Leigh Cara

Long before Leigh Cara thought of the name, “Countryfornia” to describe her own blend of the Nashville sound and California pop songwriting, she had been absorbing different genres of music and perfecting her craft since she was a young girl. Born in Ventura and raised in Visalia, California, her parents set her off on her musical journey with a baritone ukulele, tuned to the same octave of a guitar. Its diminutive size was perfect for her young hands until she learned to play a six string guitar in sixth grade.

As she continued to grow, learn, play and listen, Cara began to develop a love for the music of many different artists, including Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Taylor Swift, Marc Broussard, and her absolute hero, Sara Bareilles. Even though they all have influenced her in some way, musically Cara’s sound is more comparable to Swift and Bareilles, with their finely tuned pop sensibilities.

Cara has poured her years of development and growth and her all-consuming love of music into her forthcoming debut album, Slow Approaching Someday. An early version of the title track has already achieved some notoriety when it was included on the album, Chill Out – An Acoustic Compilation. Now a more recent version of the song, the entire album can be heard on Cara’s official website, www.leighcara.com ahead of her album’s official release.

In the meantime, Cara hasn’t exactly been enjoying any downtime. Over the last eight years, she’s been performing all over the world. Some performances have been scattered about the U.S. but she’s also played gigs in Japan, Macau, Italy and the Caribbean. Having never been one to shy away from working towards her goals, she sees each performance as an opportunity to grow, and is grateful for the experiences and people that have come her way.

Cara approaches her songwriting from a different angle. Her songs tell stories that can be universally related to, not just because they are based off of commonly shared experiences, but because they are honest and emotionally transparent. When you tie that all together with a “Countryfornia” sound, you get the music of the always growing, always grateful, always authentic: Leigh Cara. Listen and watch for her debut album, Slow Approaching Someday, coming soon.