GALIA ARAD

Galia is a true Midwestern girl -minus her values and domestic abilities.

"I hear a way to a man's heart is his stomach. That's why I pretend to cook pies."  Although Galia feels weird writing a bio in 3rd person, she’s heard that it looks more professional. Galia Arad is an American singer/songwriter who is currently based in Dublin.  Galia’s classical musician parents and classical voice training steered her directly into the arms of rock ‘n’ roll. She has toured the USA, Ireland, England (supporting Jools Holland), and Japan (where she not only gigged, but was the first place winner of a sake chugging contest and runner up of a wet kimono contest.)  As for her less impressive accomplishments, she is the winner of Songwriter Hall of Fame's Abe Olman award for Excellence in Songwriting, and winner of The Great American Song competition.

 

Galia, with much noise, has also caught the attention of one of her music idols, Shane MacGowan (from The Pogues), who wrote the liner notes for her sophomore album "Ooh La Baby", and is featured on two tracks. Also featured on her folk/pop album: guitar legend Marc Ribot (who simply describes Galia as a “fucking good songwriter”), Bashiri Johnson, Elvis Costello's rhythm section, and many other musicians that she loves to brag about.  Two of the best days of Galia’s life was playing Royal Albert Hall and Kew Gardens, doing support for Jools Holland, so you can be sure Galia has been also bragging about that. One of the the worst days of her life was when Elvis Costello emailed her and she called everyone she knew, and then she found out it wasn't Elvis, it her really mean friend Bob who was pranking her.  Her song “I Must Have You” appears in the first episode of the show Felicity and the Lifetime Original movie “Honeymoon for One”.  Her song "What Am I Gonna Do" appears during the opening credits of the Marcia Gay Harden movie "After Words".  Her cover of Britney's "...Baby One More Time" was also featured on Marvel's "Cloak & Dagger". Also one single line of her song "I Must Have Misunderstood" can be heard on MTV's Teen Mom.

 

As for passion projects, Galia has hosted 60 episodes of her podcast called “Hustle Heartbreaks” where she interviews people about the embarrassing parts of following their dreams, laughs a lot, and also cries a lot.  She also works as a facilitator at Oberstown Children Detention Campus, and with the incredible organisation Music For All Seasons- working with incarcerated youth on music and writing. She has a passion for social justice and actively working towards a kinder, fairer world. 

 

She is obsessed with her family, Britney Spears, stray dogs, and her backup singers, the Lollipops. She played Glastonbury Festival with the Lollipops and is still traumatized from the weekend. She was raised in Bloomington, Indiana where her heart always is, but has just moved to Dublin where her heart also is. (She has a big heart, or so she says. To her three boyfriends.) She’s kidding about the boys- she thinks bio writing is awkward and just wants to break the ice by making jokes. Galia will change this bio tomorrow and learn to act more confident and professional, hopefully also by tomorrow.