra Lica Listen to this episode and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. In this week’s episode of ReFolkUs, we chat to Barbra Lica about the urgent need f...

It's finally out! Please stream and share with wild joyous abandon, keeping in mind that if you choose bandcamp, 50% of those proceeds will go directly to Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières:

https://bfan.link/on-christmas-eve

Special thanks to Danielle Knibbe for writing this with me, Nick Tateishi for producing/mixing/engineering/playing guitar and bass, and Immersive Mastering for the lovely mastering job that Justin Gray did. Also a big thanks to Megan Cheng for the original artwork and the folks at What's The Story and CYMBA Music Publishing for helping to get the word out.

Barbra Lica — On Christmas Eve New release out November 10, 2023!

Three more sleeps 'till "On Christmas Eve" is released worldwide. In the meantime, here's a few ways you can celebrate Christmas with me:

1) Pre-order your copy of "On Christmas Eve" on bandcamp where 50% of all proceeds will go directly to Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières: https://barbralica.bandcamp.com/album/on-christmas-eve

2) If you're in Toronto, mark November 25th in your calendar 'cause I'll be singing this new tune and a few others, both with my trio (Ft. Will Fisher - Musician and Tom Fleming) and with Matt Dusk as part of Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area's Holiday Magic Tree-lighting ceremony (with Host Keshia Chante. More details here: https://www.bloor-yorkville.com/bloor-yorkville-holiday-magic-featuring-matt-dusk/

3) If you're in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, you can now purchase tickets to my upcoming Christmas show on December 15th featuring the full quintet. It's already over 50% sold so get your tickets asap: https://www.showpass.com/barbra-lica-women-in-jazz-series-sponsored-by-diva-international/

Hope to see you/hear from you soon!! Happy holidays, everyone.

Bloor-Yorkville Holiday Magic Featuring Matt Dusk! Join us in the Village of Yorkville Park on November 26 as we welcome Matt Dusk to the stage for our annual concert and tree lighting.

Hi Everybody,

I know we still have Halloween tomorrow (which nobody celebrates harder than me), but I wanted to take a minute to let you know that my new Christmas tune, "On Christmas Eve", is officially available for pre-order exclusively on Bandcamp. 50% of all proceeds will be going directly to Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières. Thanks so much for all your support and I hope you enjoy this one when it's out on November 10th:

https://barbralica.bandcamp.com/album/on-christmas-eve

Shout out to the brilliant Meghan Cheng who transformed an old picture of me as a kid at Christmas into this beautiful piece of artwork.

Well.. it’s certainly been a week and a half! First off, I won the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Song of the Year Award for “The Ghost of Me” at Sunday’s Ontario Folk Music Awards. THEN I got nominations for TWO Canadian Folk Music Awards / Prix de musique folk canadienne nominations (Song of the Year for “In 40 Years” and Solo Artist of the Year). I’m incredibly honoured and would like to sincerely thank everyone involved including my co-writers (Danielle Knibbe for The Ghost of Me and James Bryan music for In 40 Years), my co-producers Nicolas Tateishi and James Bryan who also played all the guitars and bass on their tunes, my publisher CYMBA Music Publishing, my mixing/mastering engineer, Justin Gray (Synthesis Sound and Immersive Mastering), my photographer Jen Squires - Photographer who did all the photography for this project, my graphic artist Steven Preisman, my amazing band Will Fisher - Musician, Mark Godfrey, Tom Fleming, and Joel Visentin (because let’s face it, nobody’s really a solo artist), Joel again for his contribution on organ for “In 40 Years”, my lovely and patient agent Danielle Devlin (Canis Major Music), the team that made me feel pretty all year and on every photo shoot ( Jamie Potts and Sydney Desnoyers), The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent On Recordings (FACTOR) for funding this entire recording project to begin with, and Ontario Arts Council - Conseil des arts de l'Ontario for helping me get to Folk Music Ontario for the conference and awards ceremony. Of course, I can’t really wrap it up without thanking my beautiful and supportive family including my little Oliver Nicholas Lica…thanks for making me just a little less crazy… but not so uncrazy that I stop writing songs..

This is happening tomorrow and a few tickets are still available! If you’re a Burt Bacharach fan, this one is for you, and the venue is suuuuper cool.

