SEATED SHOW - LIMITED CAPACITY
WED. November 8, 2023
Doors 7PM | Show 8PM
$22 ADV | $25 DOS
Brennen Leigh is an American songwriter, guitar player, mandolin player and singer whose to-the-point storytelling style has elevated her to cult icon status in Europe, Scandinavia, across the United States, South America and the United Kingdom. Her songs have been recorded by Lee Ann Womack, Rodney Crowell, Sunny Sweeney, Charley Crockett, and many others. As renowned for her musicianship as for her writing, it’s easy to see how Leigh caught the ear of greats like Guy Clark, who colorfully endorsed her flatpicking: “Brennen Leigh plays guitar like a motherfucker,” and David Olney, who described her writing as “tender, violent, sentimental, foolish and wise, she is always Brennen. Confident and at ease with herself, without being a jerk about it.
Brennen Leigh’s “Ain't Through Honky Tonkin' Yet”
Awash in full-throttle fiddle, weeping steel guitar, a sprinkling of heavenly backing vocals, and anchored by her warm, expressive vocals, Brennen Leigh’s latest album is an emotion-packed revelation. Rooted in vintage country, Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet is an unapologetically beer- and tear-soaked homage to an era when hard-country weepers burst forth from AM transistor radios.
“I’m in love with this idea of the real Nashville, " says Leigh. “The idyllic golden age, which, to me, is around 1967, 1968, because of the alchemy, the explosion that occurred, with the best country music songwriters ever, the best singers in country music.” The album’s country roots run deep, with guests like Marty Stuart and Rodney Crowell and a lineup of top-flight musicians, yet each track soars with abandon. With thoughtful, incisive lyrics and vibrant melodies at the forefront, Leigh has successfully created a modern gem, while honoring country music’s enduring golden era.
“Brennen is as cool as they come. I think this album really showcases that. The writing, musicality, arrangements, production, but mostly how much fun it is! If you don’t wanna start two stepping to this one, you’re probably dead.” - Colter Wall
“An adventurous artist wholly and authentically herself.” – No Depression
“A story-telling poet,landscape painter, passionate observer of the human condition and a cultural preservationist.” - Rodney Crowell
“Brennen will carry the torch for REAL roots American music for her generation, and she’s the best one to do it in my opinion” - Ray Benson
"Leigh's 'You've Never Been to North Dakota' soothes like Cole Porter, timelessly lyrical both literally and vocally." --Raoul Hernandez, Austin Chronicle
After the success of her critically-acclaimed 2021 release Daddy’ s Country Gold, Melissa Carper, dubbed “HillBillie Holiday” by friend and collaborator Chris Scruggs, was eager to get back in the studio. With co-producers Andrija Tokic (St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Hurray For The Riff Raff) and Dennis Crouch (The Time Jumpers) behind the boards again at Tokic’s analog paradise The Bomb Shelter in Nashville, Carper assembled that same crew of magical music makers - plus a few more - to embark on her newest effort, Ramblin’ Soul, set for release November 18th via Thirty Tigers.
Carper’s deep, old-timey music roots were firmly planted as a child, playing upright bass and singing in her family’s traveling country band in rural Nebraska. Her love of country classics was cultivated as she laid beneath the console listening to her parents’ record collection. Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, and more became the soundtrack of her youth. When Carper’s father gifted her a collection of Jimmie Rodgers’ recordings, she began to find her voice and calling as a songwriter. Carper attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on a music scholarship, and spent much of her time in the music library, instinctively drawn to the great jazz classics and jazz vocalists such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole. She also discovered Lead Belly, uncovering a deep well within when singing his songs.
Along the way, she founded award-winning bands like power trio The Carper Family, the perfect outlet for her unique skills and style. The band brought her original work to life in a simple yet dynamic fashion that also served her inspirations - country, bluegrass, western swing, and old- style jazz, playing festivals and shows across the globe, and on shows like “A Prairie Home Companion.” Carper also holds a spot in award-winning Arkansas foursome Sad Daddy, and founded roots duo Buffalo Gals with Sad Daddy bandmate and partner, award-winning fiddler Rebecca Patek.
In 2020, grappling with the loss of regular gigs, Carper and Patek moved to a friend’s farm near Austin, working in exchange for housing, organic vegetables, and fresh, country air.
“I had a handful of songs about rambling around and living a free life that I wanted to weave through the album,” Carper recalls. “I wrote the title track driving back home to Texas, and it felt like the seeds of the next album were planted.”
The simpler life afforded Carper the space and rejuvenation needed to channel her muse, and begin writing for her next album.
“I had a handful of songs about rambling around and living a free life that I wanted to weave through the album,” Carper recalls. “I wrote the title track driving back home to Texas, and it felt like the seeds of the next album were planted. I also knew I wanted Ramblin’ Soul to have a different feel than Daddy’s Country Gold, with more upbeat and diverse styles and grooves.”
Ramblin’ Soul features a co-write with life long ramblin’ buddy and bandmate Gina Gallina, a song penned by friend and frequent collaborator Brennen Leigh; a reimagined classic from folk pioneer Odetta; and ten Carper originals. The album ventures into blues, early rock and roll, and old school soul, along with Carper’s signature styles of country, western swing, and jazz.
Album track “Ain’t a Day Goes By” breaks your heart, then mends it again in the universal longing for a loved one now gone on. Backed up by Hammond B3 organ (John Pahmer), the emotion is punctuated by the gospel-style harmony stylings of Kyshona Armstrong, Nickie Conley, and Maureen Murphy. “1980 Dodge Van” heralds pulsing electric guitar and a grooving upright bass (Dennis Crouch) in an ode to the loyal family vehicle, while “I Don’t Need to Cry” is a Patsy Cline-esque lament showcasing Carper’s classic country range and songwriting finesse. The upbeat, tongue-in-cheek “Holding All The Cards” transports us to a smoky New Orleans speakeasy, with wordplay, honky tonk piano, and playful clarinet, while Carper pays an upbeat western swing tribute to her current home state in “Texas, Texas. Texas.”
Carper’s lifelong, steadfast listening has come to fruition in the songs on Ramblin’ Soul. Her childhood love of the family record collection planted the seeds of what is her own bountiful orchard today.
— No Depression
“Melissa Carper is one of the greatest classic golden era country singers and composers of this generation. A new batch of songs from Melissa Carper is something to smile and rub your hands together about like waiting for permission to cut into an apple pie.”
— Saving Country Music“Singer-bassist Melissa Carper sounds like a voice from a bygone era...Evoking the cool, smoky croon of a lounge singer, Carper gives some winking commentary about having a good time.”
— Rolling Stone Country
