kristin markiton – Kevin Leahy

New Adventures with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra & More

Kevin Leahy — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 02:48:13 +0000

Seven years ago, I stepped into the role of Executive Director of the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, a group I’ve played drums & percussion with for over twenty years. The origins of the Atlanta Pops date back to 1945, when WSB Music Director Albert Coleman brought his WSB Symphonette to Emory University’s Glenn Memorial Auditorium for his first “Pop Concert,” portions which were aired live on WSB Radio. Coleman led the orchestra for 55 years, collaborating with artists such as Isaac Hayes, James Brown, Ray Charles, Chet Atkins, and many more, before retiring in the late 1990s. Around this time, the Atlanta Pops was designated a 501c3 non-profit organization with a mission to provide orchestra performances to underserved communities. In recent years we’ve traveled to venues throughout the southeast and midwest, and we’ve have the good fortune to collaborate with award winning artists from a variety of musical genres, including folk singer Gregory Alan Isakov, African music icon Angélique Kidjo, hip-hop artists Nas, T.I., Rick Ross, Jadakiss, and Gucci Mane, bluegrass group Balsam Range, Broadway singers Mandy Gonzalez and Sutton Foster, gospel singer Yolanda Adams, and many more. I am not sure where the next 80 years will take the Atlanta Pops, but my hope is that these meaningful live musical moments continue for a very long time.

In addition to my work with the Atlanta Pops, I am keeping busy with a number of other musical projects. I plan to hit the road this spring with Allgood for a few shows to celebrate the 35th anniversary of their debut album Ride The Bee, I’ve got a few shows with my H.O.R.D.E. Festival tribute group, I have a date at Eddie’s Attic with Kristin Markiton to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Wandering Moon album I co-produced for her with Kirstian Bush back in 2005, and I’ll be appearing behind my collection of Ludwig and Musser gear in an upcoming episode of the ABC series Will Trent.

Photos: Top row by Kendall Rock: Gregory Alan Isakov with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra – March 24, 2025, Atlanta Symphony Hall; middle row left by Ashley Evans, Balsam Range and the Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble at the Art of Music Festival – December 5, 2025, Stuart Auditorium; middle row right Oxford Performing Arts Center; bottom row left Angelique Kidjo with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra – March 30, 2025, Atlanta Symphony Hall; bottom row right Oxford Performing Arts Center with Sons of Serendip

Geoff Achison Midwest Tour

Kevin Leahy — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:50:58 +0000

This week I’m heading up to the midwest on a run of shows with Geoff Achison, ending with a blues cruise aboard a riverboat on the Missouri River in Nebraska. Here’s some information about the shows:

DATE	CITY	VENUE

September 27	Louisville, KY	Hideaway Saloon
September 28	Saint Louis, MO	Lucas Schoolhouse
September 29	Kansas City, MO	Knucklehead’s
September 30	Omaha, NE	Blues Society Of Omaha Blues Cruise

In October, I will be performing with Kristin Markiton, Evan McHugh, Kingsized and Tongo Hiti at some clubs and festivals in and around Atlanta. Corey Smith‘s Hard-Headed Fool is out this week, which I recorded drums on earlier this year. A segment on Joe Rathbone aired on Good Day Atlanta (FOX) recently, which included us performing “Like Some Angel” from Joe’s new release Under the Scorpio Moon. And Tongo Hiti continues to find itself in new and unchartered territory – a recent stop at 99x’s morning show included an impromptu jam with Kevn Kinney of Drivin’ and Cryin’, which can be heard here.

Corey Smith – Hard-Headed Fool

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Joe Rathbone – Good Day Atlanta

Shawn Mullins in Portland, OR

Kevin Leahy — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 19:48:17 +0000

Last Saturday, September 9th, I performed a free concert with Shawn Mullins in Portland, Oregon in celebration of the newly released KINK FM Live 9 CD. This was the first time I had played with Shawn in over seven years. The concert was held at the Pioneer Courthouse Square located in downtown Portland. Shawn has spent the last few months traveling around the US promoting his latest CD on Vanguard Records, 9th Ward Picking Parlor. I have heard that the second single (to be released this fall) is a track called “Blue As You,” written by Shawn and Pete Droge, which I recorded vibraphone on earlier this year.

This past summer I kept myself busy doing a few shows with the BoDeans in Wisconsin and Illinois, and with Kristin Markiton, Coy Bowles and the Fellowship, Kingsized and Tongo Hiti in and around Atlanta. Kristin’s performance on TBS Storyline, which originally aired on August 12th, can be viewed online here.

Kristin Markiton – TBS Storyline

Coy Bowles –
Into the Distance

Ellis Paul – Essentials

This fall I will be doing some shows with Delta Moon at a few blues festivals in North Carolina, and some more shows with Kristin Markiton, The Drexlers, and others around Atlanta. Coy Bowles will be performing on a show at the Northside Tavern in Atlanta on September 29th to celebrate the release of his debut CD Into the Distance, which I played drums and vibraphone on. Finally, Ellis Paul is releasing a 2 disc retrospective entitled Essentials on October 10th. The second disc contains a few tracks that I had recorded with him, including the version of “Sweet Mistakes” featured in the Farrelly Brother’s film “Shallow Hall” (which, I’ve been told, stars my identical twin brother, Jack Black….).

Kristin Markiton CD Release

Kevin Leahy — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 19:47:23 +0000

After two years of production, Kristin Markiton‘s debut CD Wandering Moon is set to be released on Sunday, February 26th. The CD features Kristin performing songs written by a number of talented songwriters, including Ellis Paul, John Austin, Andrew Hyra, Bill Sheffield and Walter Sorrells. I co-produced the CD along with Kristian Bush, John Shoffner and Kristin, recording and mixing in a number of studios around Atlanta, including APC, Orphan Studio and Music by Night. Wandering Moon includes performances by Kristian Bush of Sugarland (guitar, mandolin and vocals), Mark Van Allen of Blueground Undergrass (pedal steel and dobro), David Labruyere of John Mayer’s band (bass), Brandon Bush of Train (piano and organ), Scott Patton of Sugarland (guitar), Rob Henson of Telegram (bass), and others, including myself on drums and percussion.

We have scheduled a very special show at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, GA on Sunday, February 26th to celebrate the release. The show will begin at 6:00 with a performance by Telegram, and then a set by Kristin (backed up by several of the players from Wandering Moon). And a few surprises. Tickets are available through www.eddiesattic.com for $10 ($12 day of the show). Wandering Moon will be available for purchase at the show.

For information about Kristin, including sound clips of the CD, please visit www.kristinmarkiton.com. More information will be added to the site in the coming weeks.

In other news, a few other CDs I have recently worked on are soon to be released: drums on Fokushima‘s Worried Well, percussion on Jackson Rohm‘s Four On The Floor, drums on Billy Gewin‘s Hodges Shan’t Be Shot, vibraphone on Shawn Mullins‘ 9th Ward Picking Parlor, and drums on the BoDeans tracks on the soundtrack to The Godfather of Green Bay.

Fokushima – Worried Well

Billy Gewin – Hodges Shan’t Be Shot

Shawn Mullins – 9th Ward Pickin’ Parlor

In addition to Kristin’s CD release show, I’ve got some upcoming shows with the BoDeans, a CD release show with the Drexlers and a few exotic evenings with Atlanta’s favorite Hawaiian ensemble Tongo Hiti. Aloha Oe!