Neal Hagberg and Leandra Peak were off to a perfectly good start in life — studying for careers in medicine and business — when they found themselves transformed into singer-songwriters. I guess you could blame it on Neal (who had football ambitions as well), who had to go and play his songs for people. So, after college (where they met), after grad school, after eight years of dating, Neal and Leandra got married and hit the road as a duo.
       It’s not up to us to judge the loss to medicine, football or business, but we think contemporary folk music was a pretty good career move. Neal and Leandra’s songs are rooted in everyday life and love and sung in a simple and direct way that creates fiercely devoted fans. The titles of their albums — “Old Love,” “Hearts & Hammers,” “Accidental Dreams,” “Stranger to my Kin,” and “Listen to the Angels” — speak of the poetry of their performances, and you’ll find plenty of good stories and humor there, too.
       So come to hear songwriters who “have clearly mastered the art of saying more with less” (Washington Post), or a gorgeous blend of voices, or simply to see how parents of a toddler distill everyday life into music, and see what happens when people let their gifts take them where they may.