Saya Gray on her debut album and gigging as a teen with a fake ID

Q with Tom Power

Saya Gray might have just released her debut album earlier this year, but it’s far from her first foray into music. She’s been gigging since she was a teen, performing alongside much older musicians at Toronto jazz clubs where she had to use a fake ID to get in. Eventually, she started touring with the likes of Daniel Caesar and Willow Smith. Now, her debut album, “Saya,” has just been shortlisted for the 2025 Polaris Prize. Back in February, Saya sat down with Tom Power to tell us what it’s like to learn to play music before learning to speak, what making experimental music means to her, and where she’s going next in her music career.