Valerie Vigoda — Electric Violin & Voice

Valerie Vigoda occupies a rare position in American music: electric violinist, lead vocalist, and principal lyricist — three roles that, in her hands, function as one continuous act of storytelling. She is the sonic signature of GrooveLily, the instrument in her hands as recognisable to the band's fans as any voice or riff in the indie-theatre world.

From Band Leader to Theatre Maker

Vigoda launched what would become GrooveLily under her own name — The Valerie Vigoda Band — in 1994, before the trio settled into its current identity alongside keyboardist Brendan Milburn and drummer Gene Lewin. The electric violin was always central: amplified, effects-capable, able to cut through a rock mix or dissolve into something delicate and folk-inflected. In GrooveLily's genre-blend of rock, folk, jazz, and musical theatre, the instrument never plays a supporting role — it leads, argues, and sings alongside Vigoda's actual voice.

As lyricist, Vigoda brought the band's theatrical instinct into focus. Her words carry the weight of story-songs built to do real narrative work, and that skill translated directly into the group's move into book musicals. Her collaboration with Milburn — he composes, she writes lyrics — has produced three fully realised theatrical works. Striking 12, their reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl set on New Year's Eve, gave the band a foothold in off-Broadway and regional theatre. Sleeping Beauty Wakes followed, a contemporary spin on the classic tale. And Ernest Shackleton Loves Me — perhaps the most ambitious of the three — centres on a 21st-century single mother who makes contact across time with the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, and has reached audiences well beyond New York City.

What She Brings

To watch Vigoda perform is to understand why the electric violin became GrooveLily's identity rather than a novelty. She uses the instrument not as decoration but as a full participant in the conversation — looping live phrases with a loop pedal to thicken the sound, soloing against Milburn's keyboards, anchoring a ballad with a single sustained line. Her vocal work is equally unshowy and equally committed: she sings the way her lyrics are written, in service of the song and the character inside it.

“To watch Vigoda perform is to understand why the electric violin became GrooveLily's identity rather than a novelty.”

That combination — violinist, singer, storyteller — is what makes Vigoda's place in GrooveLily irreplaceable. The band exists as three equal parts, but the electric violin is where you look first, and the lyrics are what stay with you longest.

GrooveLily is an unofficial fan tribute. We have no affiliation with the band, their management, or any label.