when i paint my masterpiece, the new album Ada Lea—the moniker of Montreal-based musician Alexandra Levy, is an epic, 16-track opus. It’s a kaleidoscopic exploration of the transformations art can bring: the vision of an uncompromising artist dancing bravely and freely between registers and across mediums. The album marks a reset—a quiet revolution. After years of relentless international touring, Levy felt an urgent need for community and renewal. Gruelling road schedules with very little support left her wondering: who am I really doing all this for? The system was uncaring and broken, and so she envisioned a new healthy and healing mode of musical genesis. Levy went back to school to study painting and poetry, got a job, and began teaching.
The shapely, intuitive songs that comprise Ada Lea’s third album are surprising, imagistic, tactile. They stand before us and we feel their brushstrokes. By the end of these sixteen songs, it’s clear: when i paint my masterpiece isn’t chasing perfection, it’s comfortable in the magic of being. These songs are alive with poetic specificity and a wide-open heart—deeply felt, often strange, and always reaching. There’s an optimistic and plainspoken wisdom in the lyrics, building on Ada Lea’s singular songwriting style of surprising harmonic and melodic turns—now with a newly rich, organic sound that rewards slow listening. The masterpiece, not a product, is the process.
Having just completed a string of dates in the UK, Levy will embark on an extensive North American Tour in September including performances in Windsor, Toronto, and Hamilton.
WATCH / SHARE “midnight magic” HERE
WATCH / SHARE “something in the wind” HERE
WATCH / SHARE “baby blue frigidaire mini fridge” HERE
ADA LEA TOUR DATES
Aug 31 – Rouyn-Noranda, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, QC @ Festival de Musique Émergente)
Sep 10 – Burlington, VT @ Radio Bean
Sep 11 – Providence, RI @ AS220
Sep 12 – Catskill, NY – Avalon
Sep 13 – Turner Falls, MA @ Brick House
Sep 15 – New York, NY @ NightClub 101
Sep 16 – Washington, DC @ Quarry House
Sep 17 – Durham, NC @ Pinhook
Sep 18 – Nashville, TN @ East Room
Sep 19 – Chicago, IL @ Judson & Moore
Sep 20 – Windsor, ON @ Phog Lounge
Sep 21 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Oct 14 – Montreal, QC @ La Toscadura
Oct 15 – Hamilton, ON @ Rooney’s
Oct 17 – Kalamazoo, MI @ TV Station
Oct 18 – Milwaukee, WI @ Sky High
Oct 19 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cloudland
Oct 20 – Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
Oct 22 – Butte, Montana @ Carpenters Union Hall
Oct 24 – Seattle, WA @ Ballard Homestead
Oct 25 – Vancouver, BC @ Kingsway
Oct. 26 – Whidbey Island, WA @ Bailey’s Corner
Oct 27 – Portland, OR @ Turn Turn Turn
Oct 29 – San Francisco, CA @ The Knockout
Oct 30 – Los Angeles, CA @ Scribble
Nov 1 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Pearl on Main
Nov 2 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
Nov 4 – Lincoln, NE @ Reactor Coffee
Nov 5 – Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel
