When bluesy rocker Leilani Kilgore scored an impressive 8.4 in the batch of New Music Critiques published in MC’s January issue, we knew that she had earned a deeper dive. There is, after all, a rare edge to her sound—a Lynchian, sinister, dream-like quality that begs for further listening. Kilgore describes her own sound as, “Ferocious. Sensitive. Ballsy.” Yep, that works.
For the artist though, this is just the latest chapter in a long book. “According to my (very proud) parents, I started singing as soon as I could talk,” Kilgore says. “Considering how long it took me to actually start singing well, this is slightly embarrassing to admit. But writing and performing followed suit—poetry and short stories started in tandem with learning how to read and write, and it was not uncommon to see me throwing myself around the living room (most notably to Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Suite”) at a very early age. And honestly, once guitar playing factored in, my dad had me performing at his art receptions as soon as I had more than six songs in my repertoire. But I’d say it started getting serious once I started getting on actual stages, around the age of 14. The ensuing paychecks helped solidify that.”
Kilgore recently released her debut album, Tell Your Ghost, something she’s immensely proud of. However, getting it over the line was no easy feat.
“Twelve songs in three days, top to bottom,” she says. “But it was a completely necessary expression of myself and this kind of internal metamorphosis I was going through—love, loss, fury, peace, grief. I needed that album as a means of allowing myself to explore the range of my sound and writing.”
For Kilgore, “DIY” means shouldering the weight and the responsibility for one’s own career. “There’s so much to learn about this industry as an artist/entrepreneur/touring musician, and it’s no easy feat,” she says. “DIY means taking the risks necessary to try and get a little further ahead, and having the fortitude to keep with it when something doesn’t pan out. It requires an immense amount of focus and determination.”
Looking ahead, Kilgore has plenty planned for 2026. “We’re working on the second record now, which I’m incredibly excited about,” she says. “We also have extensive tour dates in the United States as well as our first-ever European tour this fall. I can’t wait to see what else unfolds.”
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