Today's Country Magazine

Georgia native, Sonia Leigh is not a newcomer by any stretch of the imagination. Having been honing her craft since she was in her teens and sharing the stage with the likes of Jennifer Nettles, Marshall Tucker Band, etc… Her latest effort “Run and Surrender” may just be the culmination of everything she has learned over the years and take her to a whole new level. Huddled in the studio with John Hopkins of the Zac Brown Band at the production boards, Sonia Leigh has put together a gem of an album. Mostly acoustic, Leigh lets her voice and well- crafted lyrics carry a majority of the songs that combine a wide range of influences. At times, on tracks like “I Love You” and “Fading Away” I was instantly reminded of “The Globe Sessions” era Sheryl Crow as the songs tend to have a bluesy style to them and walk that line between folk and country perfectly. But there is no doubt a country influence is somewhere on the path of Sonia Leigh’s mu sical journey and it is displayed quite a few times throughout this effort. Tracks like “Meeting of The Minds,” show off a traditional influence while songs like “A Poem From The Ocean Floor” offers a foot tapping, front porch pickin’ influence. But the true selling point of “Run or Surrender” is the lyric and powerful vocal delivery Leigh presents. By having only an acoustic guitar for a majority of the instrumentation on this release, Leigh’s voice has to be the focal point of the songs and her delivery is outstanding. If you dig songwriter’s like Susan Gibson, or artists like Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, etc… than this is one that you will want to check out.