White. Picket. Fence. What image comes to mind when you hear those three words? A ‘perfect’ home with mom, dad, children, pets, and so on? Or a blank canvas because none of us ever seem to capture the elusive ‘perfect’ lifestyle?
On “Picket Fences“, his self-titled second album’s opening song, Levi Lowrey lets us know his answer would be the latter. His biological father left before he was born, his adoptive stepfather is no longer with his mother, Levi bares all in the song “Urge for Leaving“.
The album is Levi’s life in song. Rather than getting bogged down, dark and uninviting, the album is a call to stay true to oneself. Another song comes to mind … “I Never Promised You A Rose Garden“ … and it’s true, the world leaves the raw materials on our doorstep, our life is what we do with what we’ve been given.
On “December 31“, he sings about how life can dramatically change in a second. Levi sums up the challenges we all face, “I think that this earth and its struggles are to build character; we have to be thankful for that. The song Long Way Home says right up front, ‘I’ve wasted hours praying for rain, and I cursed the clouds when they finally came.’ We pray for blessings in our lives, but we’re unwilling to go through the storms before we get there.”
Both of Levi’s albums (his first was I Confess I Was A Fool) are on Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Artists, Inc. The label gives passionate songwriters the chance to produce music their own way. Zac and his band have recorded songs written with Levi, including the #1 hit “Colder Weather“, “The Wind“, and “Day For the Dead“.
The Georgia native’s great-great-grandfather Gil Tanner may or may not have inspired his start as a fiddle player. With his developing songwriting, Levi tracked this new album, start to finish, in two weeks (release date February 25). Along with his backup band, you’ll hear Clay Cook, Ross Holmes, Oliver Wood, and Mac McAnally.
Levi is on tour with the Zac Brown Band through the Midwest and South. Then hits the road in the spring for Clay Vs Levi: Round 2. That tour will take him through the Northeast and then down South. You can watch a video intro for the spring tour HERE
To pre-order Levi’s new album out February 25 click HERE.
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