Ruby Leigh at the Adler Theatre -- March 16.
Saturday, March 16, 7:30 p.m.
Adler Theatre, 136 East Third Street, Davenport IA
Lauded by Taste of Country as an artist who "has captivated the nation with her unique yodeling vocals," country-music vocalist Ruby Leigh makes her debut at Davenport's Adler Theatre on March 16, her recent accomplishments including being the grand-prize winner of the Loretta Lynn So You Think You Can Sing Competition and being named first runner-up on the 24th season of TV's The Voice.
Hailing from Foley, Missouri, a small town with a population of 150 where she was born and currently resides, Leigh first made her mark as a vocalist in 2017, scoring third place in Adam Wainwright’s Open Competition Karaoke Contest at the tender age of nine. She was immediately drawn to such country-music greats as Hank Williams Sr., Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Ernest Tubb, Jimmy Rodgers, and others, explaining that she really liked the way they were each individuals who owned their own sound. Leigh also looked up to them as what she calls the "real singers," because they sang without the auto-voice correction that many artists use today. In 2018's American Kids National Championships, Leigh competed in three categories -- Country Music Vocals, Gospel Music Vocals, and Pop Music Vocals -- and scored gold medals in the first two and silver in the third. That same year, at the age of 10, she was selected by Fair Play Country Music Magazine as one of the top 15 unsigned artists in the world.
Last fall, Leigh competed on The Voice, and continued to advance to the finals crooning such iconic tunes as Dolly Parton's "Jolene," Linda Ronstadt's "Long Long Time," and John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads." She was ultimately awarded the runner-up citation in the show's finale, having performed "Suspicious Minds," "Desperado," and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" during the live broadcast. Now at age 16, Leigh has has collaborated with a veritable who’s-who of music-industry greats, among them Mickey Gilley, Bryan White, Billy Don Burns, Lorrie Morgan, Vince Gill, Tony Jackson, Johnny Lee, Rhonda Vincent, Pam Tills, George Portz & the Friends of Bluegrass, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, The Time Jumpers Band, The Farm Hands Bluegrass Quartet, and The Risches Family Band. She has also compiled a repertoire of more than 200 songs she has stored in memory, refusing to use paper notes or digital instruments on stage to perform her music. As Leigh states, "If you wanna be a singer, that's your job to remember the words."
Ruby Leigh headlines her Davenport engagement on March 16, admission to the 7:30 p.m. concert evtn is $34-39, and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 and visiting AdlerTheatre.com.
