by Nancy E. McCarthy
Singer/songwriter Calya Lea of Geneva cruised into 2026 with fresh original songs and a step back from solo gigs. She now often performs as Calya and the Coy Dogs, an exciting new musical partnership. Her Coy Dog band mates, all from Geneva, are Josh Decker on electric guitar, bassist Mitch Klicki and James Ralls on drums. “The boys add color to my tunes,” Calya said. “They bring life to spaces otherwise not filled with acoustic guitar and voice alone.”
And equally important: “They seem to really see me and believe in my vision.” Though Calya wants her songs heard by wide audiences, she’s not pursuing fame. She’s seeking connection. “Music to me is a nonnegotiable form of self-expression and connection wrapped into a vibrational frequency,” Calya explained.
Years before stepping on stage to perform her own songs, Calya, 33, hung with musicians and sang other people’s tunes with a band. Years before that, there were mother and daughter car rides listening to music and acing name-that-tune style quizzes. Her mother, a music fan with a great CD collection, passed that love on to her daughter. “She’ll tell you I was listening to Sinéad O’Connor in utero with headphones on her belly,” said Calya.
A budding songwriter
Calya has lived in Geneva since 2023 but grew up in the Binghamton area. “I would sing in front of the mirror with a hairbrush, like so many young girls before me and was determined to try out for Star Search,” Calya said. Star Search proved elusive, but she landed choir solos and lead roles in high school musical theater productions. Calya learned piano from her grandfather and primarily taught herself guitar. The guitar was a present from her mother when Calya was 16.
From 2011 until 2019, Calya dated Joe Kollar of Driftwood, a popular Binghamton-based Americana folk/rock touring band. She counts Driftwood among her main musical influences along with John Prine, Joni Mitchell, Guy Clark and Adrienne Lenker. Before their relationship ended, Calya and Kollar worked on a side project, a band called The Neighbors with another Driftwood player, Will Sigal. Calya was the singer but hadn’t started writing her own songs yet.
Calya and Sigal later became a couple and had a child in 2020 (Calya, now single, co-parents their daughter with Sigal). In 2021, Calya started writing songs. The impetus was time alone after her split from Sigal. “It was the first time in my adult life that I didn’t have a partner and gained a lot of self-worth and self-reflection,” she said. “Only then did I recognize my songwriting abilities.”
Her writing process is solitary and starts with lyrics based almost entirely on her life experiences. “It’s how I process my emotions at any given time, and the songs usually come to me in a matter of minutes,” said Calya who describes her style as a mix of folk and soul genres.
“Calya’s songwriting cuts through the noise with a depth of the soul and the spirit of an angel,” said friend and fan Shannon Prozeller of Springwater. Prozeller is among a group of trusted friends who often get a first listen of a new tune in its rough form.
Also in 2021, Calya began performing her original songs as a solo acoustic guitarist/singer act all around the Finger Lakes Region. She had a residency at The Downstairs in Ithaca (which closed in December) and also appears frequently at Lake Drum Brewing in Geneva, Hollerhorn Distilling in Naples and many other venues.
“Calya has such a great presence and is so relaxed when interacting and connecting with her audience,” Karl Neubauer who co-owns Hollerhorn with his wife Melissa. “She’s a powerhouse of a singer as well, has an amazing vocal range and such a refined sensibility with dynamics. She can belt when needed but can just as easily sing with delicate refinement if the music or song dictates that.”
Building audiences
In addition to local shows, Calya has snagged some high-profile gigs. In July 2024, she was tapped as a songwriting instructor during Culture Camp, an annual companion event preceding the venerable GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance in Trumansburg. She played at the Drumstock Music & Arts Festival in downtown Geneva in September 2025 (also the debut of the Coy Dogs). And in May 2026, Calya and the Coy Dogs will perform to a national audience at the Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival in Pittsboro, NC.
Calya recorded her first album Consistently Inconsistent in 2022. It was produced by musician/producer Aaron Lipp at his Temple Cabin Studios in Naples. The goal was to showcase her songs and gain traction as a songwriter. She has plans to head back to the studio to record an EP in 2026, this time with the Coy Dogs, at Electric Wilburland Studio in Newfield. She’s excited to share the progression of her songwriting since her last album.
Calya is happy with being a working musician and a mom. It’s a juggling act but one that she embraces and is proud of. She also waitresses and is finishing up a Natural Resources Conservation degree at Finger Lakes Community College. The degree would provide credentials to lead educational seminars and classes on related topics such as forestry or wetland delineation in the future.
But the future will reveal itself in its own sweet time. “I’m not the best planner,” she admitted. “I tend to take it all as it comes and experience it unfolding.” In the meantime, Finger Lakes audiences and beyond can stream Calya’s songs and enjoy her live performances as a solo artist, in the acoustic duo Sorry Janey (with Ithaca musician Margaret Harper) and with her newest venture Calya and the Coy Dogs.
“Calya is sincerely one of our favorite artists to host, and we are so excited she has been working with a band to help move her music into new territory for exploration!” said Neubauer.
Catch Calya performing solo at Hollerhorn Distillery on April 12, 2026. Follow Calya on Instagram @calyaleamusic. Visit calyacoydogs.com for band information and dates.
