By Emilyn Smith | Director of Photography
Singer-songwriter, Odie Leigh, takes on the Portland House of Music.
Ten songs and 33 minutes long, Carrier Pigeon was released on July 12, 2024, and delivers thoughts of love, perception, insecurities, soft moments, and the idea that relationships never go smoothly. After releasing two acoustic folk EPs, singer-songwriter Odie Leigh was ready for a change. Carrier Pigeon introduces upbeat drums, electric guitar, and melodic horns to call back to her Louisiana roots. Her goal for this album was to get her thoughts out in an authentic way and deliver them to her audience, like a message in a bottle or a carrier pigeon. The artist consistently wears her heart on her sleeve throughout her music, which we can easily see in Carrier Pigeon. This is explicitly seen on Track Five, No Doubt, where the singer-songwriter walks the audience through her deep insecurities about relationships and the feeling of the rug being pulled out from under her.
Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Leigh had always thought she was going to have a career in filmmaking. Although, winning a silly bet placed by her roommates is what changed it all. During the 2020 pandemic, her rapper roommates placed a bet to see who could make the first viral song but didn’t include Leigh in this competition, so she knew she had to prove them wrong, and so she did. Once she won the bet, she knew she might have a chance at music. She then released her first EP, How Did it Seem to You?, in 2022 and followed it up with her second EP, The Only Thing Worse Than a Woman Who Lies Is a Girl Who’ll Tell Truths, in 2023.
She began the Carrier Pigeon tour in Massachusetts on Sept. 19 and made her way to the Portland House of Music on Nov. 09. The show began after Charlotte Rose Benjamin finished the opening set, playing many songs from her new album, Moth Man. Awaiting her entrance, the crowd had high energy as Leigh walked out with her band, Kaitlyn Gerdau, Grace Goodman, and Taylor Wafford. Some of Leigh’s setlist consisted of her most popular song with over seven million streams on Spotify, Crop Circles, the song that got her considerable amounts of attention on TikTok, Ronnie’s Song, and multiple songs off of her other EPs. Towards the end of her show, audience members joined together in a mosh pit, dancing and running in circles.
Leigh will continue her tour through December, finishing up the East Coast and then taking on the West Coast. You can find all of her music and information at odieleigh.com.