Marty Wendell & Laura Leigh

Marty Wendell grew up listening to an old Philco radio, absorbing everything from rockabilly, country and folk to blues, gospel and pop. The music coming out of Sun Records particularly caught his ear, setting him on a path that would eventually take him from Greenwich Village coffeehouses to the stage with some of the artists he'd first heard on the radio.

One of those artists was Johnny Cash. Marty first met Cash backstage in the early 1960s, when Cash handed him a 12-string guitar and asked him to play one of his songs. A few years later, after Marty's first record, "Hey Hey Mama," sold more than 10,000 copies, he was booked to open for Cash on dates following the release of At Folsom Prison, alongside a touring company that included the Carter Family, Carl Perkins and the Statler Brothers.

More than six decades later, Marty is still writing, recording and performing. A Rockabilly Hall of Famer with 18 albums to his name, his music carries the rockabilly, country, blues, gospel and folk sounds that have surrounded him throughout his life.

Sample Song

Laura Leigh draws from some of those same traditions while taking them in her own direction. A multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter, she moves between old-time country, folk and rock & roll with songs that pair driving rhythms and strong melodies with lyrics that can be thoughtful, funny and wonderfully direct. Laura won the 2026 Eddie for Americana Artist of The Year.

Sample Song

For this Caffè Lena performance, Marty and Laura will each perform individually before joining one another onstage. It is a chance to hear where their musical paths differ, where they cross, and what happens when they play together.

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