Odie Leigh kicked off her career as an indie folk singer because of a bet. Even weirder? She wasn’t part of the wager. Leigh heard that her roomies were trying to see who would be first to go viral with a song on TikTok. Excluded from the challenge, Leigh thought, “I’m gonna show y’all. I’m gonna win.” And she did. That was four years ago. Since then, the Louisiana born film school graduate created a series of DIY singles and EPs chock full of enticing, sincere and whimsical melodies. And wouldn’t you know, she outgrew the 15 seconds of fame on social media and evolved into a truly sublime singer-songwriter. Her songs are warm, personal and full of love and friendship, or longing and heartbreak – and relationships of course. “My carpet has crop circles these days,” she ruminates, as she paces and ponders an online dating situation. While the digital realm kickstarted things, her recordings have a distinctly old school, one-take vibe with her deceptively simple and sparse acoustic guitar playing and her warm honey voice, including the occasional background noise or cricket chirp. You get the feeling you’re sitting next to her on the front porch swing. Since 2020, the self-described “folk misfit” has been scooping up a lot of fans as she tours Europe and the U.S., including an appearance at Newport Folk Festival in 2023.

— Eric Rosenbaum