Songwriters in the Round

In an intimate concert, three New York State songwriters will share their work – and some insight into the creation of it – in a round-robin format. CNY and WNY songwriters unite here in Ithaca to promote music community and collaboration.

Featuring folk/country artist Laura Leigh (Laura Leigh Band), acoustic rock/alt artist Tom Jolu (Tom Jolu Band), and folk/country artist Tony Gill.

Multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter Laura Leigh is at once a relic of a bygone age and a fresh face in the new generation of folk. Pulling from tried and true traditions of old time country and rock and roll, while effortlessly skating between contemporary genres with grace and good humor, she and her band of journeymen players have nonetheless found a sound that is wholly their own. Backed by Guthrie Bell Productions and flanked by Chanda Dewey on drums, Chris Maccia on bass, and David Lawlor on lead telecaster, her driving rhythms and soaring melodies accompany heartfelt, insightful lyrics, which are delivered with a cadence that manages to be simultaneously sincere and irreverent. It is this breadth and depth of range that makes the LL band equally comfortable in the back woods and back alleys of New York’s enigmatic upstate. The joy they take in their craft is self evident and contagious, as they include you in the inside joke and regale you with unique American stories that feel like home.

Bringing together elements of folk sensibilities, thoughtful lyricism and a punk rock attitude, Tom Jolu is the manifestation of singer/songwriter Tom Lewis’s diverse talents. Born out of a decade of playing punk rock clubs, dive bars and basements, Tom Jolu builds on the legacy of multi-instrumentalist songwriters, crafting songs that are simple to sing along to, but layered in complexity.

Tony Gill is a Rochester, NY-based singer-songwriter whose music combines unique elements of folk, psychedelia, and country music while drawing from a long tradition of roots music and the American song. A multi-instrumentalist on guitar and fiddle, Gill pairs original songwriting with an old-time sound influenced by artists such as Gram Parsons, Hank Williams, and the Carter Family. Gill has opened for artists such as Ryan Montbleau and Mikaela Davis and is currently active throughout Central and Western New York. His songs center on love, loss, resilience, and looking for light even in the darkest places.