Dear Friends,
My new album Making Friends With Ghosts is finally complete, and I am really excited about the two shows I have coming up to share this music with you and hopefully to give everyone an opportunity to purchase their copy and say farewell before I head off to New York City. I leave on August 24th, so this is your last chance to come see me play in Greensboro:
CD Release #1: Friday, August 13th @ The Flat Iron, 9pm-until
221 Summit Avenue, downtown Greensboro
Opening act will be the wonderful local folk-rock group Sunmile
CD Release #2: Friday, August 20th @ Tate Street Coffeehouse, 7-10pm
334 Tate Street, Greensboro, NC
There will be no cover charge for either show, and I will be selling CDs for just $10 for these two nights only. After that they will be available online and at a couple of locations in Greensboro, but you will have to pay full price at that point, so do make sure you mark your calendars and plan to come and get your copy at one of the shows. Your purchase will really help me out as I make my way to living in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
This debut album of sorts for me contains 16 original tracks that represent a musical foray into my own redemptive journey from the ghosts that I have been haunted by. It was written, recorded, mixed, and produced entirely by me - a massive undertaking but well worth it - which occurred over the past four years in empty houses, spare rooms, basements, and churches all over the country. Some of the tracks you may have already heard on my website.
It is indeed very ecclectic, as I tend to pull from the spectrum of all that I have loved musically in my songwriting. When asked recently about what genre this project would fall under, my response was something like the following: "well, this album has some upbeat songs, some folky songs, some sad songs, a lullaby, some really intense songs, and some that are really rather snarky...it has piano, guitar, violins and cellos, banjo, trumpet, accordion, flute, glockenspiel, the ocean, harmonica, crickets, a crowd of people clapping their hands and singing lalalas, and opens with a medieval harpsichord and the epic reading of a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote. So, whatever genre you think can safely include all of that..."
Be on the lookout in Go Triad on Thursday, August 12th. Rumor has it they may be printing an article about me in their "Meet an Artist" section...
Thank you all for the support without which I could never have completed this project, and I am looking forward to getting a hug from each and every one of you sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Cheers,
Kristen Leigh
www.kristenleighmusic.com
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Kristen Leigh / Blog
New Album Available Now!
Hey folks! Thanks again for two great CD Release parties. If you couldn't make it out, don't fret. There are still plenty of ways to get your copy. The best way to purchase online is through CD Baby. Just click on the link at the top right-hand corner of my website.... If you are in Greensboro you can pick up the album locally at the following two stores: Sacred Garden Bookstore 215 W. Fisher Avenue Greensboro, NC 27401 Maya Art Gallery / I Am Jack's 340 Tate Street Greensboro, NC 27403 Of course I want to encourage everyone to purchase a physical copy, for the sake of the liner notes, which contain not only lyrics but artwork and stories that will resonate with the music and provide a more holistic listening experience. What can I say? I'm old fashioned. But of course I know it's a digital world, so I will also let you know that you can purchase the album on iTunes (simply search "Kristen Leigh"). It will also become available on Amazon.com in the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted...
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CD Release Parties coming up!
Dear Friends,
My new album Making Friends With Ghosts is finally complete, and I am really excited about the two shows I have coming up to share this music with you and hopefully to give everyone an opportunity to purchase their copy and say farewell before I head off to New York City. I leave on August 24th, so this is your last chance to come see me play in Greensboro:
CD Release #1: Friday, August 13th @ The Flat Iron, 9pm-until 221 Summit Avenue, downtown Greensboro Opening act will be the wonderful local folk-rock group Sunmile
CD Release #2: Friday, August 20th @ Tate Street Coffeehouse, 7-10pm 334 Tate Street, Greensboro, NC
There will be no cover charge for either show, and I will be selling CDs for just $10 for these two nights only. After that they will be available online and at a couple of locations in Greensboro, but you will have to pay full price at that point, so do make sure you mark your calendars and plan to come and get your copy at one of the shows. Your purchase will really help me out as I make my way to living in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
This debut album of sorts for me contains 16 original tracks that represent a musical foray into my own redemptive journey from the ghosts that I have been haunted by. It was written, recorded, mixed, and produced entirely by me - a massive undertaking but well worth it - which occurred over the past four years in empty houses, spare rooms, basements, and churches all over the country. Some of the tracks you may have already heard on my website.
