Soul singer led by past, pins hopes on future
Four years ago, Leon Bridges was washing dishes at Del Frisco’s Grille in Fort Worth, Texas. On Friday, Sept. 7, the two-time Grammy nominee and neo-soul crooner will headline Berkeley’s Greek Theatre.
The 29-year-old artist has certainly earned his stardom, working his way up from his restaurant gig and local open mikes to a big-time deal with Columbia Records that has yielded his triumphant 2015 debut, “Coming Home,” and his 2018 follow-up, “Good Thing.”
From the get-go, Bridges was seen by many as a modern-day disciple of soul great Sam Cooke. His first songs, including the eventual block-
buster single “Coming Home,” were recorded on vintage equipment, further embellishing a sound that marries the rhythm and blues of doo-wop and soul with deeply personal narratives. On the “Coming Home” track “Lisa Sawyer,” Bridges tells the story of his mother, while “Twistin’ and Groovin’ ” recounts how his grandparents first met.
The appeal was immense — and immediate — with “Coming Home” peaking at No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.
The popularity that came with that album also landed him the headlining slot during the first night of the 50th anniversary of the famed Monterey International Pop Festival last year, where he performed a tribute to Otis Redding.
But, as is often the case with today’s musicians, Bridges’ act extends beyond the music he performs. He’s also become known for his style, which pays homage to the dapper threads of decades past. Citing OutKast rapper André 3000 as a major influence, Bridges notes his first foray into vintage clothes began in slightly devious fashion.
“I was into guys like Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire,” he says. “I remember, during dance classes, we had to pick out certain outfits from the costume shop. I would — I guess we can call it stealing — I would take clothes from the costume shop and then wear them around.”
With his days of plundering the costume shop behind him, Bridges turned his attention to broadening his sonic reach. If his first album was a chance to prove his mettle as an acolyte of soul, Bridges wanted his next record to showcase the variety of his musical tastes and influences.
“‘Coming Home’ has a very specific sound,” Bridges says. “I think by that point, people had already put me in a box as far as what I was capable of, musically. I kind of restricted myself on that first record to stay true to that sound. That’s the dope thing about ‘Good Thing,’ my new album: It really shows a wider range of my artistry.”
A self-professed fan of ’90s R&B heavyweights such as Jodeci, Bridges saw his second record as a chance to incorporate elements from other eras into his oeuvre as a soul and gospel performer. To help shape “Good Thing,” he turned to producer Ricky Reed, an industry titan best known for his work with mainstream pop artists Meghan Trainor and Maroon 5.
“In the beginning, I was a little reluctant about that collaboration, because of the acts that he usually works with,” Bridges admits. “I’d worked with Ricky earlier on a track with (Detroit rapper) DeJ Loaf. In that session, he encouraged me to do a vocal that I didn’t think I could execute, but he pulled it out of me, so I felt like maybe we should give it a stab.”
The results are an album with touchstones that traverse the history of soul, from the funky ’70s guitar line at the center of “If It Feels Good (Then It Must Be)” to the disco vibes of “You Don’t Know.” Anchoring each track is the presence of Bridges’ warm, lustrous vocals, which fluctuate between moments of tender reflection and booming, dynamic choruses.
Along with his fresh sound, Bridges also hopes his new album will encourage a more diverse audience to attend his concerts.
“At the end of the day, I feel like my audience is going to always be predominantly white,” he says. “Honestly, you could go to a Young Thug show and it would be the same thing. So there are a lot of white people at my shows, and that’s fine. But as my music grows, I do desire to see more diversity.”
With a career still in its early days, no one can fault Bridges for wanting to look ahead. But when it comes to the past — which has included two Grammy nominations and a spot performing at President Barack Obama’s final White House birthday party — he confesses he’s hard-pressed to pick the moment he knew his days as a dishwasher were done.
“When I look back, I didn’t have any expectations,” he says. “I didn’t think I’d be signed to a label. I didn’t think that people outside of Texas would dig my music. When we finished recording (the song) ‘Coming Home,’ I remember talking with my homies and thinking that maybe we could put it on a CD and pass it out at open mikes. It went way farther than that.”