Andrew Leahey & the Homestead

Based in Nashville, Andrew Leahey channels the established lineage of American roots rock, alt-country, and classic pop. A rock & roll songwriter whose sound echoes the spirit of Petty and Springsteen, Leahey started gaining traction as a solo artist during the early 2010s while leading his band the Homestead. After a brain tumor sidelined him in 2013, the singer/guitarist fought his way through recovery and reclaimed his creative momentum, issuing the exultant Skyline in Central Time in 2016 and the harder-edged Airwaves in 2019. The two-part double-album American Static, Vol. 1 appeared in October 2021, traversing an array of rock styles from psych rock to piano pop, while the equally wide-ranging Vol. 2 surfaced in May 2022.

Born in Richmond, Virginia, Leahey first fronted the rock- and new wave-leaning group Hobson's Choice, which he launched in 2001 during his time at the University of Virginia. The band achieved regional success and issued its only independent album in 2004 before disbanding the following year. Relocations to New York City and Ann Arbor, Michigan, allowed Leahey to advance his dual paths as a music journalist and performer. After studying choral singing at Juilliard, he formed another ensemble, the Opera House, which played throughout Michigan from 2009 to 2011. He later settled in Nashville, where he assembled the musicians who would become his core backing group, the Homestead. The self-titled debut by Andrew Leahey & the Homestead arrived in late 2011, presenting hard-hitting, melody-rich roots rock infused with emotional depth. As a frontman and bandleader, Leahey toured extensively and cultivated a nationwide audience.

By summer 2013, an EP had just come out and his profile appeared poised for wider recognition, yet unexplained physical symptoms—persistent migraines, abrupt hearing loss, and balance problems—were traced to a brain tumor on his hearing nerve. The 12-hour operation carried the risk of permanent hearing and balance impairment or worse, but Leahey underwent the procedure and endured an extended period without performing. With the crisis behind him, he approached songwriting with fresh intensity and, alongside producer and Wilco founder Ken Coomer, recorded Skyline in Central Time, a robust collection of road-focused rock anthems charged with life. Released on Nashville's Thirty Tigers label in summer 2016, the album prompted nearly 200 live dates over the next year.

Teaming again with producer Paul Ebersold, Leahey shifted away from the Americana leanings of the prior record toward the streamlined rock & roll of Airwaves, issued in 2019 and steeped in the FM-radio aesthetic of his youth. Following further touring, he resumed session work as guitarist for Elizabeth Cook and appeared prominently on her 2020 Butch Walker-produced album Aftermath. During the same period he began shaping an expansive double-album effort called American Static. While pandemic lockdowns curtailed live activity, Leahey and his bandmates maintained a steady stream of livestream performances that generated dozens of new songs, which they divided into two volumes.

American Static, Vol. 1 surfaced in late 2021, retaining much of the rock drive heard on Airwaves while venturing into psychedelia, Beatlesque piano pop, and additional unexpected directions. Vol. 2 followed in May of the next year, displaying even greater breadth and containing some of Leahey's strongest and most varied material to date.