Leslie and the Badgers or Leslie Stevens and The Badgers is an American folk-country band formed in 2006 by songwriter and vocalist Leslie Stevens, currently releasing records as Leslie Stevens and formerly of the female punk band Zeitgeist Auto Parts. The Badgers released their first album, ''Leslie and the Badgers'', in 2007. It is currently out of print. Five songs from the album became the EP ''Greetings from....'' in 2008. The band's 2009 release, ''Roomful of Smoke'', was produced by David Bianco ( Bob Dylan, Tom Petty,

Tift Merritt Tift may refer to: Places *Tift County, Georgia, a county in south-central Georgia, United States People with the given name * Tift Merritt (born 1975), American singer-songwriter People with the surname *Andrew Tift (born 1968), British portrai ...

). '' The Los Angeles Times'' said Stevens' voice and writing evokes Patsy Cline while '' No Depression'' wrote that she calls to mind

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

. Leslie Stevens has worked as a session singer and has contributed backing vocals and played various instruments on records by recording artists such as Brian Wilson, Father John Misty, Florence and The Machine, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket. She was named Los Angeles' best Country singer by the LA Weekly in 2019. Kenneth Pattengale of the Milk Carton Kids produced, played, and sang on her 2016 solo release "The Donkey and Rose". Jonathan Wilson (Billy Strings, Erin Rae, Dawes) produced her 2019 release, "Sinner". Her band has toured extensively on the West Coast and was invited to showcase at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

in 2010 and to perform on National Public Radio's Mountain Stage show. They have toured with

Rhett Miller Stewart Ransom "Rhett" Miller II (born September 1970) is the lead singer of the country rock band Old 97's. He also records and performs as a solo musician, and has been published as a writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Early life Mille ...

and Laura Veirs among others, and opened for Loudon Wainwright III. The band has appeared at Noise Pop, The Eagle Rock Music Festival and Topanga Days. Their first national tour in May 2010 took them east for the first time to Chicago and New York City. The band made its first TV appearance in April 2008 playing their original "Old Timers" on the FX series, '' The Riches'', starring Minnie Driver.

Discography

* ''Leslie and the Badgers'' (2007) (out of print) * ''Greetings from.....(EP)'' (2008) LyricLand * ''Roomful of Smoke'' (2010) LyricLand Thirty Tigers * ''Los Angeles (7" vinyl)'' (2010) Trailer Fire Records * LESLIE STEVENS * ''The Donkey and The Rose" (2016) Leslie Stevens Solo * ''Sinner'' (2019) Leslie Stevens, Solo Thirty Tigers

References

External links

Official website

MySpace.com site

Facebook site
{{Red Rockets Glare Musical groups from Los Angeles American country rock groups American alternative country groups Folk rock groups from California Musical groups established in 2006 Red Rockets Glare artists