Folk musician Shantel Leitner will be in Muncie this week while on a cross-country tour supporting her new album, “Indigo.” She will be performing at Be Here Now at 8 p.m. Tuesday. This will be the Kansas native’s first time playing in Indiana.
“The venue liked the album and wanted us there,” Leitner said.
Her music is a style that mixes both soul and folk genres.
“It’s a good unique blend,” she said. “It’s very interesting.”
Leitner’s performance will be longer than most, since she is commuting from Marion, Ind. Instead of the 15 minutes most artists receive, touring guests can play a 30-minute set.
Be Here Now is expecting about the same crowd that they usually have for their open mic night on the evening that Leitner performs.
An album review by examiner.com writer Michael Rickert described her album “as a flowing easy listening piece” that is both reminiscent of Fiest and Norah Jones in term of vocals.
Leitner said she looked up to her family while developing her own musical style, since her grandfather, aunt and mother were all musicians. Leitner herself has been playing music for “quite a long time”.
For the rest of her tour, Leitner will stop in 27 cities over the course of a month. While many musicians will have time to prepare before a show, because of her schedule Leitner does not have such a luxury.
“Being on the road doesn’t allow for me to have much of a pre-show ritual,” she said. “I always make a point to scope out the venue though... it helps to have the smallest understanding of your listeners in order to give a good show.”
As for the future, Leitner said she hardly has time to think about what she will do.
“I have a lot of projects going on right now... because of that I try not to think about the future but just focus on what I’m doing in the present,” she said.
