>>Newsflash!  All of our in-person gigs are cancelled until further notice. Please be safe!

GARY WRIGHT & LEAH WEISS play American roots music. Drawing from the traditions of Appalachian old-time and country music, their repertoire is a blend of originals, reinvented and traditional songs and tunes, and innovative contemporary covers. Driving fiddle lines and tight harmony singing are trademarks of their sound.

Gary Wright & Leah Weiss perform as a duo as well as in various acoustic and electric bands. Their musical palette is wide and rich. They are seasoned and versatile performers who have played for and appeal to a range of audiences, from intimate settings such as house concerts and weddings, to barn dances, to clubs and festival stages.

They perform regularly at 49 West Coffeehouse in their hometown of Annapolis, Maryland, and created the monthly "American Roots Night" series there. Featured artists in the series have included Ruben Dobbs, June Drucker, James Leva, Steve Lowe, Jenn Reichwein, Pete Reichwein, Dean Rosenthal, Mark Schatz, Karl Straub, Al Tharp, Jordan Tice, Caleb Stine, Ann Porcella, Paul Brown, and Maya Lerman.


>> Gary grew up playing electric guitar in rock and country bands and started delving into traditional music--including old-time fiddle music and West African guitar styles--in the early 1980s. For nearly ten years, Gary was a member of The Hix, a band that the Philadelphia Music Press described as "sound[ing] like Doc Boggs meets David Byrne on the way to Lou Reed's House." He performed as lead guitarist with the Lejeune Jones Band and the Jennie Stearns Band, and toured with James Leva and Memory Theatre.


>> Leah has a rhythmic fiddle style that is rooted in old-time Appalachian music. For nearly 15 years, in addition to playing for square- and contra-dances, she performed with The Poodles, a Boston-based band whose last recording, "Unleashed," won an honorable mention in the "best string" category at the 1994 NAIRD Indie awards. For two years, she performed with The Hix. Leah's first musical passion was for Balkan and eastern European traditional styles, and for several years she performed traditional Hungarian tanchaz music on three-stringed kontra-viola with The Pulis and with violinist Beth Cohen.

With five recordings and countless festivals and concerts between them, Gary and Leah began songwriting and performing together in 2001. For a list of selected appearances, click here.

Their first CD together, Down this Road, was released in November 2003.  


>> The Bands

In their Annapolis-based CADILLAC MULE, Gary and Leah are joined by drummer Tom Fridrich (Dean Rosenthal's Racket, Ruthie and the Wranglers), bassist Jeff Muller (Karl Straub Trio), and Ahren Buchheister (Black Rhinoceros, Pompei Graffiti) on pedal steel, dobro, and mandolin. Together, they play classic country songs from such artists as Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, George Jones & Melba Montgomery, and Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton, more contemporary songs from the likes of Rodney Crowell, Keith Whitley, and Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris, and country-inspired originals.

As THE BASEMENT BAND, Annapolis blues-roots-rocker Dean Rosenthal joins forces with Gary, Leah, Tom, and Jeff to perform the music of Bob Dylan and The Band. The result is a powerful presentation of classic and inventive covers of some of the best songs written in this era.  The Basement Band debuted in April 2006 to critical acclaim.

With Baltimore's favorite songwriter Caleb Stine and local multi-instrumentalist Ahren Buchheister, they perform as THE WRIGHTEOUS ROUNDERS.

For traditional old-time music for square- and contra-dances, Gary and Leah often play with Kate Brett (banjo), Neil Harpe (banjo), Paul Brown (banjo), and Kevin Enoch (bass). With Sarah Carleton (banjo) and June Drucker (bass), they are  I-95 BREAKDOWN. Ruben Dobbs and Jenn Reichwein join them for RUBEN'S TRAIN. They helped to create the Galesville Community Square Dance, a fun, unique multi-generational dance series that features the amazing caller and dance teacher Janine Smith and runs every year from September to early May.

With Al Tharp (formerly of BeauSoleil, Freewill Savages, and Plank Road Stringband) on clawhammer banjo and bass, they perform as RUN MOUNTAIN.  Click here to view Run Mountain's Electronic Press Kit at Sonic Bids.


>>Newsflash Archives 


March 2019: Come on out to our monthly happy-hour gig, along with Tom Fridrich on jambourine, in the front room of 49 West Coffeehouse. It's typically on the 2nd but occasionally the 3rd Thursday—check our gig listing for details.

May 2018: On Thursday, May 10, Cadillac Mule opens for Ruthie and the Wranglers at Ram's Head On Stage for a fun evening of country and country-inspired music!

January 2018: We've started a monthly happy-hour gig, along with Tom Fridrich on jambourine, in the front room of 49 West Coffeehouse. It's typically on the 2nd but occasionally the 3rd Thursday—check our gig listing for details.

December 2015: Check out a video here, in which Gary and Leah play and sing "The Mountain" with Caleb Stine and the Brakemen.

October 2013: We've been having so much fun playing with Caleb Stine and Ahren Buchheister that we formed a band: The Wrighteous Rounders. Look for our upcoming gigs.

January 2013: 2013 rings in the fourth year of our monthly "American Roots Night" series at 49 West Coffeehouse. Check the calendar under "gigs" to see which artists will be performing, and make your reservations early!

March 2012: We've been recording here and there for various friends' projects.  Check out Ruben "Swampcandy" Dobbs' video about his upcoming CD and film by clicking here.  Leah's hair figures prominently!

June 2011: Gary, Leah, and Al Tharp spent a fun day in the studio in Baltimore with Caleb Stine and Michael Patrick Flannagan Smith, laying down tracks for a companion CD to Michael's play "Woody Guthrie Dreams."  The play had a run in New York City.  Click Here for more information.

August 2005: Listen to Leah on NPR!  She expounds on the wonders of the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in a segment of the show "Day to Day"  Check out the August 5th show by clicking here!   She leads off and ends the story.

October 2004: You can now listen to sound bites off of our CD by clicking on CD Baby.

August 2004: Gary & Leah won third place in the Traditional Band contest--playing with their old bandmates from The Hix--at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in Clifftop, West Virginia.