Bio

If what passes for country music these days gives you a headache, Brennen Leigh has the remedy.” So wrote the Austin Chronicle in a review of the talented singer-songwriter’s latest album The Box. She mixes the traditional sounds of country and bluegrass effortlessly and with deep admiration, yet manages to remain contemporary with subject matter that is both fascinating and universal.

 

Born in Fargo, North Dakota, Leigh lived in Moorhead, Minnesota where she began performing with her brother Seth Hulbert. In 2002, she decided to give Austin a try. A dependable mandolin player with a clear, voice, Leigh won over such influential Texas country artists as Dale Watson, who asked her to join him on stage, and Jesse Dayton, who she met at a festival in France. They, in turn, introduced her to a broad range of country music fans and like-minded musicians.

 

2004 was a banner year for the then fledgling singer-songwriter. She began a Tuesday night residency at Austin’s Evangeline Cafe, one that continues to this day. She also released Too Thin To Plow, a satisfying display of her firm grasp on Americana that won her some opening dates with Ralph Stanley.

 

Holdin’ Our Own, a collection of duets with Dayton, followed in 2007. While drawing rave reviews for its gilded harmonies reminiscent of country royalty like George & Tammy, Johnny & June, and Conway & Loretta, it was notable for the fact that Leigh and Dayton co-wrote half of the album’s tunes. It was also during ‘07 that Leigh was honored to join personal hero Charlie Louvin’s band on mandolin.

 

Her many associations brought further recognition, which grew into time spent collaborating with noted Nashville songwriter John Scott Sherrill. Americana champion Jim Lauderdale was one of the special guests on The Box. The 2010 release also featured the talents of Sunny Sweeney who reciprocated, by including the song “Amy,” a co-write with Leigh, on her 2011 disc Concrete.

 

In the long standing Austin tradition of established artists encouraging new local musicians, Leigh has most recently lent her mandolin and acoustic guitar talents to the Carper Family, an all woman trio and kindred spirits with a very traditional, yet inspired sound.

 

Today Leigh is concentrating on a sound closer to bluegrass. She’s taking her love of the honest, haunting sounds of the Louvin Brothers to another level by mixing in unconventional, lifelong literary influences like W.B. Yeats and Shakespeare. She’s also expanded her audience to Europe, especially in Norway where she’s performed 8 times since 2005.

 

In the multifaceted Austin music scene, Brennen Leigh stands apart with talent that is distinctive and a sound that is uncommonly satisfying.

 

 

 

"There's more: There are two women making records in Texas who are absolutely essential listening if you love real country music. Their names are Brennen Leigh and Miss Leslie, and they both blew me away. . . —Holy mackerel!"

     -Robert K Oermann, Music Row Magazine, October 2008

"If what passes for country music these days gives you a headache, Brennen Leigh has the remedy. The Box is traditional. No loud guitars or booming drums, just simple instrumentation, uncomplicated sentiments, and the local's honeyed vocals. The young singer-songwriter has an obvious affection for the Louvin Brothers. Contemporary artists like Patty Loveless and Jim Lauderdale make similar moves, mixing bluegrass and country with deep admiration. Lauderdale even sings harmony on the title track, about mementos people keep locked away either because they want to remember or, more likely, because they don't. Leigh has progressed tremendously since she moved to Austin from Minnesota as a 19-year-old. It's doubtful she could've written "Sleeping With the Devil" at a younger age or delivered it with such plaintive resolve. It's like that inside The Box, songs of wounded characters, hearts broken, and restlessness, all delivered with a touch that's distinctively warm and human."

