BAKER CITY — Brennen Leigh grew up on country music.

“I don’t think I knew there was another genre of music until I was maybe 8,” she said. “I love it because it’s rural people’s stories.”

Leigh grew up in Moorhead, Minnesota, which is right on the state border and less than two miles from Fargo, North Dakota.

“My family and I were country music fans,” she said. “My brother and I, we were professional kid musicians.”

The siblings moved to Texas when Leigh was 19.

“I’ve actually had no other job, ever. I’ve been a professional lifer musician my whole life,” she said.

She moved to Nashville six years ago.

“It was a really good move. And I remain connected to Texas in a lot of ways,” she said. “I play with a band called ‘Asleep at the Wheel’ some of the time. I have a trio that I travel with — Kelly Willis and Melissa Carper. And I do my own band tour dates. I keep very busy nowadays.”

She released her album “Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet” in June 2023, and this month she’s coming west from Tennessee. She’ll play at Churchill School on Thursday, Dec. 28.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $18 in advance at churchillbaker.com or $25 at the door.

She’s on the road about “half the time” every year, but during the pandemic that came to a halt.

“I did experience the first summer at home I’ve ever had since I was a kid. I did a lot of bike riding, grew some tomatoes,” she said.

She also livestreamed her music.

“That was nice. It sounds corny, but I gained a new gratitude for my people,” she said. “I realized it’s symbiotic — it’s not about me, it’s a club I get to be a part of. The people who tuned into the streams and stuck with us through that whole thing kept me going.”

But even when 200 fans tuned in, she said it wasn’t the same as a live concert.

“As soon as I would turn that switch off that said ‘end broadcast,’ I felt exhausted and lonely because you didn’t have them there with you and it really does mean a lot to have people in person,” she said. “There’s no substitute for that.”

For her Baker City show, Leigh will be joined by Ashleigh Caudill on upright bass and Rebecca Patek on fiddle.

Leo Moon

Leo Moon is Brian Koch, a founding member of Blitzen Trapper and a former member of Dead Lee.

He’s touring solo now, playing at breweries and wineries and opening for other acts across the Pacific Northwest.

“It’s been positive — I’ve gotten really good feedback on the music,” he said.

His style, he said, is better suited to a “listening audience.”

“This is by far the most vulnerable and delicate I’ve ever played,” he said.

He started playing clarinet at age 6 — although he really wanted to play the saxophone, and then electric guitar. Fast forward a decade and he was joining bands.

“I learned bass, drums, guitar, harmonica all on my own,” he said. “I started playing in as many bands as I could.”

He joined Blitzen Trapper in 2000.

“I’m still with them 23 years later,” he said.

He’s also more focused on writing songs — one to two per day.

“I’m writing more music than I ever have in my life,” he said.