In a relatively short span, the Tom Leggett Band has emerged as one of the hardest-working up-and-coming roots rock & blues acts in New Orleans. Led by guitarist, singer, and songwriter Tom Leggett, the group presents a cast of the Crescent City’s finest musicians. Fueled by a driving blues foundation and danceable rhythms, Leggett’s songs transport listeners through a vivid and humid landscape, with lyrics drawn from lived experiences in the Deep South.

Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, Leggett moved to New Orleans in 1997 with friend and musical collaborator Aaron Wilkinson (Honey Island Swamp Band) to immerse himself in the city’s rich musical heritage. While studying under legendary jazz guitar instructor Hank Mackie, Leggett and Wilkinson co-founded jazz-funk band Idletime in 1999. The band signed with Louisiana Red Hot Records and toured nationally, performing 200 shows a year, headlining clubs and festivals, and opening for acts including the funky Meters, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Rebirth Brass Band, Derek Trucks Band, North Mississippi Allstars. The group disbanded in late 2005 when hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated New Orleans and scattered the band’s members.

In 2017, the band added horns for their sophomore album, Jewel In My Crown, a “more polished and fully realized” album of original music. Featuring 10 new songs written by Leggett and performed by an all-star band of New Orleans’ finest musicians—including Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown, Terrence Houston, Tom Worrell, Michael “Mikey B3” Burkart, Rik Fletcher, Pete Bradish, Scott Jackson, James Martin, Terrance Taplin, Jerome Harris, and Derek Eidson—the album received critical acclaim and helped secure the band’s first appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2019.

Building on this success, the band earned a grant from Threadhead Cultural Foundation to support a new recording project. Their third album, Cross That Line (2024), features 10 original songs and represents the band’s highest-quality recording to date. Recorded and engineered by Rick Nelson at Marigny Studios, mixed by Chris Finney at Metry Media, and mastered by Misha Kachkachishvili at Esplanade Studios, the album has positioned the group for continued live performances across the Southeast and beyond.