We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Leah Osborne. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Leah below.
Hi Leah , thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
Since 2011 I’ve been on a journey with being a traveling musician and cook.
I joined my first touring band in 2011. We toured all over the country. From festivals to theater size shows. The most notable show for me was when we stopped in Cincinnati. Unbeknownst to us Emilio Estevez was there in the crowd with his family. Long story short he liked our band so much he invited us out to California where he lived at the time. We played for not only him but a collection of other gigs he was able to book for us. Twice! He had us out to California two times! That was with a band called ClusterPluck from St. Louis Mo.
All the while I was still cooking full time up until 2014. From 2014-2016 I was a full time musician with no other income.
In late 2015 I left clusterpluck. For many reasons. Fast forward to 2016 and now back into a kitchen I decided I wasn’t going to give up playing. I kept writing and singing and practicing over and over. All fueled by a rough break up.
In 2017 I met another musician that I clicked with soooo very quickly and we decided to start calling ourselves One Way Traffic. Still working and running kitchens mind you. Mid 2017 I realized our sound was special and asked my bandmate if we should fill out the band and make this thing really happen. So we did. We quickly found our other members mainly through an open mic/jam around one mic style at this dive bar called pops blue moon in stl.
Soon enough we had a full album and a good following. We won competitions and quickly toured gaining fans. I decided to go strictly music again in 2019. We were playing 100 plus shows a year by then.
In comes 2020. It haulted us like everyone else.
So I had to pivot again. So I started up a food pick up service during Covid. Mainly mimicking menu items at restaurants that were closed and people were really craving. It took off.
Once things started to open back up again we started to expand by doing festivals, farmers markets and catered events.
All the while juggling One Way Traffic as well. We got back into our musical groove and really took off again in 2022. Traveling the country and playing major festivals.
I still play with one way traffic and still host big events with my pop up catering company to this day.
Leah , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
For the food side of my life. It started in 2007 when I decided to go to culinary school. I’ve had every job you can think of in the field.
For the musical side it all started in 2011. My love of jam/bluegrass sky rocketed when I started going to these festivals.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My goal is to provide people with nostalgia be it through my music or food. I want them to feel at home or really understood
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
With my departure from my first band clusterpluck it really was met with a lot of adversity and frankly untruthful opinions.
I really overcame a lot after all of that especially with forming One Way Traffic. I’m so proud of what that band accomplished
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.onewaytrafficmusic.com
- Instagram: Onewaytraffic
- Facebook: Onewaytraffic
- Youtube: Onewaytrafficmusic
- Soundcloud: Onewaytraffic
Image Credits
Glow N Photography