Barbra Lica is a JUNO-nominated singer-songwriter-producer based in Toronto, Canada. A seasoned act on the Canadian and American club and festival circuits, Barbra Lica has performed everywhere from New York City’s legendary Birdland to Toronto’s prestigious Koerner Hall. She has also headlined at festivals across the continent, including Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Vancouver International Jazz Festival and Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, and opened for the likes of Christian McBride, Pat Metheny, Bob Dorough, and Terence Blanchard.
Barbra’s debut album That’s What I Do was released to widespread acclaim in 2012, ranking her in Canada’s Top 5 Jazz singers on the CBC, as well Top 5 up-and-coming Toronto jazz artists on blogTO. Shortly after, her band made their Japanese debut live at the Tokyo International Jazz Festival in 2015 for over a thousand Japanese fans and Barbra received her first JUNO nomination for her album I’m Still Learning. Her 2018 album, You’re Fine, marked the introduction of Folk and Americana elements to her repertoire and has amassed over 6.8 million streams to date on Spotify. More recently, her first self-produced EP, Imposter Syndrome (2022), garnered her two 2024 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominations in the categories of Single of the Year (In 40 Years) and Solo Artist of the Year. The album single, The Ghost of Me, took home the 2023 Ontario Folk Music Awards CMRRA Song of the Year prize. In addition to writing for herself, Barbra has written songs for such artists as jazz crooner Matt Dusk (Entertainment One/Universal), rising J-Pop singer Harumi (Sony Music Japan), pop-folk diva Jill Barber (Outside Music), and Taiwanese pop recording artist, Morrison Ma (Universal Music Group/X Entertainment). She is also the founder, arranger, and lead vocalist for the Toronto Chamber-Pop Orchestra, an all-new folk-jazz-classical crossover project featuring all-original music cinematically arranged for 14 instruments plus voice.
Name:
Barbra Lica
Genre:
Singer-Songwriter/Jazz/Folk
Founded:
2012
# of Albums:
6
Latest Album:
Imposter Syndrome
Latest Single:
The Things We Don’t Say
Latest Video:
Favourite musician growing up:
Ella Fitzgerald
Favourite musician now:
Medium Build
Guilty pleasure song:
Troye Sivan – One of Your Girls
Live show ritual:
Sit around laughing with my band friends in the greenroom
Favourite local musician:
Sammy Jackson
EP or LP?
LP
Early bird or night owl?
Night Owl all the way
Road or studio?
Studio please, but I kinda love the road too
Any shows or albums coming up?
I’m working on two albums at the same time. The first is with Ben Whiteley (The Weather Station). The first single (The Things We Don’t Say) just came out on April 16th, so I’d love for everyone to have a listen. The next single will be out very soon too! I’m also working on a chamber orchestra album with my buddy Joel Visentin featuring 14 Toronto-based instrumentalists.
Where can we follow you?
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
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Rapid Fire Local Questions:
What is your favourite local restaurant?
Kimchi Korea House on Dundas
What is your favourite street in your city and why?
Baldwin St. I just think it’s charming AF and you can’t beat the baked goods at Butter & Blue.
What is your favourite park in your city and why?
King’s Mill Park because it’s kind of epic. I filmed part of a music video there once, and it was the best day.
What is your favourite music venue in your city?
Definitely The Cameron House. I feel like I live there.
What is your favourite music store in your city?
I have a weird thing where I want all my music signed by the artist, so I tend to buy all my music at live concerts…and I go to concerts way too often.
