Austin -Based Singer Leeannn Atherton Delivers Inspired Performances on New "Good God" Album

Austin -Based Singer Leeannn Atherton Delivers Inspired Performances on New "Good God" Album

Release date: May 22, 2026
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​Digging deep into her Southern roots, Leeann Atherton brings her soulful sass to some of her favorite gospel hymns and songs of hope and positivity in her powerful new release, Good God. Harkening to Mavis Staples and Sam Cooke, Leeann calls on her Alabama/South Carolina/Texas upbringing, steeped in soul and gospel.  Atherton will celebrate the new album’s release with a series of Austin shows, including a May 10th Mother’s Day Barn Dance, UMC Listening Room on June 19th, and Moontower Saloon on June 21st;  plus the She Rises Music Festival in Taos, NM, July 18, the Pueblos Blancos Music Festival in Spain July 31-August 3rd and a Japan tour in November.
In addition to three Leeann Atherton originals, Good God includes her takes on a variety of songs written or popularized by such artists as Lieber and Stoller (“Saved”), Jackie DeShannon (“Put a Little Love In Your Heart”) and Joe South (“Games People Play”), as well as traditional roots, soul, and gospel offerings. 
 
In Southern California, Leeann teamed up with Johnny Vernazza, guitarist with Elvin Bishop and Gideon, sharing his deeply soulful groove-oriented influence that penetrates each performance. Performing monthly at Hippie Church in Austin, Texas., Happy Church in California and Unity in the Heart of Austin, Leeann has been committed to meeting people where they are at and sharing songs of peace, love and unity through the Highest Power - Good God. Whether in a dancehall, church or sacred gathering, the message is the same; God is Good and you are loved.
 
“The first time I heard gospel music in Charleston, South Carolina, I was completely mind blown,” Leeann remembers. “There was a drummer in the middle of the stage, a B3 on the left side and piano on the right side, and the choir came circling around the pews engulfing the congregation in this beautiful soulful joyful song to God! I was forever transformed. Then I started studying music and went into the lower South Carolina islands, recording the choirs and transcribing the music. I was saturated with the sacred soul music of the church.
 
“I believe some divine intervention made this recording happen! I’m grateful to every soul on the way that made this possible. Jim Merrell and Brainstem Music started the support of this recording, and I might not have ever undertaken it. But it truly is the combination of all my years of singing, writing and expressing love to my fellow man and giving God all the glory!”
 
About Leeann Atherton
Leeann Atherton came to Austin via Charleston and Nashville with a songwriting suitcase full of a seamless blend of twang, soul, gospel and blues owing a lot to Leeann Atherton’s background. Steeped in southern roots, stewed in Texas blues, raised by a hillbilly housewife and an Alabama gentleman in Charleston, South Carolina, away from the shopping mall culture, she put herself through college singing in a beach music dance band. She studied the spirituals of the South Carolina islands, sat in with a rural black choir, and joined the hardened professionals at work in Nashville song factories. “I loved the way those Ft. Worth boys sang ‘baby’,” Leeann gleams. A road trip to Texas was all it took, and Leeann’s independent roots flourished in the fertile musical ground of Austin.
Her first Texas recording sessions at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studio introduced her to acclaimed guitarist and producer, Rich Brotherton, where the two quickly formed a musical friendship resulting in her first independent release, Only Glory. Rich was then chosen by Steppin’ Stone Records to produce her acclaimed Americana recording, Lady Liberty, garnering #1 in local and independent charts (Austin Chronicle, No Depression), and receiving international airplay. Her journey continued with self-produced releases: Mama’s House, an acoustic/electric blend of twang and folk; and Every Day Dream, a soulful look at the blues.
Along the way Leeann caught the attention of the legendary Slim Richey, resulting in the two recording a CD of Jazz standards together titled Limited Edition, before returning to her roots with Heart Traveled Road, once again with Rich Brotherton in the producers’ seat, along with a hand-picked cast of Austin’s #1 list of session players. Barefoot Fields would come along next for Leeann and Rich, an intimate collection of low-key torch songs, and Leeann admits, “I wanted something that reminded me of my folky, hippie days. It’s stripped down, laid back and cozy. I like to lose myself in a song and working with Rich made that easy to do. His ability to flesh out the harmonies brought out the best in the songs.”
Her last release, Fallen Angel, took the singer in a new, but not unfamiliar, direction, complete with a full-band sound that covered a wide range of emotions brilliantly and highlighted the veteran performer’s extensive range. Produced by Mac McNabb, the record featured some amazing performances by another group of great Austin musicians, including a resurrected drum track featuring the late Barry “Frosty” Smith, one of Leeann’s longtime friends and former bandmates.
In a review of that album for Americana Highways, writer Bill Bentley said,  “All twelve songs (on Fallen Angel) paint a portrait of someone who’s been chasing the sound long enough to know it’s the journey and not the destination that supplies the kicks, and eternity can often be found in the questions that never really need to be answered. As a special sign-off, Atherton’s a cappella ‘Motherless Children’s Club,’ sung spontaneously at her mother’s memorial, reminds us all where we came from, and where we’re going. Right on time.”
Leeann Atherton is known far and wide for her powerful, larger than life vocals, imbuing every performance with a stirring passion. Her voice is a force of nature, as electrifying and volatile as the weather in her hometown of Austin, Texas. It has been said that she combines Bonnie Raitt’s grit, Billie Holiday’s understated soulfulness with her own exuberant spirit into a sound all her own that is equal parts honey and gunpowder. She’s able to shake your body and lift you up, while keeping your feet firmly anchored to the earth. Truly a Fallen Angel among us.

Good God - Leeann Atherton – Track Listing and Credits
Saved (Lieber and Stoller)
Drinkin’ That Wine (Gideon)
Joy * (Leeann Atherton)
Put a Little Love in Your Heart (DeShannon, Myers, Holiday)
Call On the Lord * (Leeann Atherton)
Games People Play (Joe South)
I’ll Fly Away (Albert Brumley)
I’m Looking For a Miracle (Twinkie Clark)
This Little Light of Mine (Harry Dixon Loes)
How Great Thou Art (Carl Boberg)
Smack Dab In a Miracle* (Leeann Atherton)
More Peace and Love (Gideon)
Angel Band - featuring Austin Atherton (Hascall, Bradbury)
 
Backing Vocals: Austin Atherton, Johnny Vernazza, Laura Jane Willcock, HeartBeat Pro 
Guitars: Johnny Vernazza, Mac McNabb | Drums: Edward “Hot” Cleveland
Keys: Rob LaMonica, Bob Berman | Bass: Mike Burnham, Kevin Cooper, TJ Moss
Engineered by TJ Moss at Any Means / Marc Polit at Amplified Studios 
Produced by TJ Moss & Johnny Vernazza at the Any Means Studio
 
Album photography by Jeff Murillo
 
Special Thanks To: Brainstem Music, Jim Merrill, Johnny Vernazza, & all other inspiration. God is good!

Website:
leeannatherton.com

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