Fresh off winning the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Award for Best Americana Artist and earning rave reviews for reprising the role of Bob Dylan alongside Chest Fever at Ophelia’s on Broadway, Laura Leigh reached another milestone on May 15 at Lark Hall with the release of her new album Late Night Laura Leigh. If there was ever any doubt that the Capital Region has birthed one of its most compelling rising Americana voices, this night in Albany erased it completely.
Playing her album front to back on the grand stage at Lark Hall for the very first time, Laura Leigh transformed the historic Albany venue into something between a cosmic roadhouse revival, a family reunion, and a psychedelic country hootenanny. Complete with live paintings, bizarre costumes and masks, surprise collaborators, and a crowd that felt more like an extended musical family than a typical audience, the evening unfolded as a celebration not just of an album, but of an artist finally arriving at her moment.
For years Laura Leigh has been a staple downstairs at The Eleven, Lark Hall’s intimate Grateful Dead-inspired speakeasy tucked beneath the ballroom, honing her craft before loyal local audiences. But May 15 marked her first official set on Lark Hall’s main stage, and she handled the moment with the poise and confidence of someone who belonged there all along. Backed by a band that has grown remarkably tight over the past few years, Dave Lawlor (guitar), Chanda Dewey (drums) and Chris Macchia (bass), provided the perfect foundation for Laura Leigh’s blend of Americana, outlaw country, folk storytelling, roots rock, bluegrass, and vintage honky-tonk. Her songs carry dusty highways, rust belt poetry, heartbreak, humor, and hard-earned wisdom in equal measure. During her recent Eddie Awards acceptance speech, her producer Victor Deyglio summed it up perfectly. “There’s more Mark Twain than Shania Twain in Laura’s songs.” It’s an observation that feels increasingly accurate with every performance.
The evening at Lark Hall began with a delightfully unhinged opening set from The Meat Chickenz, the Coeymans Hollow-based roots outfit whose absurdist mythology and backwoods humor somehow perfectly complement their authentic porch-style bluegrass and swampy Americana sound. Dressed in overalls, scraggly beards, and enough rural mystique to make it impossible to tell where the joke ended and the sincerity began, the five-piece barreled through a wildly entertaining set featuring “Yankee Holler,” “Cooked Feathers,” “Garage Song,” “Mournful Ghost,” an Alice in Chains inspired cover of “House Rooster (Owl),” and an unforgettable version of “My Cock.” Their tongue-in-cheek origin story involving alien chicken men, tornadoes, psychonauts, and hidden banjo powers only deepens the cult appeal. More importantly, they can flat-out play. The loose, rowdy chemistry between Bob on washboard, CJ on mandolin, Clayton on guitar, Zeb on banjo, and Mike on bass gave the room an immediate sense of community and chaos that perfectly set the stage for the evening ahead.
After a heartfelt introduction and blessing by Stu, the Laura Leigh Band emerged to thunderous applause and wasted no time settling into the emotional core of the record. Opening with “Johnny,” the band immediately established the night’s rich blend of vulnerability and grit. “Cowboy Trade” and “Drink Your Tears” leaned heavily into Laura’s gift for narrative songwriting, while “Mario” and “Local” showcased the playful humanity woven throughout her catalog.
A haunting rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “State Trooper” proved one of the first major highlights of the evening, Laura channeling the song’s desperation and loneliness with startling conviction. Her version of Gillian Welch’s “Dry Town” felt equally reverent and lived-in, while “Corn Song” closed the first set with a ragged, rootsy intensity that left the crowd buzzing through intermission.
The second set expanded the communal spirit even further. Following Stu’s introduction of Lex Grey and Vic Mix, the evening took on an almost freewheeling Last Waltz atmosphere. Lucinda Williams’ “Crescent City,” featuring Grey and Mix, unfolded with smoky elegance before the band launched into “Train to Heaven” and a spirited cover of Courtney Barnett’s “Outta the Woodwork.” Throughout the night, Laura demonstrated an increasingly commanding stage presence. Gone is the tentative local songwriter of a few years ago. In her place stands a confident bandleader capable of steering emotional ballads, gritty country rave-ups, and psychedelic folk jams with equal authority.
