Gayle Ackroyd

Gayle Ackroyd and Rodger Stevenson met each other at 11 years of age and started playing music at age 14 at a family cottage. Many years later they reconnected and started playing Jazz and so recorded the "He Surprises Me Album"Hi I’m Gayle Ackroyd: I have been asked the question who am I?
I like to think of myself as a survivor, a dedicated songwriter, a musician who plays guitar, ukulele, piano and an accomplished Singer.
My main influences are Singer Songwriters like Joni Mitchell. Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Leonard Cohen and Singers like Bonnie Raitt, Ella Fitzgerald, Alison Krauss, Emmy Lou Harris.
I listen to Blues, Country, Jazz, Classical and Popular Music. I also teach music lessons and play as often as I can.
The songs I write are usually about things I know or are experiencing or sometimes just inspired by reading an article or watching a movie. I wrote a song about the Boston Bombings and was inspired to write a song after 9/11.
I write about life, love, heartache, disappointment, forgiveness, family, friends, lovers, strangers, seasons, special events like Christmas or Valentines Day.

I like to travel and some of the Countries I have been to either on Holiday or Singing and playing in bands or as a Special Guest or Artist are: Jamaica, Barbados, St Lucia, St Thomas, St Martin, Mexico, Spain, England, Ireland, Switzerland


My hobbies are water colour painting, interior decorating and admiring Architecture like Victorian Painted Houses and Art Deco.