Leslie Anne Sloan, aka Miss Leslie, was born in Charleston, SC to parents of distinctly different musical tastes. Her father was a church minister from Tennessee who loved bluegrass and classic country music. Her mother grew up in Florida and played classical piano. At the age of 5, after the family relocated to Louisville, KY, Leslie started taking Suzuki violin lessons, but one of the first songs she learned to play on her own was “I Haven’t Seen Mary in Years” from the Bill and James Monroe “Father and Son” album. “My natural ear really surprised my parents”, Miss Leslie says.
Leslie continued her classical training and simultaneous bluegrass “training” through the family’s move to Texas when she was 9. In Ft Worth, she took Texas fiddle lessons from Valerie Morris, Tammy Rogers (now of the SteelDrivers) and Johnny Thorne. Meanwhile, her sister, Hilary (who had been studying Suzuki violin since the age of 4), also took fiddle lessons and her brother, Joel, took banjo lessons from Greg Davis. When the family moved to Houston when Leslie was 14, the family started a band with their Dad on guitar and their Mom singing harmony. “We played oprys like the Rosenberg Opry and free bluegrass shows around the Houston metro area. I would dread going sometimes because I think I was a typical teenager, but once I was onstage I felt at home and loved it.”
Leslie continued to study classical violin thru college at the University of South Florida and the University of Houston, while also studying opera. “I have a love for classical music. I always will. But I realized that it wasn’t my passion.”
Then, Miss Leslie says, life got in the way. “I dropped out of college from burnout and started working in the Corporate world. I worked my way up, eventually finished my degree, and made really good money. But I was miserable. I kept playing fiddle and singing now and then with my Dad around Houston but I always felt in my heart that I wanted more.”
In 2004, Leslie, along with then husband, Randy Lindley, started the band Miss Leslie & Her Juke-Jointers - with a real upright piano, electric bass, pedal steel guitar, drums, Country Jim Sloan (Leslie’s dad) on acoustic guitar, Miss Leslie on fiddle and Randy on telecaster. “It was a big band honky tonk sound, straight out of a 1960s recording. We had so much fun. We were a band from Houston. We all loved the same music. We’d travel together in a 15-passenger van to every small Texas honky tonk that would hire us. We had some really lonesome gigs with little money and few people in the audience. But we didn’t care. The music was great and we were having a blast.” In 2005, the band released "Honky Tonk Revival" to rave reviews and in 2006 released a follow-up live album recorded at the Continental Club in Houston called "Honky Tonk Happy Hour".
2006 brought a lot of changes to the band and the increase in Leslie's songwriting. “Between the Whiskey and the Wine” was the result. Released in 2008, it contained 13 original tunes from Miss Leslie - heartfelt songs of love and heartache framed in barrooms. Recorded at Tommy Detamore’s studio in Floresville, TX, “it was the greatest recording experience. I can’t imagine it being any better. Tommy as co-producer was so great to work with and the songs just literally fell into place."
2010 brought a new album of original tunes, "Wrong Is What I Do Best", as well as tours of Sweden, Norway and France. In 2011, Leslie continued with a tour of Norway and the UK. In 2012, Leslie's original songs "I Can Get Over You" and "Turn Around" were included in the movie "Bernie", which starred Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey.
In 2013, Leslie released her 5th album, "Lucky", which was included as the Houston Chronicle's top local albums of 2013. She also did a joint project with the Houston Grand Opera called "Rodeo Songs".
In 2019, Leslie was named the CMA of Texas' Johnny Gimble Fiddle Player of the Year.
Miss Leslie continues to tour as Miss Leslie, as well as perform with the western swing quintet, Palomino Moon.