“It starts and ends with Lica’s voice. It’s a bright, vibrant contralto one minute, laconic and syrupy the next when she lets a phrase die on the vine and trail off” – Frank De Blase, Journalist, City Newspaper Grab your tickets to see @barbralica + @brianbarlowmusic perform Friday night for the second show of Barbra Sings Bacharach, covering all-time classics by @burtbacharach ✨🎶 . . #base31pec #princeedwardcounty #livemusic #songbookseries #musiccovers #barbralica #brianbarlowtrio #burtbacharach #classicsongs #concertvenue #intimateconcerts #atthebase #sergeantsmesshall

If you haven't seen us play the new album yet, you have a few more chances:

1) July 13 - 39 Days of July Festival - Duncan, BC
2) July 15-16 - Vancouver Island MusicFest - Comox, BC
3) July 23 - UpTown Waterloo Jazz Festival - Waterloo, ON
4) August 20 - Markham Jazz Festival - Markham, ON

Or if you're looking for something a little different, catch me covering my favourite Bacharach tunes at Base31 in Picton on July 28, August 9, and September 1 with the Brian Barlow Trio.

Wherever I see you, it's gonna be a good time. Let's goOOOOO!!

P.S New "Girls Like Me" T-shirts have officially dropped on my Bandcamp: https://barbralica.bandcamp.com/merch/girls-like-me-custom-t-shirt-signed-on-request

Had the most fun frikkn shows at Victoria Jazz Society and JazzYYC !!! Next stop… Saskatoon!! Any familiar faces coming to see us at SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival tonight?

Ft. Matt Giffin - keys/vox, Tom Fleming - guitar, Will Fisher - Musician - drums, and Mark Godfrey - bass

As my band gets ready to play the east coast this week and continue the “Imposter Syndrome” tour, I thought I’d leave this little article here that I participated in. There’s a mixture of voices but mine is hopefully quite clear. Thank you to all of you who have attended live shows like mine and purchased tickets and/or merch. It’s harder than ever to make a living as an artist and we appreciate you for supporting what we do.

Showcase festivals offer hope while highlighting the grind for emerging musicians | CBC News North by Northeast is showcasing more than 300 performers this week, just after Canadian Music Week wrapped up. Artists are promised a platform and a chance to build their networks — but some also debate if it's worth the expense.

Missed the show at El Mocambo? No worries. Catch the full band again in Orangeville on June 4th! I’m actually taking my driving test there on May 30th, so if nothing else, you can find out whether or not I passed…live on stage!! Hahah.. seriously though, it’ll be fun so if you’re closeby come out.

'I feel good in Orangeville': Barbra Lica marks return for Blues and Jazz Festival Orangeville has a special place in Barbra Lica’s heart.As she tells it, the Juno-nominated singer had her pandemic honeymoon in town and the Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival was the

Tonight’s the night!! Me and Sammy 6:30 pm at The El Mocambo!!!

Barbra Lica performs unreleased new song featuring Sammy Jackson Barbra Lica performs a brand new, unreleased song live at JAZZ.FM91 featuring Sammy Jackson.

Thanks to JAZZ.FM91 for the interview and song opportunity. We’re so excited for this show tomorrow and we hope a bunch of you are coming!! Don’t forget to use promo code MOM25 if you haven’t grabbed your tickets yet. Can I get a w00t w00t we’re seeing you at The El Mocambo??

What changed when Barbra Lica and Sammy Jackson became mothers “We’re just troubadouring all over for these boys we’re in love with who give us all the affection we’ve always wanted,” Barbra Lica and Sammy Jackson say in this interview.

Announcing Barbra Lica's 2023 Cross Canada Tour (Including our upcoming hometown Toronto show with Sammy Jackson) - https://mailchi.mp/2210524f2e09/get-ready-for-my-dance-debut-15816824

Officially announcing a Toronto show next month!

JazzInToronto presents: Barbra & Sammy's Mothers' Night Out at El Mocambo.

Come celebrate Mother's Day with me and my amazing friend/fellow momma - who happens to be a JUNO Award Winner - Sammy Jackson. We have brand new songs perfect for the occasion and we invite all human moms, fur moms, and people who simply love moms to attend. Early bird tickets on sale now including some VIP ones! Tickets below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jazzintoronto-presents-barbra-sammys-mothers-night-out-at-el-mocambo-tickets-604167730947

Hey Facebook family!! I know I've been MIA for a bit but I've been hard at work trying to do a couple big things:

1) Assembling the funding to FINALLY record my chamber orchestra project (wish me luck please...I'm about 25% of the way there)

2) Booking shows around the continent so you can hear the latest songs live. Here's a little preview of what's coming up before I officially post every date and location:

March 29: Singing a guest song at the prolific James Bryan's birthday extravaganza: details: https://www.revivaleventvenue.ca/event/james-bryans-big-birthday-revue/

April: Sun Valley in Idaho (Special songwriter-centric "Parlor in the Round" show), High Point and Goldsboro in North Carolina

May: Big Toronto Show!! Details coming very soon. I'm sooo excited for this one. It's a co-bill with my favourite JUNO-award winning vocalist ever.

