Born a leap year baby, Autumn Leed grew up in the small town of Plymouth, Indiana. She is one of eight children raised on a strawberry farm. She realized at a very early age that she wanted to grow up to be a professional singer.
Her first paid performance was at the age of seven, when her mothers’ friends paid her fifty cents to sing for them. Later she studied classical and Broadway music along with vocal lessons for 7 years. Autumn was always involved in school musicals and had the leading roles during her junior & senior years. She played Mary in Little Mary Sunshine and Hansel in Hansel & Gretel. She always earned first place medals at her local solo & ensemble competitions, leading her to state level every year. She never disappointed & brought home 1st place every time. During high school, Autumn was in a couple rock-n-roll bands that her parents had to accompany her to due to being under age. While this was a great learning experience, it was short lived. Her vocal instructor deeply frowned on “screaming” music while trying to perfect the art of her classical voice. She decided to follow that sound advice from her instructor as well as her parents.
After high school Autumns sights were set on Nashville, Tennessee. Her first offer came from Robert Metzgar, who was with Capitol Management. Unfortunately it always came down to money & had to turn down the offer due to insufficient funding to launch such a project. She later signed in 1994 with Holton Music in Nashville where she cut two singles. “If Wishes Came True” & “I Owe it All to You” were pitched to local radio & national stations. These charted on the independent charts, just a few slots below country artist, Dan Seals. This of course was very exciting to Autumn & thought “I’m on my way”. However this deal ended abruptly due to the untimely illness of her producer, Harvey Turner. Harvey left Nashville for Florida to recover & eventually retire. There is no denying her unique, strong, yet sweet vocals. Music City’s well known & respected Carson Chamberlain reviewed her at a country music expo. After her showcase, he compared her to vocals to Dolly Parton, Pam Tillis, Vince Gill, & Willie Nelson for her unique vocals. He told her “your vocals are so unique that people will love you or hate you…..and I love you!”
Her parents and her sister gave her the encouragement to continue on and follow her dreams. Some others that have influenced her as well are Patsy Cline, Whitney Houston, Marie Osmond, Judy Garland, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Faith Hill, and Celine Dion for their talents. And no one has impressed Autumn more for her stage presence than Reba McEntire.
Autumn has been called many different names such as Eli Mae, Rebecca from Sunnybrook farm, Grace, Sis, and Farm Girl. She is able to consume all of these different sides of herself & blend them beautifully into each & every song she performs to make it part of who she is. Although she has a wide spectrum of vocal styles, she knows exactly who she is and where her heart lays….with country music.
