To learn more about country singer/songwriter Levi Hummon one just has to start with his family. The son of a Grammy-winning singer/songwriter and a parent that has been named a ‘Champion of Change’ award recipient, Hummon’s passion for music is equally as devoted to helping others. Throw in some turning points, a writing mentor and maybe even a few Disney movies, and Hummon’s own remarkable story has been patiently waiting to reveal itself. 

“It’s like my dad always said, ‘it’s like growin’ tators’,” Hummon said. “It’s truly in my blood.”

Hummon’s father, Marcus, garnered a Grammy for the 2006 hit “Bless The Broken Road”, originally recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Among the arsenal of hits Marcus has penned are “Ready To Run” (Dixie Chicks), “Cowboy Take Me Away” (Dixie Chicks), “One of These Days” (Tim McGraw), “Born To Fly” ( Sara Evans) and many more staggering mega hits. 

Hummon’s mother, Becca Stevens, established two non-profits, Magdalene and Thistle Farms. Both facilities assist survivors of human trafficking, prostitution and drug addiction. Stevens is also an ordained minister. 

“We have been taking donations on our front porch pantry,” Hummon said, during the time of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Hummon is calling from his Nashville home, the same town he grew up, and save for a few years in Florida, where’s he’s always been. “My mom’s a preacher in town and I grew up with Thistle Farms. It’s important to me and I grew up with these organizations, it’s a weird parallel life of music and giving back to the community. The women working at Thistle Farms are economically at risk, and we’ve had artists like Trisha Yearwood supporting these women. It feels good and it’s exciting to give back.”

Besides encouraging fans to donate to the front porch pantry, and support Thistle Farms’ online store, Hummon is spending this down time during the pandemic to create new online videos, including some covers, and probably re-watch some Disney movies like Moana. He’s really digging re-discovering the soundtracks, he said, and as he sings a few bars to “How Far I’ll Go” it’s obvious why music fans are flocking to this 28-year-old born crooner. 

Growing up with two brothers, Hummon said his parents encouraged them to be creative and “be good people.” It wasn’t until his freshman year at college and getting his heart broken, that his writing skills started to reveal something he hadn’t imagined. After transferring from his college in Florida Nashville’s Belmont University, the doors began to open further – including actually singing his songs. 

Then came the next turning point; enter Desmond Child. 

Child, one of the most successful songwriter’s of all time with penned hits like “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” (KISS), “Livin’ On A Prayer” (Bon Jovi), “I Hate Myself For Loving You” (Joan Jett & The Blackhearts), “How Can We Be Lovers” (Michael Bolton) and a slew of others, had long been a family friend. After performing one of his early songs, Hummon got a reality check from Child: he wasn’t ready. 

Four years later, Hummon went back and performed for Child. The time away paid off and Hummon signed a publishing deal with Child’s own company, Deston Songs. Its parent company is Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. 

“I just wanted to be a songwriter,” Hummon said. “He got me out of my comfort zone and really taught me a lot. I learned to turn everything bigger from him.”

Patient, his six-song EP, was released in 2018. In the title track, Hummon sings just as energized. His lyrics oh, oh, who loves champagne, yeah, and sleeping in Sundays, no, and cutting’ up my t-shirt, oh, on my shoulders at the concert, whatever it is, you got it baby, I stopped looking and you found me, patiently waiting for a girl like you, oh, oh is creating a frenzied amount of Spotify streams. The song’s storytelling is pure country, but the music bed straddles the pop rock genre. 

In “Change My Life” the guitar sounds a bit more twangy, a bit more bluegrass. His vocals are quicker, and it’s a boot scootin’ fun track. Let me let you change my life, Hummon swoons. “I Still Do” slows things down a step, but Hummon’s pallet is exploding with bright guitar shapes and awe-inspiring vocals. In “Tough Love” and “Earth Quake” Hummon holds the listener’s attention with a warm embrace. It’s a nice slow dance. The sixth track, “Songs We Sang” has lingering, murky guitars, but Hummon continues to blur the listener into modern pop hues and contemporary country. 

“If I’m talking to someone about the differences in pop music and country music, I ask them how they define the country genre,” he said. “I write everything on piano or guitar. The lyrical content pulls more from the country genre, but I’m heavily influenced by Mumford & Sons, Jeff Buckley, The Clash and more.”

Released March 27, 2020, the stand-alone single, “Wedding Dress” is just as sweet as it sounds. Like 2017’s “Stupid” the song is an instant earworm. With slick vocals, and a music bed flush with danceable rhythms, Hummon penned the song the night of attending another wedding. The chorus if I get down on one knee, would you say yes, I wanna see you in a wedding dress, is infectiously memorable. The song came to him while looking at his date, and he found himself recording the melody and saying the lyrics into his phone. 

“My dad calls that special time when a song comes together ‘God is in the room’,” Hummon said. “From the top of my head down through my arms, the words and the music just came to me.”

Hummon, who has toured with Dwight Yoakam, Sam Hunt, Martina McBride and more, like all live performers is patiently waiting for COVID-19 restricts to subside to get back on the road. With so many unknows he’s embracing his over 17-thousand Facebook followers and nearly 85-thousand Instagram followers. 

“It’s an exciting time to create and reach fans in new ways,” he said.