Five minutes with Harrogate's Leon Marshall

Award-winning North Yorkshire-based singing guitarist and events musician Leon Marshall, known for his powerful vocals and toe-tapping original music, started his music career on the open mic scene back in 2005.

With his latest release Nobody Better' reaching the top 20 of the iTunes singer/songwriter charts and national radio play, Leon is fast becoming a sought after performer. Leon has recently been proclaimed as one of the best wedding musicians and has also celebrated recent success with the announcement of being one of the top 10 singing guitarists to be booked across the UK via encoremusicians.com.

Here, Your Yorkshire Wedding gets to know the man behind the mic...

How long have you been a musician, when did your passion begin?
I've been a professional full time musician since 2017, and I fell in love with performing at weddings after my very first one. It was a ceremony and drinks reception and I remember getting in to the car to drive home afterwards and calling my (now) wife and telling her that if I could play weddings for the rest of my life then I'd have 'made it'. I feel so lucky to be able to call this my job.

What's your favourite thing about performing at weddings?
I'd probably say that my favourite thing about performing at weddings is the ceremony, it's such a compliment being asked to be a part of someone's day that they'll remember forever and a guitar vocalist is such a perfect backdrop for that already breathtaking moment when the groom and guests see the bride for the first time at the top of the aisle.

I know it's hard to choose, but do you have a favourite song to perform?
I've got so many favourites to perform, I'm particularly enjoying playing Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper at the moment, although couples often ask for one of my originals Nobody Better to be played so that's always great to do, and again such a compliment!

Do you have any top tips for couples looking for/booking their wedding entertainment?
Just to take your time looking for someone, make sure they're a good fit for you both and your day, you'll remember it forever, so don't feel that you have to rush into a decision. It can often be useful to have a quick phone call or video call too, things can sometimes get lost in an email!

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