This is LEA.
LEA is more than simply a singer songwriter. She is a “musical visionary,” specializing in uplifting, thought provoking and positive music. Her sound seamlessly blends gospel, jazz, country and R&B into her own brand of “feel-good” contemporary folk. Her style draws comparisons to Tracy Chapman’s bluesy folk, Joni Mitchell’s exquisite songcraft, and Ani DiFranco’s inventive guitar playing. This is LEA; she is all of this and more. Born into a musical family in Baltimore, her father toured the world playing trumpet in the funk band Black Heat, and her mother performed with the Jones Family Gospel Singers. After relocating to the suburbs of Washington, DC, LEA soon discovered classic rock and began teaching herself to play the acoustic guitar. Her final year in high school LEA, studied in Germany at a classical conservatory, where she sang with the jazz ensemble Black & White and co-wrote with the British pop trio, Indigo Wild.
LEA has shared the stage with luminaries including Dar Williams, Anthony Hamilton, Odetta and Mavis Staples. She performs across the world at venues as diverse as arts centers, universities, festivals, coffeehouses, nightclubs, vineyards, and places of worship. Her dynamic, energetic presence has graced The Strathmore, Kennedy Center, Birchmere, and Wolf Trap in Washington, DC. This is LEA. LEA has released 7 full-length albums in a recording career spanning more than a decade and has been nominated for multiple awards by the Washington Area Music Association. She is also a graduate of the prestigious Artist-in-Residence program at the Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda, MD.
Her highly anticipated eighth album, “All There Is”, is an unintentional lyrical successor to the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love.” Her new songs are less narratively focused and more an expression of her evolution as a person and a performer – a life- affirming manifesto of “feel good” music. This is LEA.
LEA aspires to fill churches and concert halls, and jam with artists both spiritual and secular. In addition to her musical pursuits, LEA’s goals include continuing her work with children, recapturing her passion for acting, and nurturing a newfound interest in writing fiction.
This is LEA.
