The Corning Civic Music Association will present Women of Americana: A Celebration of American Music on Friday, April 10, featuring singer and songwriter Brennen Leigh alongside fellow performer Cristina Vane and a band of roots musicians.
Leigh says the program grew out of a collaboration with the concert presenter IMG, which approached her and Vane about building a show celebrating the rich tradition of American roots music.
“We kind of collaborated with them on the set list, and got to choose band members we specifically wanted,” Leigh said. “Americana is such a deep well that we kind of got to pick whatever we wanted.”
With so many artists to draw from, narrowing down the repertoire was a challenge. Leigh says the goal was to balance familiar favorites with historically important songs.
“The set is only so long, and we couldn’t fit everyone in,” she said. “So for me, it was a challenge to mix the more recognizable songs that everyone loves with stuff that I thought was spiritually important to include, like Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the Carter Family.”
The program traces the roots of modern American music through artists whose influence still resonates today.
“I tried to hit on things that were the taproot for our modern American music,” Leigh explained. “Even if you’re not a fan of the Carter Family or Memphis Minnie or Jimmie Rodgers, those people influenced every artist whether they’ve heard of them or not. They just infected everyone with their style by osmosis and by popularity.”
The concert will range widely across the Americana tradition, from early twentieth-century pioneers to contemporary songwriters.
“We felt like it was necessary to include some ’30s and ’40s artists,” Leigh said. “But we also go all the way forward to Carole King and Gillian Welch and Brandi Carlile.”
Leigh herself began performing at an early age, growing up in the Upper Midwest.
“I’ve been a professional musician since I was about fourteen or fifteen,” she said. “My brother and I played bluegrass and country growing up, and I’ve actually never done anything else.”
Born in Fargo, North Dakota, Leigh later lived in Minnesota before moving to Austin, Texas, where she spent more than a decade immersed in the roots music scene. She now lives in East Texas. Her collaborator Cristina Vane, whom she met in Nashville, brings a different musical background to the project.
“She kind of brings the blues and the roots stuff to the show,” Leigh said. “It’s just been delightful to hear her play.”
The performers also assembled a band made up of musicians they already knew from years of performing together.
“These are all people that we play with already,” Leigh said. “IMG was cool enough to let us choose who we wanted, so they’re people from our past that we really like working with.”
The Corning Civic Music Association presents Women of Americana: A Celebration of American Music on Friday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Theater at the Corning Museum of Glass. More information is available online at https://corningcivicmusic.org.