Val Blaha

Born and raised in southern California, Val Blaha started singing almost before she could talk. According to recollections of her Colombian grandmother, Val would sit in her crib early in the morning and sing while waiting for each new day to start. At age 6 Val started taking piano lessons. She soon was playing Mozart, show tunes and Jim Steinman songs and received an award for Individual Achievement from the Motion Picture Council of Southern California at age 12. She performed at countless public and private events throughout her teens, and also studied music theory, hymn playing, guitar and voice.

Val studied piano accompaniment at UC Santa Barbara for 3 years, and went on to get undergraduate and graduate degrees in Anthropology. Upon realizing that she was not going to save the world by working day jobs to pay off her student loans, she turned to self employment and started teaching piano lessons in 2001. Val has been performing and songwriting since 2006.

Val's musical influences include Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, Patty Griffin, Johnny Cash, John Prine, Guy Clark, Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, the Indigo Girls, Kris Delmhorst, Brandi Carlile and Townes Van Zandt. In addition to piano and vocals, Val plays guitar, bass, and mandolin, and performs regularly in the Willamette Valley (Oregon). Water, Ashes & Wood, her second album, was released 1/5/15, and features performances by Tim Ellis (guitar), Tony Furtado (banjo, slide guitar), Tim Connell (mandolin), and Paul Brainard (pedal steel).