Leslie Stevens and The Badgers

Bio:

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We are Leslie and the Badgers and we formed in Los Angeles....

"Unfortunately No Depression just called it quits, because if there ever was a band that magazine was going to break, this is it." - The Portland Mercury

“Whether she's longing for a person ("My Tears Are Wasted on You"), place ("Los Angeles") or thing ("Salvation"), Leslie Stevens sings like a country honey who can hold her own in the big city. Pity the fool who broke her heart.” - Philadelphia City Paper

"Canyon Country Bands are as common as brush fires in LA but the thing that separates this combo apart is the voice of the titular Leslie...a rounded shining thing that evokes Patsy Cline's sass and sorrow in one swoop." - LA Times

"Leslie and The Badgers are quietly turning into one of the city's best...what makes the songs magical is the way Stevens spruces up the retro country-pop settings with clear-eyed and thoughtfully incisive lyrics." - LA Weekly

"Sultry vocals and poignant lyrics." – San Francisco Chronicle

"Leslie Stevens and her backing group make sweet, jangly country with deep roots in the grounds tilled by Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton, calling to mind a sleeker, smarter creature. Stevens' voice is as strong and confident as her influences, and her Badgers [provide] a warm backdrop of slide guitars and fiddles for their singer's whiskey-soaked ballads." – Portland Mercury

"Americana country-pop quintet Leslie and The Badgers hail from Los Angeles, but sound like they’d be just as comfortable, even more so, jamming on a back porch in Appalachia as a hip club on the Sunset Strip. Frontwoman Leslie Stevens is gifted with a lovely soprano voice." – Portland Tribune

The Los Angeles music scene is enjoying an unlikely twang-rock boom, and these traditional revivalists could be the next to blow up, with a Dolly Parton-style young starlet singer and smoking musicianship. - Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Whiskey-whistling alt-country avant-folk shot through with flecks of jazz, punk rock and heartstring-plucking Americana." – Flavorpill

  You can't help but be reminded of Emmylou Harris when you hear her voice but you will never be confused by it. Ms. Stevens can sing country, R & B, blues, or anything else that may come her way...You best have your ear to the ground on this...It's that good and you can expect to hear a lot more from this amazingly talented band." - No Depression

"Seasoned as the weather itself...like a gypsy caravan picking up musicians and fans along the way...real enough to steal one's heart away." - LA Record

"Specializing in threadbare country-folk ruminations and down-home barnburners, Leslie and the Badgers are striking in their simplicity and straightforwardness. What is most refreshing, however, is lead singer Leslie Stevens' utter lack of guile. There's a sincerity and clarity to her lyrics and delivery that raises competent country-rock arrangements to a much higher level." – Santa Cruz Weekly

"Roomful of Smoke is a Saturday morning Americana record: It starts soft, in recognition of Friday night, and picks up energy toward Saturday night." – The Oregonian

"There's vengeful ghosts and wagon trains and even the founders of the 13th Floor Elevators hiding in the individual histories of Leslie and the Badgers - and you'll hear them clearly as they show up, one by one, in these artful (but exciting!) canyon-country songs." – OC Weekly

"A fresh, ear pleasing sound that's attracted a growing Eastside following...'Los Angeles' and pleading 'Winter Fugue' serve notice Stevens is a writer to watch." - Pasadena Weekly

Frontwoman Leslie Stevens sings with an alluring twang that evokes Emmylou Harris' sweetness coupled Neko Case's feistiness..."Los Angeles," "Americans in Rome" and "Ballpark Lights" shine as exuberant slices of melodic Americana. Smoke forecasts bright days ahead for this up-and-coming band. - Cleveland Scene