Leslie Nuss

Singer-songwriter Leslie Nuss drew on roots rock and power pop while citing Sheryl Crow as a chief inspiration, surfacing in the late 1990s with an eclectic and often confrontational strain of alternative rock. Her debut, Heliotrope, appeared in 1998; soon afterward she founded Little Leaf Records. The self-titled Leslie Nuss followed in 2004, one of several kindred releases she issued across the ensuing decade. After stepping away from the studio to raise a family and attend to other life changes, she returned in 2020 with the dreamier fifth album, Sh*t Happens, again on her own label.

A native of Chicago, Nuss first felt the pull of music at age four, often singing into the handle of a jump rope. More than two decades and multiple career turns would pass before she committed to music as her calling. After college she moved to New York City and took a series of jobs—as a nanny, recycling coordinator, concert promoter, and lifeguard—while studying design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Her work caught the attention of Abercrombie & Fitch, Timberland, and Bag Bazaar. In 1995, while playing in the post-grunge band Dogwater, she was commissioned to design headpieces for Betsey Johnson’s fall collection; her signature pink glass-beaded tiaras appeared on the cover of YM magazine’s spring 1998 prom supplement and briefly sparked a teen fashion trend.

The urge to make her own music proved stronger, so Nuss funded the recording of Heliotrope with earnings from her accessories line. Wilco’s Jay Bennett performed on the set, which was produced by singer-songwriter Adam Schmitt. Heartened by the example of independent artists such as Ani DiFranco, she launched Little Leaf Records and issued her second album, Action Hero Superstar, in 2000. That record, cut with producer Kyle Kelso and featuring Jon Skibic of the Afghan Whigs, was shaped in part by a stranger’s knife attack the year before, which left wounds on Nuss’s face and head. Tracks soon landed on Dawson’s Creek and All About Us, and she toured with Jill Sobule and Antigone Rising, among others.

For 2004’s Leslie Nuss she collaborated with producer Mike Shimshack and was backed by the indie-rock band Lola Ray. She handled production herself on 2006’s Round 3, assisted by co-producer Mark Berlin and with drummer Mike Zelenko (Material Issue, Shoes) on the sessions.

An extended recording break followed, encompassing marriage, the births of her children, personal loss, and a return to Chicago. Eventually Nuss resumed playing locally, both solo and with her new band Specx. When she re-entered the studio the material was more reflective. The 2018 EP V, produced by Ainjel Emme and Kyle Paas, included contributions from Pete Remm (Ringo Starr, Norah Jones), Peter Levin (the Blind Boys of Alabama), and Jon Titterington (Father John Misty). Drawn in part from those same sessions, the full-length Sh*t Happens appeared on Little Leaf Records in 2020.