My introduction to Brennen Leigh was on the rather fabulous Outlaw Country Cruise out of Miami in March last year, one of some 30 artists appearing, including Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, and John Hiatt. She made an immediate impression, with a sweet voice, very fine guitar picking (Guy Clark—“Brennen Leigh plays guitar like a motherfucker”) and a great line in contemporary old-time music. With this essential thread of American roots music – think Charlie Crockett, or Sierra Ferrell – finding a new audience, Leigh and her back catalogue have become firm favourites. She now has some nine albums under her belt, including an excellent collaboration with Asleep At The Wheel, “Obsessed with the West”. Featuring 12 self-penned original songs, opening track, ‘If Tommy Duncan’s Voice Was Booze’, is a fine introduction to Leigh’s tongue-in-cheek songwriting chops, with its refrain, “If Tommy Duncan‘s voice was booze I’d be drinking all the time”, over a two-step rhythm, with phrasing reminiscent of Jimmy Rogers. Leigh told on its release, “I’ve been obsessed with western swing since I was a kid, and it’s always been an influence, but my records in the past have ranged from bluegrass to hard country to folk, so I’ve never fully explored it”, and her love of the genre shines through on the album.
Her 2023 release “Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet” featured heavily on her Outlaw Country Cruise set, and is simply a joy – produced by Chris Scruggs, and with an A-list band including Scruggs, Marty Stuart on mandolin, with background vocalists including Rodney Crowell. My selected video clip, ‘Running Out Of Hope, Arkansas’ a co-write with Silas Lowe, combines that classic small town americana theme of needing to finally get away, with her effortless ease with words, singing “There’s endless miles of highway and I’m gonna see them all / from Wichita to Birmingham by way of St. Paul / I won’t slow to catch my breath till I reach that leaving sign / and every inch of Arkansas is facing my behind… As I’m running out of Hope, Arkansas”.
And the titles of the other songs on the album – ‘Somebody’s Drinking About You’, ‘The Red Flags You Were Waving’, and ‘The Bar Should Say Thanks’ are another pointer to the humour that runs through her songwriting. ‘Carole With An E’ is a song inspired by a female trucker, “In pearls and kitten heels she slams that hammer down on 18 wheels”, while ‘You Turned Into A Dragon’ is a story of a failed love affair, with a metaphor of a lover turning into a dragon simultaneously the tale of the tattoo of his face turned into that same dragon.
Her latest release, “Don’t You Ever Give Up On Love”, has love at its theme, but again with that tongue-in-cheek approach, ‘Dumpster Diving’, a tale of a lover whose taste in women tends to trash! Leigh has songwriting credits including Lee Ann Womack ‘Sleeping With The Devil’, Sunny Sweeney ‘Are You Still Taking Them Pills’ and ‘Amy’, Rodney Crowell ‘Merry Christmas From An Empty Bed’ and Charley Crockett ‘You Must Be Drunk Again’ and she is touring in the USA from February through to May this year, as ‘Women of Americana – A Celebration of American Music’, as a duo with Cristina Vane.
Do check her out – her music will always bring a smile to your face!
