"I've complained about it my whole life because I've got to spell it and spell it and spell it but it has served me well," said Nashville recording artist Brennen Leigh as she lamented her name's unique spelling.
There are terms for artists whose journeys have taken them far and wide, such as "Well traveled" or "Bouncedaround" come to mind but Brennen is neither of those; she's more like a confident stroll and that confidence has served her as well as her name. You see, Brennen's vocal stylings and lyrical content are honest and open with a vulnerability that many artists strive for yet few seem to achieve. What is elusive to others seems to flow from her with ease giving her an air of approachability wrapped in a twinge of intimidation.
Perhaps to fully understand this talented artist, we need to know some of the path she's trod to achieve the success she has enjoyed thus far. This guitar and mandolin player has written material that has been recorded by Lee Ann Womack, RodneyCrowell and Charley Crockett to name several and it all started out in the upper mid-west.
"Yeah, it's not interesting to me but it might be interesting to others," she said with a laugh. "I grew up in Minnesota, just on the North Dakota state line; I was a musician as a teenager there with my brother. My brother and I toured as a a duo, kind of a bluegrass thing and then I moved to Texas when I was 19 and I lived there for just shy of 15 years and then I moved here to Nashville in 2016 and this is a great place to live with a great music scene; it's a wonderful community. I think Nashville is definitely a country music town as it has always been but I think in a way that's changing a little; you still have that core of country artists and musicians which is very, very strong but I'm seeing other genres here more than there used to be."
Along the way she has put out five solo albums, amassed a loyal following here in the U.S and has a strong presence in Europe and Scandinavia and has recently released her sixth album titled, "Prairie Love Letter;" which she initially balked at doing but is rather happy that she did.
"Well, it was new in September;" she explained, "I was anxious about that because no one knew how long this would last, no one knew how the reception of original music would be and there was an element of concern that maybe the material would feel obsolete with the gravity of what has been going with all of the 2020 issues; racial unrest and the pandemic of course and there was an element of worry that I was doing something kind of selfish or self-serving by putting out music. There was also the worry that it would get totally buried because it seemed like every day there was some traumatic thing in the news and I was concerned; what if I put it out and then the same day "Insert world event here" might happen but I put it out and I kind of just trusted my cape and I'm so happy I did because a lot of people told me that this wqs something that got them through this tough time and the subject matter did feel relevant to people. I really gambled on that but it was a good choice and now I feel that much more connected to the fans."
"Prairie Love Letter,"is sort of a concept album," she continued. "Over the course of the last decade and a half I have lived in the South and I have spent the whole time enjoying where I was but I also had this thread of homesickness. So, I was slowly writing songs about home because that's just where my heart went and so I ended up accruing enough of these tunes that were kind of about that area and I ended up compiling them for this sort of love letter to the prairie and the whole album is about that area."
"The whole album" as she says, is 12 tracks of descriptive stories; musical pictures if you will which seem to give one a smattering of her life "On the prairie" at various stages and just like with every good story, there is a supporting cast. Brennen often shares her stage with others but there's one gentleman in particular who she has been working with for quite some time; a guitarist whose vocals compliment hers and one who helps create an on-stage chemistry that engages audiences immediately.
"Noel McKay, he's a Texan and I met him at a gig in Seguin, TX a long time ago and we started playing together and then we moved here in 2016. He's here now, we both write for the same publishing company and we both play around Nashville and tour, well, we did tour; we'll see when that kicks off again."
However, Brennen doesn't stop there; she gives credit where credit is due and she readily hands out praise for one of her co-writers on the new record.
"Melissa Carper is a dear friend and she is putting out a new album that is absolutely fantastic and I mention her because we wrote the second track on my album together; a song called "Billy & Beau" which is a song about some friends back home; it's a love story. Melissa is so special and so fantastic; you've got to really listen to her."
To discover more about Brennen Leigh or purchase her music; please visit www.brennenleigh.net.
That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!
