Jay Gilday is an Indigenous folk musician from Canada.

Jay Gilday
BornYellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
GenresFolk music
OccupationMusician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar

Life and career

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Gilday was born in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and spent his youth there. He is a member of the Dene Nation through his mother, with his father being of Irish heritage.[1] He is the brother of singer-songwriter Leela Gilday.[2] After high school, he attended the University of Alberta, where he spent much time as a busker in Edmonton's LRT system.[1] He was later featured in an episode of the television series Dene: A Journey that filmed his return to the Dene Nation later in life.[3]

Gilday performs both with an eponymous eight-piece rock band[4] and as a solo artist.[1] In 2017, he was a recipient of a Western Canadian Music Award for his album Faster than Light, being named Indigenous Artist of the Year.[4]

Albums

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Gilday's first album, All That I Can Give for Now, was released in 2008. In 2016, he followed up with Faster Than Light. In 2019, Gilday released The Choice and the Chase, his third album.[1]

Personal life

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Gilday has four children.[5]

Discography

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  • All That I Can Give for Now (2008)
  • Faster Than Light (2016)
  • The Choice and the Chase (2019)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Singer-songwriter Jay Gilday takes subtler acoustic path to find his better musical self". Edmonton Journal.
  2. ^ "Singer-songwriter Jay Gilday to perform in Smithers". Interior News.
  3. ^ "Truth of My Heart". APTN.
  4. ^ a b "Jay Gilday previews new album to sold-out crowd". Cabin Radio.
  5. ^ "Singer-songwriter Jay Gilday thrilled about first trip to Nunavut". Nunatsiaq News.