What's News?
December 27, 2021
Hey there Friends...I can't believe it's been a whole year since I updated this blog. It's been quite year, lots of ups and a few downs, and here we are again heading into the big NYE 2021 show at Texas Station Events Center here in Gatesville, Texas. It's gonna be a great time so make sure and get your tables reserved before the last few sell out. I'm sad to report that in November, Branded Heart agreed to part ways due to scheduling conflicts. It has gotten very difficult for bands to book out the year, especially since 5J Dance Hall sold out and shut their doors, leaving Bo's Barn as the only venue left in this area that books for a whole year at a time. Meanwhile, I have been very busy this year, booking and playing 125 shows. As a result, I was usually already booked on many of the gigs that came available for the band and them having to find a substitute for me. And so my second stint as lead singer for one of the longest running bands in Central Texas history has come to an end. Don't worry though, Branded Heart will continue on as always, so if you are in need of a great dance band, make sure and look them up. Better yet, hit me up and I'll get the guys to play with me again!!! We have been great friends for many years, and we aren't about to let this hiccup affect our relationships in any way. Not much else to report, but I do have my 2022 schedule up and running on the "SCHEDULE" page. Now comes the work of filling it up. God bless y'all, and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
December 7, 2020
Pearl Harbor Day - 12/7/1941 - what a tragic but important day in American history!!! God Bless America in these trying times!!!
Hey there Friends...it's been a crazy run over the last few months. I've played a lot of gigs, had a lot of cancellations, added gigs in the place of cancellations, had those gigs cancelled...just a crazy world we live in right now. The Election Day came and went, yet the battle is still raging on!!! Thanksgiving just wasn't the same this year, and Black Friday was non-existent for my family (I played a gig with Branded Heart that night). Christmas is coming up and Sissy has the house all decorated up beautifully as usual, but it just doesn't feel the same to me. New Year's Eve is just around the corner, but if things don't swing the right way with the election recounts, law suits, hearings, and ultimately a Supreme Court decision in favor of America (Trump all the way, baby), 2021 doesn't look much more positive. Wow, do I ever sound like gloom and doom!!! In all reality, my family and I are truly blessed, God is Good all the time, and America will remain the greatest country on Earth. I am so thankful for you who have and continue to support my music, and I wish you all the happiest, merriest, and most awesomely blessed holiday season!!! Until we meet again, God Bless you and stay safe and warm!!!
September 29, 2020
Hey there Friends...it's been a little while since I've updated my page, but there just hasn't been a whole lot to talk about with the COVID shutdowns and all. I do consider myself blessed to have played as many gigs as I have over the past few months. Being a one-man show has it's advantages in that I can fit my whole setup into a small corner if needed, which makes me a good candidate to play many restaurants and smaller venues that have been allowed to open up during this time. Thirsty Thursdays at The Junction on Route 36 are going as strong as ever, and we really have a great time there every week, so make your plans to come out and join us one night (or every week)!!!
Make sure and call ahead to reserve a table if you want to be up close and personal. I have a feeling that things are gonna be loosening up over the next few months, so I'm really trying to get my schedule filled up through the end of the year while I can. It's been a pretty rough stretch for the Branded Heart band, as the only place we have been able to play since June is the 5J Dance Hall in McGregor, and we are so thankful for the actions that Miss Emily and Okan took to be able to open up and provide a place foor people to go and dance to LIVE COUNTRY MUSIC. So y'all make plans to go out there one of these Saturday nights, and tell them Ed Leonard sent you!!! Well, that's about all the rambling I have to do for now, but stay tuned and we'll see you down the road...God Bless!!!
June 6, 2020
Hey there Friends...we are now into the month of June and things are starting to heat up!!! As Summer draws near and the temperature rises, folks are growing weary of the COVID-19 Mandemic, and the entertainment industry is starting to get cranking. I had a pretty great month of May, playing eleven gigs despite several cancellations. Many of those gigs you can check out on my Facebook Live videos on the Ed Leonard and Friends Facebook page. June and July dates are also starting to fill up. I sincerely hope that all of you are safe, healthy, and ready to resume a lifestyle that resembles the ones we had prior to this madness!!! Y'all make sure and check out my schedule, and come out to see me sometime soon...I have surely missed seeing y'alls faces. Also, WE NOW HAVE T-SHIRTS FOR SALE!!! I used some of my off-time to create new logos, and put the screenprinting setup that I purchased over a year ago to good use. I'm working on getting a merchandise page set up, but still have a lot to learn about how to do some stuff on this website, LOL. Watch for it in the near future, and check out my wife's and my Facebook pages for pics of the new shirts!!! Gotta go for now...until we meet again, God Bless y'all in abundance!!!
