World United Music: Leigh Nash

About: Leigh Nash

Leigh Nash is perhaps best known as the pixie-like singer with the heavenly voice from Sixpence None the Richer, a CCM group that enjoyed considerable fame in 1999 with the single "Kiss Me." She had started the band at age 14 with schoolmate Matt Slocum.

Nearly half her life later, at age 27, Sixpence None the Richer split, albeit on good terms. Before the band called it quits, Nash had often considered working solo, if and when she would be band-less. Though the end of Sixpence left her a little distraught, Nash realized it was time to move on, and she and her husband moved from Nashville to Los Angeles.

Soon after, Nash gave birth to a son. She decided to return to her roots a little, which consisted of Christian and country music, though she remained in touch with her pop influences. Nash's original musical inspiration came from classic country heroines Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, and Tanya Tucker whose songs she used to learn on guitar long before the Sixpence days. With motherhood as an inspiration, she recorded Blue on Blue and moved back to Nashville to join Movement Nashville, a recently formed collective of musicians geared toward expelling the myth that Nashville's music scene consists only of country and Christian music. Blue on Blue was released in August of 2006. ~ Megan Frye, All Music Guide

On November 15^th 2011, Leigh Nash released Hymns & Sacred Songs, marking her rediscovery of the sacred songs that stirred her imagination long before she became a recording star.

Nash grew up singing in church, but it wasn’t what you might think. She wasn’t the golden-haired angel singing the solo in the Christmas pageant. She was the girl in the pew just beginning to discover her own voice.

That shy young girl from New Braunfels, Texas, would grow up to become the unforgettable Grammy-nominated voice behind such pop hits as “Kiss Me,” “There She Goes” and “Breathe Your Name” as lead vocalist for Sixpence None the Richer.

Nash’s professional successes notwithstanding, life has offered up its share of personal challenges in recent years: the joyful arrival of her son Henry, a painful divorce, and the death of her father. And in the midst of all of it, Leigh has discovered the reality of God’s grace and comfort firsthand. “Before all this, I always felt a little self-conscious singing in church, a little awkward trying to sing the melodies. I think a big part of me didn’t feel worthy to be a conduit for such sacred hymns and songs, but now, because of what I have been through, I see it differently. To discover that songs written hundreds of years ago are still so inspiring and relevant to my life, that grace is most real when you need it most, I honestly felt every word on this record.”

Contact: http://www.myspace.com/leighnash