Events

[POP] Anyone who legally changes their name to that of their musical project to avoid copyright infringement is dedicated to their craft, and that’s exactly what Canada-based Valerie Anne Poxleitner did over a decade back at the start of her career. Having been called “Lights” as a nickname for many years (a play on her last name), she wasn’t yielding to another artist who had already laid legal claim to the moniker, which is only trumped by someone that can claim the name as their own, officially, on the books. Call it a rather extreme exercise in branding, but the name change has served her well. Lights (which used to be stylized in all caps, but no more) got a big boost in the late aughties when some of her tunes got used in an Old Navy ad campaign. Since then, her records have sold very well, particularly in Canada, where she’s a star, which has helped her maintain a Sony/ATV publishing deal. In 2015, her Little Machines release took the Juno award for Album of the Year. Now four full length albums in, with a husband (Blessthefall’s lead vocalist Beau Bokan) and a child, she’s touring the U.S. in support of last year’s Skin and Earth (Warner Bros.) and its latest single, the post-apocalyptic “We Were Here.” Lights is largely an electronic-pop artist, using modern vocal production and elements of trap in her tunes to produce something both catchy and glitchy at the same time. Once described early on by a Toronto-based blogger as a nervous performer, her tenacious touring schedule has paid off—now she commands the stage. See for yourself at Town Ballroom on Tuesday, March 6 with Aussie trio Chase Atlantic and Toronto DJ DCF in the opening slots.