SHAYLA BAILEY

Bold and colorful - whether onstage or in her writing, Shayla Bailey puts her personality front and center. With a passion for creation and trying new things, she's as likely to be found improvising at her piano as she is to be learning woodburning on the fly. 

Shayla's interest in songwriting started with figuring out chord progressions and performing lyrical acrobatics on the ukulele. Songwriting would quickly become an outlet for the difficulties she'd encounter, and an opportunity to answer the questions she found herself asking. Her style is heavily influenced by the showtunes she grew up on, the jazz her mom sings, and the chromaticism and complex rhythms she loves tackling in choir. 

Shayla's musical journey started in choir, and she has stayed active in the choral community for the past twenty years. Shayla is a proud alumnus of the Portland State University Chamber Choir, and had the opportunity to assist industry professionals with the production of the choir's 2020 album 'Translations', as well as their upcoming album, recorded at Skywalker Ranch. Other highlights of Shayla's choral experience include a choral performance of Handels’ Messiah at Carnegie Hall, backup singing for Sarah Brightman’s 2019 Hymn world tour, and international performances in Greece and Portugal. Shayla is featured on the following albums: "Translations" (Naxos, 2020), "Thomas Lauderdale Meets the Pilgrims" (Heinz, 2023), "50" (ORS, 2023), and the upcoming PSU Chamber Choir album, set to release later this year.

Shayla is an avid performer, who loves getting involved in Portland's theater scene. She is a regular performer at the Funhouse Lounge, where she joins a rotating cast for improvised musicals, mysteries, and thrillers. She enjoys musical theater and can be found at Musical Theater - okie, as well as Opera - okie.