Daniel Leyes was born and raised in the Tottenville section of Staten Island, NYC. Surrounded by the music of the 60s and 70s, everything from Dylan to Motown to Led Zeppelin served as the soundtrack to his early life. 

Daniel has been playing guitar and writing songs since his teens, but crippling performance anxiety prevented him from sharing his songs in front of anyone, not even family. He wrote songs that no one would ever hear to help him cope with lifelong depression and anxiety, They were for healing purposes only.

Throughout and beyond high school he worked as a roadie for Staten Island recording artist Jimmie Mack, and other local acts. When RCA Records pulled the tour support and dropped Mack from the label, in frustration, Daniel left the music industry altogether. 

Daniel attended St. John’s University where he excelled, graduating magna cum laude with a double major in Speech and Psychology and a minor in Human Communication. This paved the way for him to attend graduate school at Southern Illinois University, where he earned a masters degree in Speech Communication.

A thirty-five year teaching career followed, but secretly Leyes continued his songwriting. 

It was a chance radio encounter in the spring of 2017 with Stoner-Folk troubadour Todd Snider that changed everything. The song was "Conservative Christian", and when it was over, a Google search followed, and a tree hugging peace loving pot smoking lazy ass hippie Todd Snider fan got his wings and was set free to become himself.

In Snider, he found a kindred spirit, a performance role model, and a songwriting standard-setter that he could aspire to. 

The next week he walked into his therapist's office and declared “I don’t know what is happening, but I’ve discovered this songwriter named Todd Snider and now everything has changed. I’m going to go public with my music. I am going to meet him and we will become friends and smoke a lot of weed together and make music together. I don’t know how this is going to happen but I’ve never felt more certain of anything in my life.”

Of course that was easier said than done. Todd Snider was known to be a very private person who shied away from obsessed fans.  And for Dan, overcoming  powerful performance anxiety would be a formidable challenge. 

Daniel hit the open mic circuit with a vengeance, sharpening his performance chops and working through the anxiety one song at a time. And over several years performing became FUN, which was the goal all along.

Leyes’ debut CD, A SINGLE STEP, was released in December of 2019. It was produced by veteran NJ music man John Mulrenan at his Acorn Digital Studio in Howell NJ.  One week following the release party in March of 2020, the world closed down for the pandemic. 

Subsequent single releases during covid included "Tequila", "Hard Times (Are Coming to an End)", and crowd favorite "One Man Mosh Pit". 

In the late spring of 2023 Leyes received word that Snider would be hosting a songwriting camp in upstate New York. Without hesitation he maxed out his credit card with the hope of finally meeting and spending some quality time with his hero.

And that camp was magical! The two became fast friends, jamming to Leyes’ One Man Mosh Pit and smoking enough marijuana for the smoke clouds to be seen from outer space. Of the “Mosh Pit” jam, Snider would later say, “I knew in that moment we had been cosmic friends for a very long time.” By the end of the week Todd offered him the opportunity to open shows on his next tour.

Everything he had told his therapist had come true, but the best was yet to come. 

In November of 2024, now near-daily pen pals, Snider emailed with an offer to produce Leyes’ next album, with Joe Bisirri, at The Purple Building. Todd requested that Leyes arrive in mid January, as they were finishing up Todd's final album, High, Lonesome, and then Some. Daniel made a cameo appearance on one song, “It’s Hard to be Happy.”

Then in mid April they started on Leyes’ album, The Purple Building Sessions: Medicinal Americana. Snider evaluated over twenty of Leyes’ songs to select  the ten that would work best together as an album

In addition to Todd playing guitar, banjo, drums/percussion and adding some vocals, the album features appearances by Snider’s band members Joe Bisirri, Robbie Crowell, and Brooke Gronemeyer, as well as East Nashvillians like Tommy Womack, Bob Lewis, Brennan Lethridge, Connor McClaren, and Devil Scott. Everyone, especially Todd, was enthusiastic about what was recorded.

Then, on November 14, tragedy struck when Todd Snider passed away from pneumonia. There are no words to express the loss felt by his loved ones. For a time, Daniel even considered not releasing the album. Finally it was decided that Todd would want this music heard. 

To help in that endeavor, Daniel signed a distribution deal with Heart Songs Music Group. On April 20th, 2026, he will release two new singles: “Ha Ha Weed Is Legal” and “Stoner Mating Call”  He will release the entire LP “The Purple Building Sessions: Medicinal Americana” on June 17, 2026.

Retired from college teaching, Daniel travels the country busking and doing live shows, including house concerts. A world tour will follow the release of the album.

Get in touch for bookings.