Welcome and Event Kick-off Gaelynn Lea Musical Performance and Live Q&A

Disability Action Network welcomes Gaelynn Lea as the Opening Keynote Speaker for the 2020 La Crosse Area No Limits: Ability Awareness Week. This year our week coincides with the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. We hope that you can join us in celebrating this important legislation. -- This will be the Kickoff Event of the week starting at 6:00 PM CT with Gaelynn's Musical Performance at 6:30 PM CT. Please see La Crosse Area No Limits: Ability Awareness Week for more information. -- American Sign Language Interpreting and Captioning Services will be provided for this performance. -- The Disability Action Network (DAN) is a collaboration of agencies and community members working to create an inclusive culture that supports people with barriers to live the life people with disabilities desire. Our goals are to develop an inclusive and engaged community, support impactful activities, and promote awareness and advocacy. -- More about Gaelynn Lea Music: "Velvet Underground meets Little House on the Prairie." (Jeremy Ylvisaker) Gaelynn Lea won NPR Music's Tiny Desk Contest in 2016, and she's been on the road ever since playing her unique mix of haunting original songs and traditional fiddle tunes. So far the singer-songwriter and violinist has appeared in 43 states and 8 countries - she's graced the stage of renowned venues like Nashville’s Music City Roots, The Kennedy Center and House of Blues Chicago. Although she most often headlines her own shows, Gaelynn Lea has also opened for several well-known bands such as Wilco, The Decemberists and the industrial rock supergroup Pigface. -- Gaelynn Lea performs from her electric wheelchair. She began playing violin 25 years ago after a creative music teacher helped her to adapt a playing style that suits her frame. Lea holds her instrument like a tiny cello and loops her classically trained rhythms and melodies with her Memory Man pedal to create a “symphonic cacophony that is both glorious in its reach and profoundly introspective”. (Collins de la Cour, Ear to the Ground) Her original songs explore the contrasting nature of existence – dark and light, birth and death, anger and forgiveness, sorrow and joy. -- Gaelynn Lea’s “music is imbued with a melancholic poetry so potent it must be heard to be believed.” (Boston Globe) -- In addition to performing and recording, Gaelynn also does speaking engagements about disability rights, finding inner freedom, and accessibility in the arts. In recent years, she has used her music as a platform to advocate for people with disabilities and to promote positive social change. So far she's been able to share her perspective on PBS NewsHour, BBC World News, The Moth Radio Hour, and through two widely-viewed TEDx Talks. Gaelynn is currently working on a memoir about her touring adventures and disability advocacy that she plans to release in 2022. -- Gaelynn Lea Official Website: www.violinscratches.com