It is indeed very ecclectic, as I tend to pull from the spectrum of all that I have loved musically in my songwriting. When asked recently about what genre this project would fall under, my response was something like the following: "well, this album has some upbeat songs, some folky songs, some sad songs, a lullaby, some really intense songs, and some that are really rather snarky...it has piano, guitar, violins and cellos, banjo, trumpet, accordion, flute, glockenspiel, the ocean, harmonica, crickets, a crowd of people clapping their hands and singing lalalas, and opens with a medieval harpsichord and the epic reading of a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote. So, whatever genre you think can safely include all of that..."
Be on the lookout in Go Triad on Thursday, August 12th. Rumor has it they may be printing an article about me in their "Meet an Artist" section...
Thank you all for the support without which I could never have completed this project, and I am looking forward to getting a hug from each and every one of you sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Cheers, Kristen Leigh www.kristenleighmusic.com
Reply
Upcoming Album & Move to NYC
New Album & Upcoming Move to NYC! Big, big news folks.
This summer I will be devoting my time to recording, performing, promoting and releasing my new album Making Friends With Ghosts. The CD should be completed by mid/late July, and I am planning two CD release parties in early August: CD Release #1 will be at The Flat Iron on August 13th, and CD Release #2 will be at Tate Street Coffeehouse on August 20th. I'm doing two back-to-back release shows to give everyone in the area an opportunity to come get their very own copy and see me before I leave...
Yes, I said it...as some of you may have already heard, on August 25th, I will be moving to New York City. And very much unlike my fly-by-faith jaunt out to California four years ago, this time I actually have a plan: I will be attending graduate school at Union Theological Seminary, at Columbia University.
After a long and arduous search for a grad program that I felt truly drawn to, I stumbled across an M.A. in Arts & Theology from this fine ecumenical institution, offering a chance to integrate and pursue the work I love both musically and theologically...to look at the practical theological implications of the inherent spirituality within the creative process and to promote the intrinsic spiritual value of integrating a broader perspective of the arts among religiously-minded individuals and groups. If you would like to know more about my academic intentions for entering this program of study, please feel free to contact me.
This means I will also soon be writing, composing, and playing music in NYC, to give my music career an honest shot at a break for opportunity...and now seems to be as good a time as any.
I sincerely hope to have the opportunity to see all of you who are in the area this summer before I leave, and to those of you up north, I look forward to seeing you very soon.
Humbly, Kristen Leigh www.kristenleighmusic.com
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Summertime and the living is ... well, it is what it is.
It's been a busy summer, indeed, but fortunately that means lots of opportunities to share the music I love.
Participating in the Dotmatrix Project on June 25th was such an amazing experience. I was so grateful to be a part of it and for all the hard work they put in to bring together the musical and artistic community of Greensboro in a way that benefits everyone. I am already so impressed with the photography (you can view a photo slideshow at www.myspace.com/callywest), and am anxious for the release of the live album and music video, which should be coming out in the next couple of months. For more information on the Dotmatrix Project, visit www.dotmatrixproject.com.
Another exciting venture I've been invited to participate in is an upcoming compilation of local artists paying tribute to the great Neil Young. As one of my biggest all-time influences, I must say I am honored to have a song featured on the album. As some of you know, I already recorded two Neil Young songs (and one CSNY song) on my last album, Still Apt, and I spent about two months floundering about whether or not to just submit one of the previously recorded tracks. However, at the last minute (the deadline is July 31st), my desire to put out something new for the good folks who actually own Still Apt, and my desire to include Ueli in the project superseded my laziness. I am working on pulling together a recording of the new track now, but I won't tell you which song it is (it's a surprise. I'll post about it again as soon as I hear back about when that album will become available.
There are several shows coming up in Greensboro between now and July 31st, when I will go on a silent personal retreat at the outer banks for a brief sabbatical, so please be sure to check out the schedule and come out and see us soon if you can.
Thanks for all your love and support.
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