May 5, 2020
Hey there Friends...May has kicked off with some brightness in the midst of our bleak situation!!! Thanks to the Governor's lifting of the stay-at-home orders and opening the businesses up (as gradual as it may seem), I was able to play a full weekend at Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux in Waco, Texas...YAYYYY!!! Things went so well that they booked me again for Mother's Day, and the manager said she'd like to use me quite often in the future. We had some good crowds, each day bringing more and more people out from hiding from the COVID-19 "monster", and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves with the beautiful May weather, the wonderful atmosphere, food, and drinks at Walk-On's, and the Honky-Tonkin' Good Times music!!! I have had a few more cancellations and postponements, but I'm also very excited that Thirsty Thursday at the Junction on Route 36 will be kicking off again this week, Thursday, May 7!!! Wow, I can't wait to see some familiar faces!!! Come out and see me when you can, and until then, stay safe and healthy, and God bless y'all with abundance!!!
April 6, 2020
Hey there Friends...it has been a little while since I added to this blog, but I hope this finds you safe and healthy during the Covid-19 Pandemic (as it is being referred to). I have been completely shut down throughout the second half of March and through our current date here in April. It's been a tough go, not only financially but emotionally, as I've watched booking after booking be cancelled due to the "Stay At Home" and "Social-Distancing" policies put in place "for the safety and good of the American people." I understand it to an extent, and I do believe the threat of the virus is real, but to what end will we continue to allow our economy to completely collapse? Oh well, I promise I will not use this page as a platform for my personal and political views (but I'm sure you know where I stand!) Anyways, there's not much else to say except that I hope this lock down ends soon and I can get back to bringing the Honky-Tonkin' Good Times to y'all. So until we meet again, God bless y'all, and please stay safe and healthy!!!
January 8, 2020
Hey there Friends, I told you I had some exciting news to share with y'all. After a 23 year absence, I have decided to rejoin my old friends in the BRANDED HEART band as lead singer and front man, in addition to playing my regular Ed Leonard and Friends gigs each month.This will give me the opportunity to play with a great group of musicians, and some downright good-as-gold friends of mine. It will also give me the opportunity to play in some places that just will not hire me as a solo act, and I'm looking forward to that. BRANDED HEART is one of the longest running bands in Central Texas music history, and I'm honored to become a part of that group once again. So keep your eye on my schedule, as I will be putting those dates on there as well, and come on out to see us. Our first gig together will be January 25, 2020 at 5J Dance Hall in McGregor, Texas. Hope to see a bunch of y'all there!!! TTYL
January 2, 2020
Happy New Year!!! Stay tuned for some exciting news!!!
August 7, 2019
We got back from a wonderful vacation in Florida and went right back to work playing three nights in a row, and capping off the weekend playing the wedding of Boone and Ashley Brinkley in the beautiful setting of Stone Creek Ranch in Gatesville, Texas. I express my sincere congratulations to them, and appreciation for allowing me to be a part of their big day. August is a busy month, but I'm sad to say that the Rusty Nail Barn and Grill in Waco has closed their doors and cancelled all dates for entertainment. It was a great place to eat, listen to live music, and enjoy a wonderful atmosphere, so Waco has lost another Live Music Venue. But life goes on, and so does the show. I have added over thirty great classics to my songlist in the past three weeks, and they have really received great response from the crowds. Songs like "Texas Dance Hall Girl", "If I Ever Need A Lady", "Walk Out Backwards", "Shelly's Winter Love", "Lone Star Beer and Bob Wills Music", and other great old dancehall classics. These are the type of songs that drive me and take me back to the good old days of rodeo dances and some great old beer joints!!! Y'all come check out my show at one of the upcoming places where I'll be, and make sure and come by the stage and say Hello. Hope to see y'all soon!!! God Bless!!!
