Abbey Leach

Abbey Leach is a Rapid City singer-songwriter and guitarist whose music grows out of the American folk tradition, with influences including Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. Originally part of the Boise music scene, Leach relocated to the Black Hills by late 2024 and has since developed both a solo acoustic practice and a fuller band sound.

Her songs center on storytelling, relationships, self-discovery and the process of making sense of everyday life. While guitar and voice remain at the center of her music, Leach increasingly works with a larger circle of Black Hills musicians. A documented 2026 version of the Abbey Leach Band included Marcia Kennobie and Louis Umbarger, while musicians contributing to her debut album include Casey Shelden, Marcia Kennobie, Alex Massa, Joey Rowland, Louis Umbarger and Lisa Young.

Leach’s first major collection of original recordings is The Art of Becoming:, an 11-song debut album. The complete album will be available on CD and as a digital download beginning October 3, 2026, with its songs rolling out individually to streaming services over the following year. Before the album launch, she introduced “Smoking Gun,” a separate single created through the Transcendent Musicians program. Leach wrote, sang and produced the song herself, recording it as an analog project with separate linocut artwork.

Her recorded work also connects her directly to other musicians in the regional scene. Leach appears on Casey Shelden and the Homewreckers’ “How Long?” and on Ryan LittleEagle’s “With You (Melody).” Those collaborations, along with the musicians assembled around her own recordings, make her work increasingly connected to the broader Black Hills singer-songwriter and Americana community.