Odie Leigh - WOW Hall in Eugene, OR
by Morgan Barnaby | December 14th , 2024
All images are from Odie Leigh’s - Carrier Pigeon Tour in Eugene, OR on 12/14/24.
Photo by Morgan Barnaby | @mjbview
Odie Leigh had never set out to become a music artist–which is certainly one of the most endearing things about her. In 2020, Leigh and her roommates made a bet to see who could be the first to create a song to go viral on Tiktok. Leigh decided to throw her hat into the ring, and the rest is history. More commonly known for her music’s americana/folk roots, Leigh’s newest album “Carrier Pigeon” comes with a bit of an endearing hard edge.
The singer/songwriter’s concepts almost always come straight from her real-life experiences, allowing her audience to truly connect with her and her music on a whole extra level. As detailed on her spotify profile, Leigh signed with Mom + Pop in 2023, allowing her newfound musical dreams to take off. Since 2020, Leigh has released multiple singles, EPs, and has recently welcomed her newest album to the scene.
On the most recent leg of her “Carrier Pigeon” release tour, Leigh made a stop at WOW Hall in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday, December 14. The warm and homey venue was filled with new and old fans of Leigh’s music, some of them even having been at her first ever show in Eugene, OR. Before Leigh took the stage, her opener, Kaleah Lee performed her own original set in the hour prior.
Photo by Morgan Barnaby | @mjbview
Lee’s music, with a similar soft indie/americana style to much of Leigh’s early music, acted as a fantastic warm-up for the excited audience. Lee was alone on stage for her set, swapping between an electric and acoustic guitar every once and a while. Lee’s 45-minute set covered most of her original music from her newest EP, “Birdwatcher,” and also included her own take on Adrianne Lenker’s “anything,” which had the audience singing along with ease.
At 9pm, Odie Leigh and her band took the stage for their set. Leigh’s band consisted of guitarist and keyboardist Taylor Wafford, drummer Grace Goodman, and bassist Kaitlyn Gerdau. Leigh and her band began the show with some tunes from her recent album, immediately entering the scene with an infectious energy the audience was quick to return. Despite having contracted food poisoning the day prior, Leigh was prepared and excited to be playing in Eugene once more for a bit of a “full circle” moment–her first ever Eugene show having taken place in someone’s backyard rather than a professional venue.
Part of the way through her set, Leigh’s band left the stage to provide the audience with a more intimate acoustic experience for a few of her earlier songs. These moments gave a nice look into the roots of Leigh’s music, performed in a way that everyone was able to connect with. After a few songs from her first EP, “How Did It Seem To You?,” her band returned to finish out the set. Leigh’s undeniably confident and infectious stage presence paired with her affable audience made for an electrifying evening.
