Gayle Skidmore

A born songwriter, Gayle Skidmore has written over 1700 songs since she began songwriting at the age of 8. Rather than choosing her calling, her natural ability and innate passion for music made her music career unavoidable. Gayle Skidmore’s latest album and coloring book, “Sleeping Bear,” was nominated for Best Pop Album in the 2014 San Diego Music Awards. She also won Best Singer-Songwriter in the 2013 San Diego Music Awards, and her song "Paper Box" was featured on HBO's new show "Looking."

Classically trained on the piano from the age of 4, Gayle Skidmore also plays at least 20 other instruments, including the mountain dulcimer, banjo, folk harp and balalaika. Her attention to detail and involvement in every step of the creative process, from producing her records to doing the artwork for her albums, show that she is completely dedicated to her craft. In August 2013, Gayle released her second full-length album and coloring book, "Sleeping Bear," on Raincoat Records. This followed her first 7” vinyl release, “Zombie Heart,” put out by her sponsor, Ninkasi Brewing Co. In 2014 her cover of “Lola” by The Kinks, a collaboration with Brandon O’Connell of Singing Serpent, was placed on a national commercial. and she was featured on Time Warner Cable’s SoCal Beat.

Gayle Skidmore’s love of whimsy, poetry and magic are evidenced by the sets she creates for her stages, which have included a curtain of origami cranes and a giant octopus holding a teacup. She has opened for the likes of Jason Mraz, Lisa Loeb, Sean and Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek, Sam Phillips, Grant-Lee Phillips, Coeur d’Pirate, and many others. She has recorded with such artists as The Softlightes, Bushwalla, Jason Mraz and Tyrone Wells, and branched out into several genres including electronic swing, indie rock, and classical music. Germany’s most prominent newspaper, the Seuddeutsche Zeitung, named her “Die Schutzpatronin der Gartenzwerge,” the Patron Saint of Garden Dwarves, in an interview promoting her tour of Europe, which Skidmore found delightful. She has also toured nationwide in the US, and in the UK, Asia and Europe, and was a Sunset Sessions artist in 2012.

Gayle Skidmore finds endless inspiration in the whirlwind of life. She has never experienced writer’s block, and she is always experimenting with new formats. When she isn’t busy learning a new instrument, singing, painting, or writing lyrics and melodies, she composes parts for her cellist and violinist. She enjoys baking cookies and making origami for her fans.