“Election Day,” the Blaze Foley cover, hit especially hard in the room, while John Prine’s “Pretty Good” and Steve Earle’s “Guitar Town,” both featuring Chris Carballeira on keys, injected a roadhouse swagger into the set’s latter half. Traditional staples “Peggy O” and “In The Pines” further reinforced Laura’s reverence for American roots music traditions, but it was “Poughkeepsie River,” featuring Carballeira and Dave Geoghegan, that may have best captured the spirit of the evening. Expansive, emotional, collaborative, and about as local as it gets. The encore elevated the communal atmosphere into something genuinely moving.
By the time the band launched into Charlie Poole’s “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down” and the Grateful Dead’s “New Speedway Boogie” with all the evening’s special guests crowding the stage, Lark Hall no longer felt like a venue. It felt like a living room full of old friends, weird cousins, traveling musicians, painters, storytellers, and believers gathered together for one long overdue celebration. That atmosphere is precisely what has made Lark Hall such an essential home for local music. The beautifully restored venue has quickly become one of the region’s most important cultural spaces. A room large enough to feel historic but intimate enough to preserve the connection between artist and audience.
No one understands that better than legendary local promoter Greg Bell of Guthrie/Bell Productions, one of Laura Leigh’s earliest and most vocal supporters. Bell has booked Laura countless times over the years, championing her long before award ceremonies and headlining performances entered the conversation. That’s what made his post-show praise feel especially meaningful.
Taking to social media after the performance, Bell wrote:
“The Capital District has been on fire lately with the amazing talent that we have offer. Friday night at Lark Hall, The Laura Leigh Band probably played the best two sets that I have ever seen them do. Laura’s songs, vocals and stage presence has grown tremendously over the past few years. Her band is tight and are perfect for her sound. She is as good as anyone out there in the Americana/Country Music scene regionally or nationally and probably better than most. The Meat Chickenz opened and if you want to hear some hillbilly/honky-tonk/roadhouse music, this is the band for you. Continue to support live local music. The next big thing is sitting in your backyard.”
Bell’s words echoed what many inside Lark Hall were already feeling. Laura Leigh is no longer simply a promising local songwriter. She has become one of the defining voices of a thriving regional Americana movement that continues to gain momentum and national-level credibility.
As the final notes faded and friends lingered outside The Eleven long after the encore ended, the night carried the unmistakable feeling of something larger than an album release. It felt like a celebration of community, of persistence, of local art, and of the strange magic that happens when musicians, fans, artists, and old friends gather together in one room to believe in something collectively. For a few hours on May 15, Albany felt like the center of the Americana universe.
Laura Leigh Band | May 15, 2026 | Lark Hall | Albany, NY
Set 1: Johnny, Cowboy Trade, Drink Your Tears, Mario, Local, State Trooper (B. Springsteen), Dry Town (Gillian Welch), Corn Song.
Set 2: Crescent City (w/ Vic Mix and Lex Grey) (Lucinda Williams Cover), Train to Heaven, Outta the Woodwork (Courtney Barnett Cover), Loretta, Election Day (Blaze Foley Cover), Pretty Good w/ Chris Carballeira on keys (John Prine Cover), Guitar Town w/ Chris Carballeira on keys (Steve Earle), Peggy O (Traditional), In The Pines, Poughkeepsie River w/ Chris Carballeira and Dave Geoghegan.
Encore: Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down (Charlie Poole), New Speedway Boogie (Grateful Dead) (With all special guests).
The Meat Chickenz | May 15, 2026 | Lark Hall | Albany, NY
Setlist: Yankee Holler, Rounding the Creek, Cooked Feathers, Baked Chix, Hang Out, Garage Song, Late Night, Mournful Ghost, House Rooster (Owl), My Cock.
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