‘I Have To Play Music With Her’: Melissa Carper and Brennen Leigh’s Extraordinary Co-Writing Partnership

“I have to play music with her,” singer/songwriter Melissa Carper thought the first time she saw fellow singer/songwriter Brennen Leigh play live, circa 2009. Listening to Leigh on stage at the Evangeline Café in Austin that night as she played her way through old country and bluegrass tunes, Carper felt a kinship, immediately. She too knew and loved the same songs. When they met, Carper offered to play bass for Leigh; soon, they started swapping in and out of each others’ bands, Carper on upright bass, Leigh on mandolin.