Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to draw your attention to Leah Sinead.
The above picture is taken from her set a week ago or so at The Old Bell in Derby taken by Alice Kell and the show was put on by Paul Herron of The Sons. I had the pleasure of being with her that night and she went on to do a second set that night at a Halloween party at The Maze in Nottingham, indicative of just how hard working Leah has been this year, two shows in one night and performing almost every night of the week is nothing out of the ordinary for this girl. A true artist and performer, and one of the many reasons why I can relate so much to this girl who on the surface may seem so different from myself.
Leah's sombre Irish-tinged melodies betray her roots and the powerful imagery in her lyrics touch the soul and come from the same place within her. I'm happy to say that I'm an old friend of Leah and as surprised as anyone who knew her before she began performing with a vengeance that she is so full of grace, talent and a modesty that is endearing and sweet. So unassuming is Leah that she has no idea how talented she is as a writer, singer and completely unaware of her effortless brilliance.
Definitely one of the finest of the current crop of singer-songwriters and female vocalists coming out of Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands. I hope to see a lot more of Leah live and I hope to see us hitting the road a bit together come 2014, take the sound of the East Midlands, our humour - yeah, she's a really funny girl too - and our acoustic guitar into the deepest darkest parts of this country of ours.
I like her so much she played at my birthday party a couple of months ago. Top Girl !
And I think she'll be playing with me in Nottingham on Saturday 23rd November at Hinckley Market Lace Market, whatever it's called. Afternoon shindig with food and market stalls and that. Give her a listen, find her playing live, close your eyes and listen good. You won't be disappointed.
And here's a bit of me singing about Nottingham, our home town ...
