The first thing you need to know about Leon Majcen is how to pronounce his last name because that will make it easier for you to tell others about this fascinating singer/songwriter; it’s “might-sin.”

He was born in the Czech Republic, the son of Bosnian war refugees who moved their family to Clearwater, Florida before Leon was two years old. It was his father’s love of Outlaw country music and his record collection featuring Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan, among many others, that started young Leon on the path of the Troubadour.

Majcen began playing the coffee shops and bars around St. Petersburg while still in high school. After graduation, he headed to New York City to study at NYU. During this time, he auditioned for Season 18 of “American Idol” in Washington, DC where he made it through to the second round in Hollywood before finally getting cut. A couple years in NYC proved to be plenty, and he headed back to Florida. Killing time on a commercial fishing dock filleting and packing fish gave him time to recharge, release his first album in 2020, and get ready for his next move: Nashville.

He released his eponymous album in May of 2024 and started to get more exposure with dates opening for like-minded artists and write the songs for his new album, Better Days, set for release on April 25.

His songs seem light and carefree on first listen but closer attention uncovers deeper meanings and clever wordplay reminiscent of classic Buffett, Croce, Guy Clark, and John Prine. His voice is an easy-going baritone that becomes a trusted narrator drawing you into his stories. The instrumentation is basic, mostly just fingerpicked acoustic guitar accompanied with the occasional harmonica, but sometimes, a guitar gets plugged in and things pick up.

Check out the loping “Highway One” for the full band experience or “Blue Sky” with backing vocals from the Cloverdale Family Band and featuring a nifty slide guitar solo.

Majcen uses some avian imagery in his lyrics and references to birds seem to make the songs more universal. You’ll hear them in the title track, “And I know we’ll still be dealing with the trouble in our minds/Just another angry redbird and a blue jay at the line/Fighting to the death instead of flying way on high” and “Close your cryin’ eyes I’ll be layin’ here beside you/When the sun comes on the rise I’ll stay as long as the cuckoo wails and the lonesome blue jay cries” from “I’ll Be There in the Morning,” or “I still think of you when the mountains crumble/When the night turns blue and the redbird cries’ from “Right Love Wrong Time.”

The songs on Better Days have something for everyone with emotions and situations that have touched us all. Leon is an affable host creating an instant camaraderie with his audience, bringing them along for the stories in his songs as a proper Troubadour should.

Find out more about Leon Majcen at the links below: