Leigh Nash
Leigh Anne Bingham Nash (/liː næʃ/;[1][2] born June 27, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist for the pop band Sixpence None the Richer[3] and is also a member of Fauxliage and Movement Nashville. Her debut solo album, Blue on Blue, was released on August 15, 2006 by the One Son/Nettwerk record labels.
Leigh Nash | |
|---|---|
 Nash in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Leigh Anne Bingham |
| Born | June 27, 1976 New Braunfels, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels | One Son, Nettwerk |
| Associated acts | Sixpence None the Richer, Fauxliage, Delerium |
Early life
Nash was born Leigh Anne Bingham in New Braunfels, Texas. She started singing country music and learning old country songs on the guitar at the age of 12. She had several years' experience singing in local cafes with a band and performed regularly at a Texan country & western dance hall. She met guitarist and songwriter Matt Slocum at a church retreat in the early 1990s.
Career
Leigh Nash and Matt Slocum formed Sixpence None the Richer (named for a line from the book Mere Christianity by the author C.S. Lewis) soon after and went on to record four full-length albums with the band. Their first album, released when she was just 16, was The Fatherless & the Widow. The album garnered critical acclaim and Slocum and Nash searched for new band members.[4]
Joined by Tess Wiley, Dale Baker, and J.J. Plascencio, the new band recorded This Beautiful Mess, which won a Dove Award for Best Album. Wiley quit the band after their US tour and the band released the Tickets for a Prayer Wheel EP and then signed to the Squint Records label following the demise of R.E.X.[5]
The band's eponymous album was released in 1997 and the single "Kiss Me" in 1999. In 1999 they received numerous Dove Awards, including Best Artist of the Year. The band was also nominated for a Grammy Award. A second single, a cover of the La's "There She Goes", also hit the Billboard Hot 100, followed by a third single, "I Can't Catch You".
In 2000, Nash sang the song "Need to Be Next to You" for the movie Bounce in order to thank Miramax that had used "Kiss Me" in the movie She's All That and brought them into the spotlight. Written by Diane Warren, it became Nash's first solo single.
After the departure of drummer Dale Baker and bass player J.J. Plascencio, Sixpence None the Richer released Divine Discontent in 2001. Two singles from that album, "Breathe Your Name" and a cover of Crowded House's 1986 hit single "Don't Dream It's Over", charted on the US Adult Top 40 at No. 18 and No. 9, respectively.
In 2004, Sixpence None the Richer announced their break-up by letter from Matt Slocum to CCM Magazine. After that, the band released The Best of Sixpence None the Richer.
In 2003, the band appeared on an episode of the final season of the ABC sitcom Sabrina, The Teenage Witch.
The group disbanded in 2004. Nash and her husband left their Nashville home of 10 years and moved to Los Angeles.
Nash released her first solo record, Blue on Blue, in August 2006 on One Son Records, Nash's own imprint label through Nettwerk Productions. The first single, "My Idea of Heaven", was released to U.S. radio the week of July 14, 2006, and the song "Ocean Size Love" was to be the second single, but it was a promo release only. She has also recorded a song "Mirrors and Smoke" with the band Jars of Clay on their album Good Monsters the same year. She also performed the song "A Place for Us" (written by Bryan Adams) with Tyler James for the 2007 Disney film Bridge to Terabithia.
In 2007, Nash began a new band, Fauxliage, with Canadian band Delerium, which released a self-titled album on August 14, 2007. Nash, Megan Thompson and Kate York also started a Christian band called Thompson, York & Nash. They worked on a few songs that have been put on MySpace.[6] However, none of the songs posted on their MySpace page have been formally released.
In January 2008 Nash traveled to New Zealand for the annual Parachute Music Festival, where she performed acoustic covers of Sixpence None the Richer hits "Kiss Me " and "There She Goes". In late 2008, Nash toured with Delerium.
Nash has since rejoined Sixpence and worked on a new EP My Dear Machine EP,[7] and the Christmas album The Dawn of Grace with tour dates planned throughout 2008 in the States and Europe. Guitarist Tess Wiley returned to the band to support them on a European tour.
Nash joined Open Wings-Broken Strings tour in late 2009, along with Ed Kowalczyk of Live and Art Alexakis of Everclear. In 2011 she released a worship album entitled Hymns and Sacred Songs, and in August 2012, she released Lost in Transition, her sixth studio album with Sixpence None the Richer.
