Biography
Jimmy Leslie is a renaissance man on the Bay Area music scene wearing several musical hats with a signature style.
Music Journalism: Guitar Player and Lats & Atts
Jimmy Leslie is internationally respected as the Frets Editor at Guitar Player, as well as event coordinator for GP Presents. He’s interviewed everyone from Carlos Santana to Jack White, and coordinated GP Presents events ranging from Paco de Lucia to Buddy Guy. Leslie also creates entertainment content for Latitudes & Attitudes focused on the soundtrack to the cruising lifestyle.
Original Artistry: Spirit Hustler and Solo
Leslie is a freak freehand guitar stylist, a soaring singer and a natural storyteller. The singer-songwriter landscape may be flooded, but only one cat sings in a soaring tenor with such grace and power while ripping acoustic-electric in a percussive modern fingerstyle that makes heads spin. Leslie can deliver entire song structures in a solo setting, but he’s happy to surround himself with other virtuosos and let them shine.
Spirit Hustler is the moniker for Leslie’s original modern/classic rock project, and 2022’s self-titled album features Jason Crosby (Jackson Browne, Phil Lesh) on strings, James Nash (The Waybacks) on mandolin, and Jeremy Hoenig (Melvin Seals & JGB) on drums. Spirit Hustler evokes raves from the player community including Ben Harper, Sonny Landreth, and Luther Dickinson who says: “Wow, this is a masterpiece. Perfect, honest psychedelic vocals and the lyrics to match. A real modern San Francisco album.”
Bay to Bayou
Leslie’s solo records Surfin’ the Swamp and Dance Until Forever feature players from Galactic and the Honey Island Swamp Band, respectively. They combine the dreamy/funky charms of sister cities San Francisco and New Orleans.
The Allmond Brothers is the Bay Area’s top tribute to the Allman Brothers Band. Playing the Dickey role as “Trickey Frets,” Leslie leads a killer lineup including Josh Brough (Poor Man’s Whiskey) and Jules Leyhe through faithful renditions of tunes from At Fillmore East and beyond. Leyhe wields the “Best slide blues licks since Derek Trucks according to Premier Guitar. Leslie has extensive history with Devon Allman’s Allman Family Revival and its historic shows at the Fillmore.
Guitarfish, Festivals and Touring
Leslie co-founded the Star City Music Festival and the Guitarfish Music Festival, with the latter taking its title from Leslie’s eco-musical, Guitarfish Adventures. Jimmy is a regular feature at the High Sierra Music Festival with Guitarmageddon, and he is a primary player at Burning Man’s premier music camp, Reverbia. Leslie regularly plays during Jazz Fest in New Orleans, including a regular David Lindley tribute with Papa Mali and Wally Ingram. He’s shared stages with Tab Benoit and Cyril Neville. Leslie has toured internationally with Shana Morrison including gigs at Ireland’s O2 opening for her father, Van Morrison.