-Jim Caligiuri, Austin Chronicle

 

“Everybody has a box, whether it’s proverbial or literal,” says Austin-based artist Brennen Leigh, discussing her forthcoming album, “The Box,” and a friend whose story prompted her to write the title track. “Everybody’s got some kind of stowed-away trove of mementos, and things that they don’t care to remember or that they do. In [my friend’s] case, he had the box duct-taped shut so that he wouldn’t open it.”" 
- Bliss, Pasadena Weekly, Jun 17, 2010

 

 

"Lone Star State's best-kept secret"

     -Joey Guerra, Houston Chronicle 

Texas Singer Brennen Leigh’s newest release,The Box, ranges from traditional country to traditional bluegrass, but the important word to note there is “traditional.” There’s nothing that’s bombastic or puts attitude ahead of ability. The lyrics don’t pander or boast. Most importantly, it manages to be both traditional and contemporary, using time-tested country and bluegrass sounds but without feeling like a relic from a long-gone era.

Leigh, an Austin-based singer/songwriter who’s recorded several albums on her own as well as one with guitarist Jesse Dayton, has a clear, lovely voice that convincingly fits both the country and bluegrass selections. The songs on The Box–touching on heartbreak, restlessness and wanting–don’t require powerhouse vocals, and Leigh manages to do a lot with a little. In “Green Rolling Hills,” the opening track, she sings “I used to love these rolling green hills up here, didn’t think I could get any higher/These fields used to make my eyes well up, now all I wanna do is set them on fire.” Leigh expresses her new-found frustration with her old life without belting out the chorus. Elsewhere, the title track has Leigh wistfully singing about a box of mementos from a past relationship that she can’t throw away, while “Backsliding Blues” and “Distracted” are more playful. If radio wasn’t so focused on uptempo songs, the latter tune would be Lee Ann Womack’s next #1 single.

With the wrong production choices, Leigh’s voice could have gotten lost in the shuffle. Fortunately, the arrangements are all very tastefully done and nicely complement her vocals. Producers Leigh and Tommy Detamore keep it pretty simple and straightforward–easy on the electric guitar, heavy on the steel, why use one fiddle when twin fiddles are available.

The problem that simple arrangements and subdued vocals can create is that no one song stands out. The distracted listener may find him or herself halfway through the album, thinking that only two or three tracks have played. Little touches like the accordion on “Sleeping With The Devil” or the always-welcome Jim Lauderdale’sharmony vocals on the title track help add variety to the mix.

Don’t try listening to The Box in a car stereo roaring down a highway or as background noise during household chores. It requires a little more attention than that, but in the end, it’s time well spent.

-Sam Gazdziak, The 9513, 2010

Preachin' love for the Louvin Brothers as much as the Lord, Brennen Leigh gave both ample voice and praise Sunday morning at Threadgill's. The soft-eyed, simply spoken local songstress took the stage late for the 204th Kick-Butt Gospel Brunch down on the Riverside but promptly transformed the tavern to tabernacle with a rollicking declaration of "Old Camp Meeting Time." Traditional tunes were primarily on order from the quartet – piano, fiddle, stand-up bass, and Leigh on acoustic guitar – handing down the gospel according to Hank, Roy Acuff, and Mother Maybelle, though Billy Joe Shaver's "I'm Just an Old Chunk of Coal" roused the congregational spirits to their loftiest level. The plaintive fiddle on "When They Ring Those Golden Bells" and "Kneeling Drunkard's Plea" helped wash away Saturday night's sins over migas, while the Tanya Tucker-tinged twang of Leigh's voice was enough to melt the butter on your biscuits. Although her country croon belies her Minnesota upbringing, Leigh seems equally at home in the West Texas hills or Blue Ridge back-holler, delivering "Peace in the Valley" with a down-home conviction. Joined by Maria Mabra for the start of the second set, harmonies swelled "In the Sweet By and By" and "I'll Fly Away," while a sublime "I Am Weary, Let Me Rest" proved inspired. As Leigh insisted, "This is gospel, not a funeral," and she kept faith by leading the band into honky-tonked hymns of "I Saw the Light" and "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." If there's any truth to the title of Leigh's latest album, Devil's on My Trail, then he's got one tough row to hoe.

-Texas Platters by Doug Freeman, Austin Chronicle

Threadgill's, Jan. 28 2007