Leah Blevins - First Time Feeling (Deluxe Edition) (2023)

A versatile country artist with an indelible voice, Leah Blevins emerged in 2015 with a sound and style that combines elements of vintage country music, folk, rock, blues, and gospel. Working with producers Paul Cauthen and Beau Bedford of the Texas Gentlemen, Blevins released her acclaimed debut long-player, First Time Feeling, in 2021.

Born in Sand Hook, Kentucky, Blevins was raised in a musical family. Her aunts, uncles, and grandparents were in a gospel group called the Harbor Masters and toured Appalachia in the '70s and '80s, so it came as no surprise that Leah harbored her own innate musical talent. Inspired by the rich harmonies of church hymns and the pure country prowess of Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn -- as well as the more secular sounds of artists like Stevie Nicks and Janis Joplin -- Blevins eventually moved to Nashville to stake out her own claim in the music business. She issued her first EP, Runnin', in 2015, with Walk Home arriving three years later -- both releases showcased her distinctive voice and poetic lyrics. She relocated to Texas in 2020 to begin work on her first full-length effort. The resulting First Time Feeling was recorded in Dallas with Paul Cauthen and Beau Bedford of the Texas Gentlemen and released in 2021. ~ James Christopher Monger