Southern Ground recording artist Sonia Leigh has been designated a rising star to watch by CMT, which is featuring the Zac Brown acolyte as its “Listen Up” artist during October. Leigh will be featured extensively on CMT and CMT.com, including exclusive performance videos taped in a Nashville studio.
Leigh’s debut album for Brown’s Southern Ground label, 1978 December, was released Sept. 27 to much acclaim. Lead single “My Name Is Money” is also starting to receive some attention. The single’s sound isn’t far from the ZBB template: rootsy and stripped down, yes, but with a backbeat derived from blues and soul. Then there’s her unmistakable voice, a sandpaper rasp that conjures Janis Joplin and Melissa Etheridge. The songwriting is even bold, with Leigh casting herself as the titular currency and humorously boasting of her ability to “make a small man stand tall.” Definitely not your usual country fare.
Elsewhere on 1978 December, Leigh hops around the stylistic map to incorporate hardcore honkytonk and straight-up rock ‘n’ roll into the mix. Her friend and label boss Brown appears on the track “Roaming,” and the Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray stops by to add vocals on “Virginia.”
Long a part of Atlanta’s songwriting community, Leigh befriended Zac Brown prior to his band’s rise from regional club favorites to platinum-selling country hitmakers. She earned numerous fans, including Brown, through delivering energetic live performances and her keen songwriting.
“When I first saw Sonia Leigh perform, I knew she was a star, and I knew I wanted to be by her side and create something special together,” says Brown.
The official “Money” video will be in rotation on CMT and CMT Pure throughout the month of October. Leigh is also featured in the current issue of People Country, in the “Hot Music Playlist” with others such as Vince Gill and Billy Currington.
