1. Hi GB, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?

I’ve been blessed. Still having fun doing what I love with great people surrounding me.

2. It’s been quite a while since your last full-length release. What was happening creatively and personally during the journey that eventually led to Tangerine?

My father passed away 2 years ago. It really affected me. We were close as in “Everybody Loves Raymond” close. Across the street for 20 years. When he passed it was hard on me. I fell back in a habit and had to get out of again, which I did, thankfully.
I write about my life and what I was going through, what I was seeing and what I was feeling. I had a stack of notebooks that I either needed to put in a bin or finish and record. I love the recording part it’s the why and the commitment we all face that’s hard.

3. There’s a lot of history behind your career with nearly three decades, thousands of shows, and a deeply loyal fanbase. Did making Tangerine feel like a reflection on that journey or more like the start of a new chapter?

I guess we’re always starting a new chapter. This is just another one. I write what’s real to me because we’re all the same emotionally and I don’t feel anything that everybody else doesn’t feel also. We all grow and change and that’s what I write about.

4. To my understanding the title track uses the image of a tangerine in a way that feels playful but also deeply symbolic. Where did that concept come from, and what does that song represent to you?

It was started long ago in a rehab facility. It was actually like 12 verses and I cut it down. Just about a drunk who wants to be anything else but drunk. A tangerine is beautiful, smooth, bright, shiny, tasty and clean. Symbolic of what would attract people rather than push away.

5. “You Better Not Run” has a particularly unique backstory since you originally wrote it at 14 years old. What was it like revisiting a song from your teenage years and finally giving it a proper recording?

It was my drummer from those basement days, Mike, who was deciding to hang it up and he wanted to bookshelf that song. The first one we recorded and the last one he’d record. We recorded it in someone’s cousins basement one afternoon. We passed it out on cassettes in high school. I remember playing a party and seeing people mouth the words. It was a strange feeling. So I said go for it. I’ll sing and okay on it. So they recorded it and I loved it so I thought I’d share where that came from.

6. You’ve worked closely with Kevin Bowe on this album. What did he bring out of you as a songwriter or performer that perhaps hadn’t surfaced before?

Kevin’s just a real guy. He brings you back down to earth while building you up. I always love when I write a song that he’s jealous of. It makes you feel good because he’s a great song writer. He has great ideas and a true passion to produce good music.

7. Your music has always carried this really great heartland storytelling spirit often compared to artists like Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp. How do you balance honoring those roots while still evolving your own sound?

I think my whole vibe is different. I write from real personal stories about drinking and spirituality. I’ve been a cancer patient three times. I’ve been in rehab. Divorced.
But I don’t get political. It’s not my place. My place is to make you forget about real life for a few hours and dance and sing. Celebrate.

8. You’ve built your career the old-school way by playing over 200 shows a year and connecting directly with audiences. How has life on the road shaped the stories you tell on this record?

There’s no better school than the road. Seeing the reactions and feelings in humans everywhere gives you a true idea about how we are all connected.

9. Some fans have connected with your lyrics so deeply that they’ve literally tattooed them on their bodies. When you hear stories like that, how does it affect the way you approach songwriting?

I definitely sign my name clearly when I sign skin. The first one I signed I didn’t realize what they were doing and my names a little sloppy but it’s mine. It’s crazy the stories. The meetings. The marriages. The kids names the pets names. It’s an honor. I’m flattered.

10. Tangerine feels rooted in working-class realities such as love, struggle, resilience, and trying to hold onto joy. Was there a particular emotional or social theme guiding this album from the start?

It was a lot change I was going through when my dad passed. Drinking, relationship, moving. Just trying to keep my head above water and move on in a positive way.

11. After nearly 30 years in music, what still drives GB Leighton to keep writing, touring, and pushing forward creatively?

I guess it’s what I do. What I’m here for. You can come to a show and connect with the artists. We don’t hide. You get to release and that’s awesome. It’s a hard life sometimes but I wouldn’t trade it.

GB Leighton Tangerine Album Release Show & National Street Date is May 29, 2026. 7pm DOORS | 8 pm MUSIC | ALL Ages | Tickets $30 @ The Parkway Theater https://theparkwaytheater.com/all-events/tangerine

WEBSITE & SOCIALS:
https://gbleighton.com/
https://www.facebook.com/gbleighton
https://www.instagram.com/gbleighton/
https://www.youtube.com/@GBLeighton
https://www.tiktok.com/@gbleighton

INTERVIEW: GB Leighton

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