The Station on Jasper continues to announce their headliners for their opening weeks, and is extremely excited to announce Canadian artist Lights for one special night only, Thursday, July 12th
Thursday July 12, 2018
Station on Jasper, Edmonton AB - 10526 Jasper Ave
Doors open at 7pm.
Tickets and info here at StationOnJasper.com
Always pushing boundaries, alt-pop phenomenon Lights has never shied away from a challenge. Through her first three records, Lights built an incredibly passionate fan base, selling out tours around the world, earning 120M in U.S. streams, over 250K in U.S. album sales, three JUNO Awards including a 2018 win for Pop Album of the Year, and three Gold album certifications; not to mention the 2M + rabid fans who follow her every move online. Yet through this success, she felt like she had more important things to say through her music but just didn’t know how to get them out. Thus was born Skin&Earth, the Canadian singer’s fourth record and companion comic book series of the same name, entirely written and illustrated by Lights herself. As Billboard explains, “Concept albums are nothing new, but it’s the lengths to which Lights takes her fourth album Skin&Earth that sets it apart.” Her recent anthemic singles “Giants” and “We Were Here” bring the immersive comic book world to life, as Lights – and her alter-ego leading lady – struggle to find hope in a hopeless world.
The graphic novel version of Skin&Earth will release this July, as Lights continues to tour in support of the project throughout the summer.
“This is fantastic,” says Johnny Lee, one of the managers of The Station. “We are thrilled to have Lights coming to Edmonton to play in such an intimate setting. Lights on our stage is going to be incredible.”
The Station on Jasper is taking over the music venue space in the Alberta Block which housed CKUA for 57 years. The Station is setting out to become the best mid-size live music venue in Western Canada and have now announced Serena Ryder, The Watchmen, Meghan Patrick, and now Lights as some of the first musicians to hit their stage.
Lights first cracked the Canadian charts in May 2008, when the debut single, "Drive My Soul," introduced her synthesis of youthful, sellable alt-rock and contemporary synth pop. Born in April 1987 in Timmins, Ontario, Valerie Poxleitner spent her childhood traveling alongside her missionary parents. She also took up songwriting at an early age, using verses from the Bible to prompt titles for her new material. She began writing music for Sony/ATV Music Publishing at the age of 18; shortly thereafter, however, she ditched the behind-the-scenes gig and hit the road with her own instruments, playing shows in the Great Lakes region and eventually landing a contract with the Toronto-based punk label Underground Operations. An American partnership with Doghouse Records followed, and the young songwriter issued her first recording, the self-titled Lights EP, in April 2008. Several singles found a warm reception on Canadian radio outlets, while Lights became a vibrant and endearing presence on MuchMusic's TV countdown.
Early the following year, Lights won a Juno Award for New Artist of the Year and landed a spot on that summer's Warped Tour, all the while preparing her debut album, The Listening, which was released in October 2009. The album peaked at number seven on the Canadian albums chart and eventually achieved gold status. In 2011, Lights returned with her sophomore full-length album, Siberia. Produced with Brian Borcherdt and Graham Walsh of Toronto's indie electronic ensemble Holy Fuck, the album showcased a mature, sonically sophisticated sound. Two years later, Lights delivered Siberia Acoustic, which featured her performing reworked acoustic versions of songs off Siberia.
Lights' third studio album, Little Machines, appeared in 2014. Recorded while she was pregnant with her first child with husband and blessthefall lead singer Beau Bokan, the album showcased her return to a more melodic if no less electronic-inclined sound. The album debuted at number five in Canada and won the 2015 Juno Award for Pop Album of the Year. As she did with Siberia, Lights followed Little Machines with the acoustic album Midnight Machines.
In 2017, she returned with her fourth studio album, Skin & Earth, featuring the singles "Giants" and "Savage," the latter of which featured Twenty One Pilots drummer Josh Dun. A multi-media concept album centering on a female protagonist in a post-apocalyptic world, Skin & Earth was accompanied by a comic book written and drawn by Lights.