Neal &Leandra
Absolutely Miraculous
by Linda Morris

If you were to visit the Minneapolis home of Neal Hagberg and Leandra Peak, you would find the couple singing with renewed depth of feeling these days. But as they prepare for their upcoming holiday tour, they're wondering what they ever used to do with all their free time. Even their traveling companion, a Shih-tsu named Sam, is looking a little bewildered lately. A new baby in the house tends to do that to a family. Madeline Grace Peak began broadcasting at 2:33 a.m., April 28th, and life will never be quite the same.

"We've known each other for 18 years, we dated for eight years, we've been married for 10 years, and we know what free time is, and we know what a life is like," Hagberg said. "Those days are long gone... But boy, I'll tell you, we've both fallen in love."

Throughout their career, Neal and Leandra have become identified with honest, heartfelt songs, elegant in their simplicity, that celebrate all of love's faces. With original material, including "Cry," "Stranger to My Kin," "It'll Still Be You," and, most notably, "Old Love," they connect with the experiences we all share without resorting to musical gymnastics. In performance, Hagberg's rich, dramatic baritone can also merge seamlessly with Peak's velvety contralto, which, at times, soars effortlessly toward soprano. Neal and Leandra sing in the moment, as though every experience were new, each song a fresh creation.

And now, with a new reason to celebrate, and there is no doubt that the experience will have an impact on their art.

Friends have already asked, "How are you going to keep doing your career and your touring?" Hagberg said, but "We'll figure that out. The way I'm looking at it is: We've got the best job in the world. When we're not on the road, we've got two stay-at-home parents. And when we're on the road, except for during concerts, we still have two stay-at-home parents."

As a writer, he finds himself fighting the urge to become one of those self-indulgent artist/parents. "One of the things that ends up happening, in my own opinion, is that you have a kid, and you go overboard, and you start writing schlocky stuff. I want people to slap me in the face and say, 'Hey, this is a crappy song!' " However, he added, "You can disguise a song about a baby as a love song. Make it sound like a relationship, and you've got a great song because you've got so much intensity of emotion involved in it. In that respect, I think my writing is going to change and open up," he said. "Writing has become even more important because I love to write, and the time is more precious 'cause there's not as much time to do it."