Austin Hartley-Leonard

Though now firmly-rooted in alt country and folk styles, Los Angeles musician Austin Hartley-Leonard's start in music began with a more traditional approach. Classically trained in cello and a graduate of Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music, the singer/songwriter began to branch out into other genres as a member of Austin, Texas' bustling music scene in the mid-2000s. Hartley-Leonard possesses a well-worn, smokey voice that sounds surprisingly authentic for such a young singer, and his sound can go from a sparse acoustic ballad, to a fully-formed alt country jam full of piano, horns and lap-steel guitars at moment's notice. Shortly after his move to Los Angeles, Hartley-Leonard released his solo debut, Franklin Ave., in 2007.