Elise Leavy
Raised on the central coast of California and currently living in Lafayette, LA, Elise Leavy has a distinctly unique voice as a singer and songwriter. Often likened to Joni Mitchell and Judee Sill, Elise says it must be the California seawater getting inside her head and heart from an early age. She has been writing songs since she was 8 years old, and has studied the art of singing and harmony for the better part of her 24 years. After graduating from the New England Conservatory of Music and living in New York City, and then Nashville, TN, she is now thrilled to be preparing to release her fourth solo project, a group of songs written and recorded in Brooklyn, NY with a full band of amazing local musicians.
“Elise Leavy's breezy Laurel Canyon-tinged music belies her depth as a songwriter. On A Little Longer, Leavy's first major solo artistic statement, she deftly explores nostalgia and melancholy over ten tracks that wash over the listener like a gentle ocean tide. Indeed, the record's sound hearkens to an era when the SoCal sound dominated the FM dial. Now a resident of Lafayette, LA, this collection of songs was written while Leavy was living in Boston and New York. However, it's clear that growing up on California's central coast was foundational to Leavy's songwriting. Lush mid-1970s production courtesy of Robin MacMillian shows up in the horns on "Cigarettes and Coffee" or the pedal steel on "I Have Been Trying." Expansive vocal harmonies permeate "Please Don't Ask Me To Be Friends" or "I Won't Be Dreaming Anymore" which reference everything from Motown to The Beach Boys. Experienced as a whole, A Little Longer is startlingly cohesive and masterful in tone and writing. Take note because this young artist has arrived as a songwriting force.”