About Piper Leigh

Piper Leigh & The Smokin’ Section will take you on a ride. Jumping from Blues to Bluegrass to Country to Motown, this group is tasteful and grounded in the groove. Piper Leigh and Jim Sanders, lead guitarist, have played music together for almost a decade in Wichita, KS. Ben Russell, bass, and Ted Farha, mandolin, joined The Smokin’ Section this year.

This has been a ‘growing’ year for the Wichita KS-based band. They hit their stride just in time for Winfield’s Walnut Valley Festival, Enid’s Fling at the Springs Festival, Garden City’s Tumbleweed Festival and Guthrie’s Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival. They’ve been Smokin’ up the stage in Wichita’s famed Irish Pub, The Artichoke, and are gearing up for their Midwest Kansas Tour – taking them down the highway this December-January.

According to one fan, "Piper takes the listener on an acoustic freeway of incredible emotion…while adding the flavor of her seasoned voice. With so much musical gristle clogging up the airwaves these days, it’s nice to witness someone cutting right from the center.”

Piper Leigh’s songs are anchored in folk and roots, while her melody and delivery show strong country and blues sensibilities. Her sound has the earthy feel of Susan Tedeschi or Janis Joplin while also capturing the emotion and musical adventurism of fellow genre-hopping artist, Eva Cassidy. Piper is at one moment folkie and ethereal, the next moment a smoky chanteuse.

She has independently released two records, ‘A Night at the Cabaret’, a live performance (2006), and ‘Piper Leigh’, an original album, released August 2009.

"Piper is a Blues Singer in disguise, [she] writes and sings very well with a voice like butter on a biscuit! Closing my eyes, I heard echoes of Lady Folksingers who were famous, but didn’t sing nearly as well as Piper!"

— Lee E. “Doc” Franklin (Atwood, KS)

Piper has produced two CDs:

"A Night at the Cabaret," (2007) is a recording of two Live shows combined for a great enjoy-the-show experience. Some of Piper's original songs, "It Ain't Me," "1,000 Miles From Sunday," and "Down On Beale," are surrounded by such an eclectic collection of styles that there's sure to be something everyone can enjoy. This CD is a window into Piper's versatility as a performer.

“Piper Leigh,” (2009) is Piper’s first studio album and all her original work (with a hymn as the final track). Many of Leigh's songs focus on motherhood, love and the hard to bear - but harder to admit - feelings that can sometimes accompany each. Versatility and variety is the key on this record – you will definitely hear a blues crooner followed by a tango!