About

Brian Ledford can’t bring himself to do the safe thing. Not content to do straight revival Americana/Alt-country, the singer-songwriter draws from his own musical roots and the things closest to his heart and transforms them into something that’s quite rare these days—great, original songs. Music that’s as much informed by The Clash as The Flatlanders. At turns as lush as Lanois, as direct as Cash. But always bearing Ledford’s unique strains of introspection and melody.

The back story reads like the plot from a Stegner novel: the son of Oklahoma concrete finishers and oilmen is born and raised in DFW, kicks around Texas looking for a home, trying his luck in Lubbock, Ft. Worth, and Austin before pulling up stakes in search of greener pastures in the wet of the Pacific Northwest. Like a musical, modern-day, incarnation of the great western Boomer.

His first solo outing, 2009’s “Truth & Love,” found an enthusiastic audience and glowing print and online press who welcomed him as, “a unique voice in Americana music,” and praised the record as, “having moments of originality that shove this album way beyond the usual run-of-the-mill.”

“From Sunlight Into Shadow” is next chapter in the story. True to its title, the eight songs takes the listener on a journey from stories of love and redemption to betrayal and despair,  turning summer days to the brooding twilight of a West Texas thunderstorm.

Following up his successful 2009 debut record, “Truth & Love,” highlighted with appearances by legendary players like Redd Volkaert and Wayne Horvitz, Ledford comes out of the gate this time with his own band, The Cadillac Desert, made up of some of the finest players in the Seattle scene. Matt Brown (Trespassers William), who also engineered and produced the record, trades guitar and bass duties with Liam Blodgett. Both deliver standout performances. Reade Whitwell, long a Seattle “go-to” player, rounds out the band, bringing his feel and chops to the drums.

Whatever the future holds, we can be sure that this emerging fixture on the American music scene will continue to bring us songs from his diverse landscape that transport us and make us think. And this time he’s staying put.