Aria Ohlsson

Aria Ohlsson brings a sense of grace and strength, even to her music’s most vulnerable moments. The singer, songwriter, and guitarist made that ability perfectly clear with her first single, 2019’s “Heaven,” a moving tribute to her late mother. That song was also a sign of maturity for a performer and writer who was fast progressing beyond the Justin Bieber, Hozier, and Norah Jones songs that she’d record in her bedroom and release online while still a teenager in Toronto. The singles that followed “Heaven” proved how distinctive Ohlsson could be, and the millions of streams her originals racked up proved her audience was growing right along with her. Her musical palette expanded to include the gentle, yearning folk-pop of 2019’s “Drive,” the dreamier alt-soul of 2021’s “Love on the Weekend,” and more richly nuanced and emotive songs that pointed to lessons she learned from heroes like John Mayer and Amy Winehouse.