Christmas came a little early for Leigh Phillips who received the news on December 12 that she will be the Barbadian representative for the Club One New Releases Canadian TVÂ series! Leigh was chosen to represent Barbados on Season 5 of the show which has created a platform that showcases musical performances, exclusive interviews, the songwriting process and more.
Upon getting the word that she was selected Leigh said “I am so excited and grateful to be chosen out of so many talented artists! I can’t wait to represent Barbados, make new connections, expand the reach of my brand and learn from the experience. Performing outside of Barbados, and getting the opportunity to create something special with another band, is definitely going to be one of the highlights of 2018 for me!”
Each season a select few musicians are chosen from Canada and the Caribbean to take part in international musical fusion. Organizers worked with Anies Jordan of the Association of Music Entrepreneurs to identify the local artists to be considered to represent Barbados. As part of the qualifying process, each artist had to perform two original songs and conduct an interview about their musical journey with the producers. There was a week-long voting period, and the results were announced on December 12, 2017.
Leigh, who is a singer-songwriter, performed her self-penned tracks “Burn” and “45” from her debut EP “Leigh” which was released on September 21, 2017. As the chosen representative, Leigh will be traveling with her band to Trinidad and Newfoundland, Canada, in March and April 2018 to perform as a part of the show. Artists are paired together and asked to write and perform new original pieces of music by fusing their own styles together to create something completely unique. She is following in the footsteps of fellow Honey Jam alum, Adaeze, who represented Barbados on Season 4 of the show.  Kirk Brown and 2Mile Hill have also participated in years past.
Leigh describes her sound as a fusion of Caribbean flavors, with a jazz influenced vocal, over Pop beats. She has been writing since the age of twelve. Her musical influences include Billie Holiday, Anita Baker, Buju Banton and Alicia Keys. Leigh’s three-track EP gives you insight into her life as she tackles the themes of self-love and choices. You can find her EP “Leigh” on several major platforms including Soundcloud, iTunes, Tidal, Spotify and Selecta Charts.
Leigh has been featured in She Caribbean Magazine, LIAT’s Zing Magazine, Gine On Magazine, The Grenadian Voice Newspaper, and several local newspapers in Barbados. Leigh just performed as a guest at the November Honey Jam show, has been performing at The Grapevine in Lanterns Mall, at Norman Centre as a part of their Christmas entertainment, and will be at the Dome Mall on December 18th as a part of their Five Nights of Christmas show. You can also catch her next month at the Honey Jazz Gala January 27 at Frank Collymore Hall.
To keep up with Leigh you can find her on social media:
@leighpmusic (Instagram)
https://www.facebook.com/leighphillips246/ (Facebook)
www.soundcloud.com/leighpmusic (EP)Â Â Â leighpmusic@gmail.com