June: Orangeville (Ontario) and a couple dates in Nova Scotia

July: Saskatoon, Calgary, Vancouver Island, Waterloo (Ontario)

March 2024: ALASKA!!

Looking forward to seeing you guys in person over the coming months!! Let me know if you have any special requests in the meantime...and hopefully I can finally make some nerdy "Girls Like Me" T-shirts in time for a few of a these!!

James Bryan's Big Birthday R***e Hugh's Room Live presents James Bryan, live onstage. Join James Bryan and some of his best musical friends to celebrate his 50th birthday. Special guest include (so far!) Juno Award Winners, Divine Brown and Sammy Jackson, singer Charmie and guitarist Jeff Gunn. James Bryan McCollum(PKA James Bryan)...

What an amazing audience. Thanks to the Eastern Manitoba Concert Association EMCA and everyone in Pinawa for attending our concert this past Friday and to George Gibson for this lovely review. Can’t wait to come back to your beautiful town!!

The Manitoba tour has officially started with tonight’s show in Minnedosa!!! Next up, Neepawa, Pinawa, and Winnipeg. Thanks to Classic 107 for taking the time to do this interview and write up. We’re so looking forward to playing the new album across Manitoba!!

Imposter Syndrome: Juno-Nominated Jazz singer Barbra Lica performs this Saturday This Saturday, March 4th, at 8:00pm the West End Cultural Centre will be welcoming to the stage, Juno nominated singer-songwriter vocalist Barbra Lica. Known for her fun, thoughtful lyrics and beautiful, unique voice, Barbra Lica has established herself as a fixture on the North American jazz circui...

Out of curiosity, who here is coming to our final orchestra show tomorrow in Kitchener? Any familiar faces!?!? I'm really really looking forward to this one!! If you're thinking about it and don't have tickets yet, click below:

BARBRA LICA SONGS FOR ORCHESTRA – The Registry Theatre A unique, career spanning concert from across Barbra’s five albums of beautiful originals, and classics standards. Featuring lush arrangements written especially for the newly created 14-piece Toronto Chamber-Pop Orchestra.

Extra extra!! What happens when two Toronto musicians have completely different pandemic experiences and both make albums? Read all about it in today’s issue of The Toronto Star: https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/2022/10/09/two-fixtures-of-toronto-jazz-scene-take-artistic-departures-with-new-albums.html?utm_source=share-bar&utm_medium=user&utm_campaign=user-share

Thanks Nick Krewen!!

P.S. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Ernesto Cervini, I highly recommend you check out his music. 🔥🔥🔥

Two fixtures of Toronto jazz scene take artistic departures with new albums Singer Barbra Lica released the pandemic-inspired “Imposter Syndrome” and drummer Ernesto Cervini based his 15-track album “Joy” on the novels of Canadian mystery author Louise Penny.

Good morning friends!

"Imposter Syndrome" is out today in every form in all the places. I can't believe this project is ready and out there despite a pandemic, a super difficult pregnancy followed by a new baby, and my bright idea to start a chamber orchestra. HA! Please grab a copy at any of the links here (bandcamp is the only one with physical copies) so I can get all the ears on it. I appreciate everyone's support over this pandemic and even before that and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this music:

https://bfan.link/imposter-syndrome-1

In addition to the four tunes you've already heard, it features three all new tracks including "Take Care of You", my big ode to empathy that I co-wrote with my beloved guitarist Tom Fleming and co-produced with the widly talented Christine Bougie, "What Do You Say" the song I wrote and produced with one of my favourite musicians of all time, James Bryan music, to propose to my then boyfriend, and my slightly odd song poem, "Sour Women"...performed and produced by just me and Drew Jurecka with a little bit of piano, a lot of strings, and a buttload of strong feelings on being a woman.

Thanks with all my heart to all the folks who wrote and produced/performed with me so that this album could exist: Danielle Knibbe (Music), Tom Fleming, Alexandra May, James Bryan music, Joel Visentin, Justin Gray, Nick Tateishi, Drew Jurecka, Christine Bougie

Thanks also to all the additional musicians who played on the this album (Detailed credits available on my bandcamp): Mark Godfrey, Alex St. Kitts, Marito Marques, Joshua Van Tassel, Rich Grossman, Sarah Thawer, Tom Moffett, and the many people who contributed their voices to "Girls Like Me".

And yet more thanks to the following key players: Justin Gray at Synthesis Sound and Immersive Mastering for mixing and mastering this whole project in both stereo AND Dolby ATMOS (Check out the ATMOS if you can...it's soOOO cool), Believe for distributing the digital album, Indie Pool for pressing physical copies on a tight turnaround, CYMBA Music Publishing for their publishing support, Canis Major Music for all her work to book shows around these songs, Beth Cavanagh for her hard publicitying, Jen Squires - Photographer for the album/single photography, Matilda Armstrong for the graphics, Matt Barnett for the physical disc 2D illustration, Sydney Desnoyers for hair styling/makeup, and Jamie Potts for everything hair always.

