Meet Crystal Leigh

Today we’d like to introduce you to Crystal Leigh. 

Hi Crystal, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Growing up in Santa Barbara, CA, music was an integral part of my upbringing. Thanks to my family I was introduced to a wide variety of genres, artists, and live music experiences, and my parents encouraged my desire to be musically involved at school, church, and in my personal time. There was never really a time when I didn’t think music would play some sort of role in my career. 

I studied music in college and right after graduation in 2014 moved here to Nashville, where I’ve been for the past 7 years. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I am grateful to say that some of this journey has been smooth and full of joy. But it would be dishonest to say that it has all been smooth sailing. I think that is just a fact of life though, right? One of the biggest obstacles I have faced (and honestly continue to face) is self-doubt. Creating music and offering it to the world can be a very scary endeavor. 

Your feelings get hurt. 

The friends you thought might show don’t. 

The song you thought was great gets passed over. 

The audition goes nowhere. 

The streams don’t meet your expectations. 

That girl over there just moved here and is playing the places you’ve been emailing for 2 years with little to no response. 

It can be really rough to not take that personally, and it can make you doubt yourself to the core. But I’ve found that the lesson to be learned, is that it really makes you rethink your relationship to music and why you pursued it in the first place. It strips back all the noise of numbers and stats and money. It strips away fame and recognition. It can obliterate pride. Suddenly it’s just you and music again, and I’ve found that to be the place I want to stay. Where the love and admiration are pure and the relationship is not based on performance but the simple joy and freedom of expression and the creation of beauty. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
What I love most is creating music. I love writing it, recording it, and performing it, and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to do so with my label AGD Entertainment and my favorite producer Stephen Leiweke at Yackland Studios. 

I think a lot of people would categorize the music I make as Americana/Country, and that’s fine by me. I honestly am not too concerned with what people want to call it. What I’m most concerned about is being proud of it, and that is true to who I am.

I am most proud of my latest single that just dropped last month, “Trading Skylines.” It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve written so far, and it means so much to me. My band fam did such an amazing job bringing it to life and I am truly proud of how it came out. 

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I think I would need several books to list all the folks who deserve credit for where I am today. 

The overwhelming and overarching credit belongs to The Lord, without whom literally none of this would have happened. He has been faithful, gracious, and generous. 

My parents are not too far behind. They have always supported and encouraged this pursuit. They have offered countless words of wisdom, hours of their time sharing my ups and downs, and worked so hard to make sure they could invest in my musical education and experiences. 

The Leiweke family took me in as their own when I first moved here to Nashville. The way they patiently loved me as I stumbled through terrible relationships, wandered in my faith, entertained distractions, and made myself far too busy, is nothing short of life-changing. I knew I always had a safe place to land and for that, I am so grateful. As a producer, Stephen has always believed in me as a musician and as a person, and ultimately that led to where I sit now, a signed artist. There are really no words for how much this family has done for me. 

And if I have to choose just one more to name, it would be my band family – Chris Cooke, Robbie Emerson, Calvin Bottoms, Stephen Leiweke, Brandon Dockery, Amberlee Fletcher, and my husband Jordan Dockery. To have such incredible musicians share their time and talent with me is such a gift and has helped shape my music into what it is today. 

Whew! I better stop now before I spend 8 years on this one question! 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.crystalleighmusic.om
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crystalleighmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrystalLeighMusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEST_-rYBemTvFPFDkH8GDg

Image Credits
Cooper Smith Productions
Annelise Loughead
Jonathan Freeland
AGD Entertainment