Neyla Pekarek (; born September 4, 1986) is an American
cellist
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...
, vocalist, and pianist. She was a member of the
folk rock
Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...
band
The Lumineers
The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing toge ...
from 2010 to 2018.
Early life
Pekarek was born and raised in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Colorado.
She grew up in a household with her parents and one sibling, an older sister.
She began playing the
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
at age nine, performing in her school's orchestra.
She chose the cello because the school's policy was that only fifth-graders could play
woodwind instrument
Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Reed ...
s, while fourth-graders could play stringed instruments.
Explaining her thinking, she said, "...I went with cello because I wanted to get started sooner."
Growing up, she enjoyed listening to powerful vocalists such as
Etta James
Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...
,
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
,
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
, and
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...
.
Her parents introduced her to
American folk music
The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ''roots music''. Many traditional songs have been sung ...
via
vinyl records
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...
of
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
,
Carole King
Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...
, and
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...
.
She attended college at the
University of Northern Colorado
The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...
, where she initially majored in vocal performance and musical theatre.
She changed majors, however, graduating with a degree in
music education
Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...
and planning to become a choir teacher.
Although she did not play the cello much while attending college, she earned some income post-graduation as a cellist at
wedding
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
s.
Career
The Lumineers (2010–2018)
After finishing her degree in music education, Pekarek responded to a
Craigslist
Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, Gig worker, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.
Craig Newmark ...
ad posted by
Wesley Schultz
Wesley Keith Schultz (born December 30, 1982) is the guitarist and lead vocalist for the American folk rock band The Lumineers.
Life and career
Schultz grew up in Ramsey, New Jersey,Jeremiah Fraites. Schultz and Fraites were looking for a cellist to join their band,
The Lumineers
The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing toge ...
. Explaining why she responded to the ad, Pekarek said, "I was living with my parents and kind of just looking for something to do. I thought it would be a fun way to pass my time until I found something full time to do."
For several months, the three rehearsed and played shows around Denver. They decided to undertake a small-scale
concert tour
A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...
for 30 days, playing shows from
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Of her decision to tour with the band, Pekarek said, "I was only 23 years old. If you are going to be in a band and do something stupid, it might as well be then." The 30-day tour was followed by a tour of the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
and a weekly installment at
The Living Room
The Living Room was a music venue on Metropolitan Avenue in the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, which was originally established on Stanton Street of the Lower East Side in Manhattan, New York City in 1988. The Liv ...
, a venue in New York.
While her contribution to the band was most noticeable as a cellist, she had a larger role as a vocalist in live performances, including performing a duet with Schultz.
She took a passive approach to songwriting, with no credits on their first album and two credits on their second album ("Gale Song" and "My Eyes").
Pekarek said that she was content with her limited role in songwriting, stating of Fraites and Schultz, "They're very meticulous and being a part of that writing team is not for the faint of heart...I'm quite content to stay out of it."
Pekarek stated that she struggled with inequality in the music industry as the sole female member of The Lumineers, saying that women "have to talk twice as loud and perform twice as hard, and you have to wear heels! I see myself working really hard to make everything equal between all of us. The boys are learning a lot about it and they've been really supportive, but there've been some growing pains."
She also stated, "...if I were to join a new band, I would definitely not be the only girl in it. It would be a much easier life to have another female around."
On October 18, 2018, it was announced that Pekarek would be leaving the band to pursue a solo career.
Speaking of her reasoning behind leaving the band, Pekarek said:
Solo (2019–present)
To promote the 2019 release of her debut solo album, ''Rattlesnake'', Pekarek announced her initial headlining solo tour since her departure from The Lumineers.
Musical theatre
Pekarek wrote the "folk opera" ''Rattlesnake'' about Katherine McHale Slaughterback, popularly called "Rattlesnake Kate," who was a renowned snake hunter of Colorado. She created a studio album of the songs from ''Rattlesnake''. ''Rattlesnake'' was released on January 18, 2019 via
S-Curve Records
S-Curve Records was founded in 2000 by former Mercury Records executive Steve Greenberg. It is based in New York City. In 2001 the label established a distribution and licensing agreement with EMI Records. Among the hits released by S-Curve b ...
.
In February 2022, the musical play adaptation of ''Rattlesnake'', ''Rattlesnake Kate'' premiered in Denver. In July, it was honored with eight Henry Awards. The Henrys are named for producer Henry Lowenstein and recognize achievements by the Colorado Theatre Guild's member companies. At the 16th annual awards show, the
Denver Center for the Performing Arts
The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) is an organization in Denver, Colorado which provides a showcase for live theatre, a nurturing ground for new plays, a preferred stop on the Broadway touring circuit, acting classes for the communi ...
received 47 nominations, including 16 for ''Rattlesnake Kate''. ''Rattlesnake Kate'' won the awards for Outstanding Musical (tie), Direction of a Musical, Actor in a Musical (Tier 1), Actress in a Musical (Tier 1), Supporting Actor in a Musical (Tier 1), Supporting Actress in a Musical (Tier 1) (Pekarek), Choreography, and Outstanding New Play or Musical.
In May 2022, Pekarek was the speaker at the University of Northern Colorado's commencement ceremonies. Pekarek enjoys singing
barbershop music
Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1930s–present), is a style of a cappella close harmony, or unaccompanied vocal music, characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a primarily ...
plays
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
, and conducting musical
training workshop
A training workshop is a type of interactive training where participants carry out a number of training activities rather than passively listen to a lecture
A lecture (from Latin ''lēctūra'' “reading” ) is an oral presentation inten ...
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...