July 8, 2019
Howdy Friends, I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July Independence Day celebration!!! Because of the holiday, we had to move our usual Thirsty Thursday to the Wednesday night prior, and we called it Wet-ur-Whistle Wednesday. As usual, we had a great time and most of the regulars were there. We celebrated a wedding in June, and I would like to congratulate Trent and Julie Altum on a beautiful weddiing and reception. It was a fun filled night full of dancing and fun for all ages. Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Altum for allowing me to be a part of it all, and may you have many years of happiness and wedded bliss. July 20-27 will be vacation time again, as my family and I will head out for a week of fun in the sun on the beautiful Miramar Beach, just outside of Destin, Florida. We are so looking forward to everything except the long drive, but it's worth it in the end. The saddest part of it all is missing my playing dates while I am gone, but I swear that one of these years I'm gonna take all of my stuff with me and do a live show from right there on the beach!!! But it's not gonna happen this year...LOL!!! Thanks so much to all of you who support my music, come out to my shows, watch my videos, and recommend me to your friends and acquaintances. We are well on track to break the 125 show barrier again this year, and could easily hit 150 if things keep going like they have been. God bless you all, and until we meet again, keep the country music real!!!
June 6, 2019
Hey there, Friends!!! We have a lot going on this month of June 2019. Can you believe this year is almost half over? I have been playing some new places, like Walk-On's Bistreaux and Bar in Waco, Texas. We had a great time there and look forward to some more dates in the future. With summer coming on fast, I will be playing some weddings and private parties, but i'll also be playing plenty of public events for you to come out for. I always look forward to meeting new folks, but it's the Friends I've already made that drives me to keep improving and expanding my shows and song list. I appreciate every one of you so much for supporting my music and coming out to my shows!!! Looking forward to seeing you all soon...TTYL.
April 17, 2019
Hey there Friends!!! I know I'm a little late on this update, but I've had a busy month outside of the music business. My wife and I went on our first cruise aboard the Carnival Freedom the week of April 6-13, stopping at the breathtaking destinations of Key West, Florida, Freeport, Bahamas, and Nassau, Bahamas. We had a great time while we were away, but as soon as I got back to Galveston on the morning of the 13th, I had to hustle back to Gatesville, jump in my truck, and head out to Elk Hall in Axtell, Texas to play a wedding reception for my new Friends, Dalton and Kelcie Key. That was a great time as well. The rest of the month will be business as usual, playing Thursday-Saturday the last two weekends of the month. I missed my Thirsty Thursday gig on April 11, and I'm sure looking forward to seeing those Friends this week. I have posted my upcoming May schedule, so y'all check it out and come see me! Until then, God bless y'all and be safe!!!
March 1, 2019
Another month has passed, as February is now in the books. I've been pretty busy this last month, and played several new places. I traveled to South Padre Island, Texas for three dates at Longboard Bar and Grill, enjoying some beautiful weather and meeting new Friends. I also played at the legendary Papa Joe's in Lorena and had a great time. I'm looking forward to playing both places again. I'm still having difficulty breaking into the Waco market, but I have some dates coming up at the Rusty Nail Barn and Grill, and I'll be back at La Fiesta again. If anyone has any insight into places where you'd like to see me perform, please let me know. Check my schedule and come see me...See y'all soon!!!
February 1, 2019
January is in the books and I'm so glad!!! It was a slow month, but February is looking pretty good, with twelve events on the calendar already. I've added some new songs into the library and have some more in the works, so stay tuned. I'm also working on an additional page on this site to list my complete song library. That way, if you're at one of my shows, you can know what to request...LOL. See y'all soon!!!
January 24, 2019
My current month schedule has been added to the bottom of the home page for a quick glimpse of where you can catch one of my shows. The full schedule can still be found under the "SCHEDULE" tab.
January 15, 2019
You will notice a tab labeled "Join Our Mailing List" on the "Contact Info" page. As of yet, I have not created a mailing list, but it is in the works to be released in the near future.
January 14, 2019
Hey there Friends...welcome to my new web page. I have created this site to improve my ability to communicate information about Ed Leonard and Friends to all of you out there, especially those of you who don't have Facebook or dislike using it. It's still a work in progress, and I'm very new at this, so bear with me as I work out all of the kinks.
