Stephen Ray Leslie is an American singer-songwriter based in Bellingham, WA.

Leslie was born in Houston, Texas in the mid-1970s when ZZ Top was bringing its electrified Texas blues to the world and Townes Van Zandt was playing his world-weary brand of Americana at the Old Quarter.

By the late 1980s, Leslie’s family moved to the Pacific Northwest just as Seattle’s Grunge movement was on the verge of redefining the musical landscape, and at the age of 13 he picked up a bass and formed a garage band with his brother Sam and local drummer Joe Flink. Their performances landed them in the company of many of the area’s up-and-coming songwriters, and befriending and performing with Damien Jurado, Dave Bazan, and Jeremy Enigk instilled in Leslie a lifelong appreciation for the craft of songwriting.  

In 1996, Leslie joined singer-guitarist Blake Wescott in Bloomsday, which was quickly picked up by Southern California’s Brainstorm Records to record “The Day the Colors Died.” The band supported the album with two US tours opening for Fold Zandura and Starflyer 59, followed by an EP for Velvet Blue Music. The band’s brief career came to an abrupt halt when Wescott left to pursue a career as a session and touring guitarist and producer for other musicians.

Disillusioned, Leslie moved to Bellingham to attend Western Washington University. While there, his musical direction veered toward traditional Americana as he explored his musical roots in the works of artists such as Van Zandt, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Hank Williams. Around this time, Leslie switched to guitar and began crafting songs in the vein of his musical heroes.

By the early 2000s he formed the alt-country outfit Chuckanut Drive, mixing in pedal steel and other southern sounds not often heard in the Pacific Northwest, well before “Wagon Wheel” became a ubiquitous cover or the Grammys established an Americana category.

The band gained a small but enthusiastic following, and critics began to take notice of Leslie’s songwriting. Sometimes stark, sometimes wordy, Leslie’s songs told stories in a voice reminiscent of his honky-tonk heroes.
Chuckanut Drive went on to play countless shows across the US and released four records:  “The Juanita Demo,” “Chuckanut Drive," alt-country concept album “The Crooked Mile Home,” and “Fidelity Grange.”

As members began having children and moving out of state, Chuckanut Drive disbanded around 2010, but Leslie continued writing songs and performing. Leslie has shared the stage with Americana heavyweights such as Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Lukas Nelson, the late Justin Townes Earle, and Fred Eaglesmith, to name a few.

Today, Leslie continues writing and performing and is currently writing and recording his first full-length solo release.