Lilli Lewis

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Lilli Lewis
Background information
BornAthens, Georgia
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • Piano
Years active2009–present

Lilli Lewis is an American folk and Americana singer, songwriter, and pianist based in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is sometimes known as the "Folk Rock Diva".[1]

Musical career[edit]

Lewis is originally from Athens, Georgia. She released her first album Out from Yonder in 2008.[2] She was first known as the "Folk Rock Diva" in the folk rock band The Shiz, which she founded with her wife Liz Hogan in 2009.[3] She has also released records backed by a big band containing several notable New Orleans musicians, known as the Lilli Lewis Project.[4] Their album We Belong received positive reviews from the jazz press in 2019.[5] The album My American Heart received media attention in 2020[6][3] with one reviewer comparing Lewis to opera singer Jessye Norman.[7]

In 2020, Lewis co-wrote and co-produced "Mask Up! COVID Down!" as part of Louisiana Red Hot Records' efforts for public health in the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] She also contributed a set of twelve arias for a cycle entitled Cura Personalis, commissioned by the Opera Workshop at Loyola University.[9]

In 2021, Lewis released her album Americana on Louisiana Red Hot Records. NPR Music[10] chose it as a Top 10 Album of the week. NPR Morning Edition[11] also interviewed her in a segment on black musicians and activists forging a new path.

Lewis' album Americana was pulled from streaming service Spotify after the track "A Healing Inside" featuring the original Lady A was flagged by the band formerly known as Lady Antebellum, and was restored to the service after days.[12] Rolling Stone noted the controversy, and reviewed Lewis' "Copper John" as one of its Songs You Need to Know.

Activism[edit]

Lewis has spoken out on racial, gender, and LGBTQ equity in Americana music in her role as Vice President and head of A&R at Louisiana Red Hot Records, with panels covered by Rolling Stone[13] and American Songwriter.[14] She told Nashville Scene: "Country and Americana share space with the profound legacies of entrepreneurial female artists like Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith."[15]

Albums[edit]

  • Out from Yonder (2008)
  • Very Small Things (2009)
  • The Promised Lands: Songs of the Sacred South (2011)
  • Orange Music (2017)
  • The Henderson Sessions (2018 - Louisiana Red Hot Records)
  • We Belong (The Lilli Lewis Project, 2019 - Louisiana Red Hot Records)[16]
  • My American Heart + The Blue EP (2020 - Louisiana Red Hot Records)[6]
  • Americana (2021 - Louisiana Red Hot Records)[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Lilli Lewis". Cutting Edge Conference. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  2. ^ "Lilli Lewis – Out From Yonder – on NoiseTrade". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  3. ^ a b writer, KEITH SPERA | Staff (February 4, 2021). "Lilli Lewis, record label exec and recording artist, finds her voice in 'My American Heart'". NOLA.com. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  4. ^ aaamc (October 2019). "Lilli Lewis Project – We Belong | BLACK GROOVES". Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  5. ^ "DownBeat Reviews". downbeat.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Clapp, Jake (February 1, 2021). "Lilli Lewis speaks straight from the heart on new EP". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  7. ^ "Lilli Lewis | "My American Heart" | Review". Grateful Web. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  8. ^ "Kirk Joseph, Erica Falls, Lilli Lewis & more drop 'Mask Up! Covid Down!'". OffBeat Magazine. August 3, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  9. ^ CLAPP, JAKE (February 2021). "Lilli Lewis speaks straight from the heart on new EP". NOLA.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  10. ^ "New Music Friday: The top 10 albums out on Oct. 29 : All Songs Considered". NPR.org. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  11. ^ "New roots: Black musicians and advocates are forging coalitions outside the system". NPR.org. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  12. ^ writer, KEITH SPERA | Staff (November 16, 2021). "Lady A controversy got New Orleans songwriter Lilli Lewis' 'Americana' deleted from Spotify". NOLA.com. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  13. ^ Freeman, Jon (August 13, 2020). "'Black Equity' Panel to Discuss Representation in Americana Music". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  14. ^ "Black Equity in Americana Panel Set for Thursday". American Songwriter. August 19, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  15. ^ "How Black Women Can Power Country Music's Future". Nashville Scene. November 19, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  16. ^ Fontenot, Robert (October 30, 2019). "Lilli Lewis Project, We Belong (Louisiana Red Hot Records)". OffBeat. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  17. ^ CLAPP, JAKE (October 25, 2021). "Lilli Lewis fills new album 'Americana' with left out stories". NOLA.com. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
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