Donegal native Leila Jane evokes the best of classic blues while adding a fresh native twist. Her vocals and guitar playing call to mind the sultry folk of Karen Dalton, but she never runs the risk of losing her Irish twang. Jane’s passion for the blues emerged in her early teens. “When I was 13 I got really into the soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” she reflects. “I loved the bluegrass harmonies and the performances by Alison Krauss. Also, my dad played me Robert Johnson’s stuff as well. One day I was sick and off school, so I just listened to all of his recordings.”
It wasn’t enough just to play and listen – the young songwriter also visited the US to check out the landscape that inspired the music she loved. “When I’m in America, the music I play isn’t as unique as it is over here,” notes Jane, “because it’s just normal for them to play that style. Over there, you’re accepted and inspired by that whole blues community.”
On songs like ‘Regret’, Jane’s aching croon may be pure Joplin, although she insists it’s not a conscious reference. “I don’t think too much about it,” she says. “I just let it come out, and what does come out is a mixture of influences and singers that I love.”
Jane performs both on her own and with her band The Healers, two approaches she enjoys equally. “It’s nice to have a bigger sound on stage,” she says, “but it’s also good being by yourself, and really connecting with the audience on your own. It’s more intimate and you can be spontaneous.”