"They know good songs and how to add their touch to them..."  Johnsmith

Leslie and Steve moved to Rochester from the Boston area where together they ran The Mozaic Room coffeehouse, which ended its eleven-year run in the Spring of 2007. In 2003, they started recording and performing together as a duo. Their music combines their backgrounds in traditional, country and gospel music with their taste for contemporary singer/songwriters. Their performances feature simple but tasteful arrangements of timeless melodies. Steve's guitar is often supplemented by other traditional instruments (mandolin, autoharp, banjo, bass), but the focus is always on thoughtful lyrics and beautiful harmonies.

Leslie & Steve's summer schedule

It's almost summer and that means festivals! Every July we look forward to blending in with the tie-dyed crowd and enjoying the amazing music at New Bedford's Summerfest. Also this year, we'll be singing at Sonnenberg Gardens' "Arts at the Gardens" Fine Art Show. And we're excited about our first time at Peace Camp, sharing our music along with Kim and Reggie Harris. If you live in New England, you can catch our feature at the Savoury Lane open mic in West Acton, MA on July 6. We'd love to see some old friends and fellow open mic-ers! And rumor has it, we may soon begin recording a few songs for the next CD! Stay tuned for further updates and please check our Shows page for the most recent listings and information. Safe travels and a happy summer to one and all!

Leslie & Steve return to Massachusetts!

During April and May, we traveled back to the Bay State for shows at the Javawocky Coffeehouse in Brockton and The Steeple Coffeehouse in Southboro, and we were the featured performers at the Parish Center for the Arts open mic in Westford. Big thanks to the presenters (Steve, Joe, and John), the musicians (Seth, Hatrack, and Peter), all the volunteers, and especially the audiences who came out to listen. We appreciate all of you more than we can say!

Leslie & Steve return to Songwriters in the Round

On January 16, 2010, Leslie and Steve will make up one third of this month's Songwriters in the Round series, hosted by the always engaging Brian Coughlin. We are honored to also share the stage with Joe Dady, one half of the popular Rochester duo The Dady Brothers. We're crossing our fingers that Joe will play along on a few of our songs! Come see all of us at the newly remodeled Tango Cafe (formerly The House of Hamez), 389 Gregory Street in Rochester, 8:00pm. Admission is $8. (Poster design by Brian Coughlin)

Leslie Lee Graphic Design news

When Leslie isn't singing, she designs artwork for musicians and recently finished up two new CDs by Massachusetts-based singer/songwriters Sonic Bridge and Perry Desmond-Davies. You can see how the packaging turned out by going to the *design* page...or even better, buy one of their CDs and listen to their fine music as well. Both were recorded and produced by Seth Connelly, who has been recommending my design services to musicians for a couple of years now. Thanks, Seth! I have two more in the works, one by another Massachusetts native, Kim Jennings, and the other by Rob Carlson, one third of Modern Man. Steve and I are still singing whenever asked and sometimes even when we're not. Check out our schedule for upcoming Shows. Life is good! Happy Fall, everybody!

Leslie & Steve are Bound for Glory!

On Sunday, September 6, we'll be the featured performers on WVBR 93.5FM's "Bound for Glory" live broadcast from Ithaca, NY. Host Phil Shapiro has been doing this live broadcast on Sunday nights for 42 years, and now with over 1,300 shows, it has become North America's longest continuously-running live broadcast of folk music! Phil has been playing our CD on the show, and invited us to come and perform the Labor Day weekend (a perfect time for us to sing our version of Joe Glazer's "The Mill" song!). Some of our good musical friends have appeared there recently (Joe Crookston, Jack Williams, Dana & Susan Robinson) and we are thrilled to become part of this great tradition. And as if that weren't enough, two of the best musicians we know, Seth Connelly and Hatrack Gallagher, will be coming all the way from New England to accompany us. Tune in to listen, or better yet, come on out to the Cornell campus and cheer us on!

Join us for an evening of music!

On Friday, July 17 we will be performing in Cheshire, New York at 7:00PM. The concert is being hosted by the Cheshire Community Church (4315 Route 21 South) and the Cheshire Community Action Team. There will be no admission charged but a hat will be passed. We are especially pleased that our friend Allen Hopkins, a very talented multi-instrumentalist, will be sitting in with us for this show. For more information call 585-394-6607.

Leslie & Steve at The Mez

June will be here before you know it, and we are both very excited to be spending the evening of June 20th at the House of Hamez ("The Mez") as part of their monthly Songwriters in the Round series. Yes, it's been awhile since Steve wrote any songs...but we're putting a fresh coat on a few of them and paying homage to other songwriters by covering theirs. Hey, they were all written by somebody, right? We're honored to be sharing the stage with multi-talented host Brian Coughlin and "dyed in the wool folkie" Jim Clare. Hope to see you there!

Golden Link 5th Tuesday Member Showcase Concert

On March 31, 2009 Leslie & Steve were part of the Golden Link Folk Singing Society's 5th Tuesday Member Showcase Concert. Founded in 1971, Golden Link hosts a singalong every Tuesday night, and during months that have five Tuesdays, members have a chance to perform onstage at the 12 Corners Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY. We had such a great time meeting and singing for everyone! Thank you, Allen Hopkins, for inviting us and also for accompanying us on mandolin. And thank you, members, for the warm welcome! Click here to see photos of the evening.

Leslie Lee & Steve Gretz wish everyone a Happy 2009!

What better way to ring in the new year than to celebrate the release of our latest recording Better Off Someday. On January 24, 2009, we held our official CD release party at The Rose Garden in Mansfield, MA. The Nashville Clippers (The Rose Garden's "house band") opened the night for us. Then we were joined onstage by some of the incredible musicians who contributed to the CD: Seth Connelly (guitar and mandolin), Hatrack Gallagher (harmonica), Matt Leavenworth (fiddle and electric guitar), Peter Tillotson (upright bass), and Don Croad (percussion). Being surrounded by so much talent was truly an awesome experience for us. We were also overjoyed to reconnect with some of our old, New English friends. Thank you, Mac McLanahan, for hosting an evening we will never forget! To see some great photos of the big night (provided by tireless photographer and webmaster Steve Ide), visit our Photos page or watch Videos on YouTube.

Better Off Someday features 15+ songs by some of our favorite songwriters, with instrumental help from an amazing group of musicians. Not only did Seth Connelly return to the helm as producer and engineer on our third collaboration, he also contributed vocals, upright and electric bass, mandolin, banjo, guitars, dobro, autoharp, piano, accordion, and percussion. Additional tracks were provided by the very talented Don Croad (drums), Hatrack Gallagher (harmonica), Matt Leavenworth (fiddle), Billy Novick (whistle), Eric Royer (banjo), and Valerie Thompson (cello). And we were especially honored that Grammy Award-winning guitarist Ed Gerhard played lap steel and Weissenborn guitar on two of the songs. Thank you all for lifting us to a higher musical plain!

Old Time Music Night

For the second consecutive year, we continue to hold our enthusiastically attended Old Time Music Nights on the first Sunday evening of each month. As we make new musical friends in the Rochester area, we hope to include them in these evenings of song. Bring your voices and your instruments, or maybe a plate of brownies. All are welcome!