Last, but most certainly not least, I want to thank The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent On Recordings (FACTOR) without whom none of this would be possible. Thank you for funding this album and giving me multiple extensions. We finally did it tho! Look at us go!
XOXO

B

Barbra Lica — Imposter Syndrome New release out October 07, 2022!

It’s Tonight!! If you wanna be the first to hear the new EP, check out our set at 10 pm tonight - Supermarket on Augusta Ave (as part of the Kensington Market Jazz Festival). We’ve got Mark Godfrey the lumbering Londoner slappin da bass, the beast from the east, Will Fisher - Musician on the hit tubs, Tommy the Tank Fleming on guitar and Joel Visentin the Winnipeg whisperer on keys. Limited number of “Imposter Syndrome”advance copies will be available for sale and free copies will go to the first five people through the door!

Hello world!

I hope work was kind to you today. Just looking ahead over here and wanted to draw your attention to a few upcoming events.

First up: October 2nd! I'm playing a set to close off the Kensington Market Jazz Festival at 10 pm and if all goes to plan, I WILL have a limited number of advance copies of my upcoming EP: Imposter Syndrome. Not only will be playing down the whole album live, but we'll include one-night only performances of songs that DIDN'T make the album (mostly with good reason). At least one of these is very very weird. Tickets are $30 cash at the door and I know it's a late set, but I promise it's gonna be a good time. Write me in the comments if you're planning on coming so I can put my anxiety about late sets to ease. hahah

Secondly: Announcing my last show with the Toronto Chamber-Pop Orchestra for a while on November 18th at The Registry Theatre in Kitchener. This is the last concert funded by the generous folks at Canada Council for the Arts | Conseil des arts du Canada before we head into a long period of pre-production for a full-scale orchestral recording. Come to the show and stick around afterwards to chat in the lobby and let me know which songs you'd like to hear recorded. More info and tickets can be found here: https://registrytheatre.com/event/barbra-lica-songs-for-orchestra/

I hope to see you soon at one of these shows, and if not, stay tuned for the EP drop on October 7th. It'll be on my bandcamp as well as all your favourite streaming platforms!

XOXO

B

Hi friends,

I have a new song out today and this is possibly the most angsty I've ever been in a song. The truth is that I've been making music for a long time, and you can't do that without developing a wicked case of Imposter Syndrome (incidentally the name of my new EP coming at you in October). I came to my friend and fellow songwriter Danielle Knibbe (Music) with some of these feelings, explaining my long lonely city wanders and my love-hate relationship with social media...my unwillingness to dig into a particular vibe and becoming a marketing guru...and this is what we came up with! Add to that the dark production stylings of my collaborator Nick Tateishi and the sound of an old projector to illustrate my cyling mindscape of fears and regrets...and you have "The Ghost of Me". I'm throwing alot of feelings at you here and I hope some of you can relate. The link to stream is below and please let me know what you think.

https://bfan.link/the-ghost-of-me

Written by: Barbra Lica and Danielle Knibbe
Produced by: Nicolas Tateishi and Barbra Lica
Mixed by: Justin Gray Synthesis Sound
Mastered by: Justin Gray Immersive Mastering
Vocals by: Barbra Lica
Guitars/Synth Programming by: Nicolas Tateishi
Photography by: Jen Squires - Photographer
Graphics by: Steven Preisman

Thanks to JAZZ.FM91 for posting about “Blue Monday”!! Wahoooo

Barbra Lica shares new single Blue Monday Barbra Lica has shared a new singled called Blue Monday, offering an “outstretched hand” to anyone who’s having a hard time starting a new week.

Happy Civic Holiday everybody!

To celebrate this very special edition of a Monday where many got to sleep in, I'm dropping a brand new tune. "Blue Monday" is my second co-production with keyboardist/producer/friend extraordinaire Joel Visentin and this time, we're leaning in on the hardest day of the week (most weeks anyway). Consider this a lover letter to all the lonely, anxious, and chronically depressed folks out there that simply can't get out of bed sometimes. We see you and we get it:

https://bfan.link/blue-monday-1

Written by: Barbra Lica, Danielle Knibbe (Music) & Ally May
Produced by: Barbra Lica & Joel Visentin
Mixed by: Justin Gray ( Synthesis Sound )
Mastered by: Justin Gray ( Immersive Mastering )
Vocals: Barbra Lica
Keyboards and Synth Programming: Joel Visentin
Guitar: Rich Grossman
Bass: Alex St. Kitts
Trumpet: Tom Moffett
Artwork by: Good Job Hi Five