This week's event listings
Broken Goblet Brewing 2500 State Road Bensalem, PA (267) 812-5653 Sat. 8 p.m. Kinky Quizzo Wed. 8 p.m. Open Mic w/ Cara Cartney All Shows 21+Championship Bar 931 Chambers street Trenton (609) 396-5457 Tuesday 8 p.m. "Jam Night" Hosted by Nikki & Caleb Ages 21+COARadio.com 125 South Main Street Hightstown (609) 241-7103 Sun. 7 p.m. "Rock On Radio" feat. Jet StreamCooper's Riverview 50 Riverview Plaza Trenton (609) 393-7300 Thurs. 7 p.m. Unleashed Fri. 7 p.m. Shameless Sat. 7 p.m. Journey Tribute w/ "Highway Run" Sun. 11 a.m. "Sunday Latin Brunch" Mon. 7 p.m. "Sunny Monday Blues Jam" and Country Music Night Tues. 8 p.m. Karaoke w/ Karen and Mark All Events Ages 21+Dog & Bull Brew House 810 Bristol Pike (Rte. 13) Croydon, PA. (215) 788-2855 Fri. 6 p.m. Vince Schneider Sat. 4 p.m. Mike Brill Sun. 4 p.m. Eddie from NBANGleason's Bar 6700 Mill Creek Road Levittown, PA (215) 943-4781 Thurs. 6 p.m. Ryan & Alex Duo Fri. 6 p.m. "Happy Hour" w/ Casey WeldonGreenhouse 90 South Main Street New Hope, PA (215) 693-1657 Thurs. 8 p.m. "Musicians Night Out" Hosted by Lovelight Tues. 8 p.m. Open Mic Hosted by Sam Ryan Wed. 8 p.m. Trivia Hosted by Dwayne DunlevyHopewell Valley Vineyards 46 Yard Avenue Pennington (609) 737-4465 Fri. 4 p.m. "Music & Merlot" feat. Roundabout Sat. 4 p.m. "Music & Merlot" feat. Rainbow Fresh Sun. 1 p.m. "Jazzy Sundays" feat. Vince di MuraKillarney's Publick House 1644 Whitehorse-Mercerville Road Hamilton (609) 586-1166 Thurs. 5 p.m. "Girls Night Out" w/ Radio FictionMcGuinn's Place 1781 Brunswick Avenue Lawrence (609) 392-0599 Tues. 9 p.m. Karaoke New Hope Winery 6123 Lower York Road New Hope, PA (215) 794-2331 Sat. 1 p.m. Russell Norkevich Sun. 1 p.m. Stranger ThingsNJWeedman's Joint 322 East State Street Trenton (609) 437-0898 Sun. 2 p.m. Ziggy IsaacsO'Fowley's Tavern & Grill 200 State Road Croydon, PA (215) 785-6998 Fri. 8 p.m. DJ Entertainment Sat. (11 a.m.) Polar Bear Plunge Fundraiser feat. (1 p.m.) Never EnoughPalmer Square Nassau Street Princeton Thurs. 4 p.m. "Skating On The Square" $10/$12 (Includes skate rental) Fri. 4 p.m. "Skating On The Square" $10/$12 (Includes skate rental) Sat.12 p.m./4 p.m. "Skating On the Square" $10/$12 (Includes skate rental) Sun 12 p.m./4 p.m. "Skating On the Square" $10/$12 (Includes skate rental) Pasquale's Sports Bar 9078 Mill Creek Road Levittown, PA (267) 202-6268 Fri. 5 p.m. Happy Hour feat. Bill MonachPatriots Crossing 1339 River Road Titusville (609) 737-2780 Thurs. 8 p.m. Open Mic Night Wed. 7 p.m. "Quizzo" Recklesstown Farm Distillery 2800 Route 206 North Columbus (609) 784-8046 Thurs. 6:30 p.m. TriviaRevere Restaurant 802 River Road Ewing (609) 882-6365 Wed. 7 p.m. David BoydTemperance House 5 South State Street Newtown, PA (215) 944-8050 Thurs. 7p.m. "Blues Night" w/ Steve Guyger Fri. 7 p.m. Bad Hombres Tues. 8 p.m. Trivia w/ Righteous Jolly (outdoors) TGI Fridays 3535 U.S. Route 1 North #275 Princeton (609) 520-0378 Fri. 4 p.m. Kim Yarson & SonThe Buck Hotel 1200 Buck Road Feasterville, PA (215) 396-2002 Fri. 7 p.m. Love Junk Sat. 7 p.m. Danny Lunch Duo
The Cool Cricket 216 Burlington Street Fieldsboro (609) 291-9110 Fri. 9 p.m. Karaoke Sat. 8 p.m. UnionTrain Wreck Distillery 25 Madison Avenue Mount Holly (609) 288-6300 Sat. 7 p.m. Dave Murray Sun. 2 p.m. Radio FictionTriumph Brewing Company (New Hope, Pa. Location) 400 Union Square New Hope, Pa. (215) 862-8300 Thurs. 8 p.m. Trivia Sun. 7 p.m. Open Stage All shows 21+ Working Dog Winery 610 Windsor Perrineville Road Hightstown (609) 371-6000 Sat. 1 p.m. Brooke DiCaroWWFM 89.1 FM HD2 Radio MCCC Old Trenton Road West Windsor Jazzon2.org Mon. 7 p.m. "Danny Coleman's Got The Blues"
Danny Coleman is a veteran musician and writer from central New Jersey. He hosts a weekly radio program entitled “Rock On Radio” airing Sunday evenings at 7:000pm EST on multiple internet radio outlets where he features indie/original bands and solo artists.
(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- Raritan Valley Community College's (RVCC) Student Jazz Ensemble will perform in concert on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at 7:30pm. The concert will be held in the Welpe Theatre at the College's Branchburg campus. The group is directed by RVCC faculty member Dr. Oliver Santana.
Nobody covers the Arts throughout the Garden State like New Jersey Stage!
Images used on this site have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and PR firms. If there is a problem with the rights to any image, please contact us and we will look into the matter.