On September 18, 2015, Nash released her album: The State I'm In.[8] She writes for BMG.[9]
In 2018, Nash released a cover of the Pretenders' 1986 single "Don't Get Me Wrong". In an interview, Nash stated that new music will be coming soon and will be crowd-funded.[10]
Inspiration
Nash has two distinct poles of inspiration: her work with Sixpence in the Christian music sphere and her childhood fascination with older female country artists like Tanya Tucker, Loretta Lynn, and Patsy Cline.
"I started singing country music and learning old country songs on the guitar when I was 12. I was really, really shy but just had this desire to get on stage and started calling clubs myself to ask if I could come down and sing", says Nash, who grew up in the Texas Hill Country town of New Braunfels.[11]
Before long, the adolescent Nash was singing Loretta Lynn and Tanya Tucker songs like "You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man" and "Texas When I Die" on alcohol-free, open mic Sunday nights, backed by a middle-aged band of town locals. Later in life her interest in pop acts like the Sundays, Innocence Mission, and the Cranberries provided more formative material for her songwriting and singing.
Personal life
Nash is the younger of two sisters. She married PFR drummer Mark Nash in May 1996, whom she met while both bands were performing at the Cornerstone Festival in Illinois. They had one child (a son) together in 2004. The couple divorced in 2007.[12] Nash married musician Stephen Wilson in 2011.[13]
Discography
- Blue on Blue (2006)
- Fauxliage (collaboration with Delerium) (2007)
- Hymns and Sacred Songs (2011)
- The State I'm In (2015)
Other appearances
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Innocente (Falling in Love)" (Delerium featuring Leigh Nash) |
2000 | Poem |
| "With Every Breath" (Dan Haseltine and Leigh Nash) |
2000 | City on a Hill: Songs of Worship and Praise |
| "Precious Jesus" (Derri Daugherty and Leigh Nash) |
2000 | |
| "Run for It" (Delerium featuring Leigh Nash) |
2003 | Chimera |
| "Orbit of Me" (Delerium featuring Leigh Nash) |
2003 | |
| "I Sought the Lord" (Bifrost Arts featuring Leigh Nash and Megan Roderick) |
2009 | Come O Spirit! |
| "Good" (Matthew West and Leigh Nash) |
2011 | Music Inspired by The Story |
| "After All" (The Choir featuring Leigh Nash) |
2012 | The Loudest Sound Ever Heard |
| "Still Kill" (Delerium featuring Leigh Nash) |
2012 | Music Box Opera (Bonus track) |
| "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (The Choir duet with Leigh Nash) |
2013 | Peace, Love & Light |
| "Under the Gun" (Conjure One featuring Leigh Nash) |
2015 | Holoscenic |
| "Breathe Baby"[14] (Derri Daugherty) |
2018 | The Color of Dreams |
References
- Kingsway Worship (February 13, 2012). Leigh Nash Interview on 'Hymns and Sacred Songs'. YouTube. Event occurs at 0:00. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- Leigh Nash (October 6, 2015). Leigh Nash: Live Performance on Good Day LA (Motion picture). YouTube. Event occurs at 0:00, 0:15. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- "JesusFreakHideOut biography". Jesusfreakhideout.com. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- Dr. Drew Interview Archived December 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- "Sing365 band biography". Sing365.com. October 3, 2007. Archived from the original on April 7, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- US. "thompson, york & nash | Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's". Myspace.com. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- "myspace.cn Blogs – I Have Pink Eye and Other Stunning News (p.s. Happy New Year!) – Leigh Nash MySpace Blog". Us.collect.myspace.cn. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- Chuck Dauphin (July 10, 2015). "Leigh Nash Heads Home on 'The State I'm In': Exclusive Song Premiere". Billboard.
- "Leigh Nash Signs Publishing Agreement With BMG in Nashville". MUSICROW. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
- "JFH News: Leigh Nash Debuts New Single, "Don't Get Me Wrong"". www.jesusfreakhideout.com. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- "http://www.newreleasetoday.com/artistdetail.php?artist_id=389" Leigh Nash Artist Profile, New Release Today
- "Saints And Sinners – Leigh Nash's Blog". Myspace.com. August 24, 2007. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- "Derri Daugherty – The Color of Dreams". Discogs. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leigh Nash. |
