Award-winning singer and songwriter Eli Lev performs in Horizon West

Rising singer and songwriter Eli Lev is making the world a smaller place, one song at a time. 

The award-winning artist brought his talents to the area with a free concert Monday, Sept. 25, at Clean Eatz in Horizon West.

Lev, based in Maryland, describes his music as “Johnny Cash and John Denver, riding along with Ed Sheeran and Jack Johnson, going to pick up Stevie Nicks and Ben Harper, and we’re just hanging out.”

“It’s a little bit different every time, but there’s roots in country and Americana,” he said. “It’s definitely a modern-day production, take where it’s lyric-forward with words that are from the heart and meaningful, as well as bring in nature, travel and community.”

His driving factor in creating music? Service to others.

“Music is a way for me to bring joy, hope and a sense of community into the world,” Lev said. “Really just being in a place of giving and providing to others is fulfilling to me. Knowing that I made an impact where I’ve changed someone’s life, or saved someone’s life, or helped them understand something about their purpose in life. It makes it all worthwhile. Music disarms us in a way. It cuts through the noise. I hope the music makes them stop, consider, be with themselves and enjoy a musical story.”

HITTING THE RIGHT NOTES

Lev grew up in the diverse suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland, where a blending of backgrounds made an impact on his life’s perspective. 

His father was an oboe player, and his mom played piano and sang. Lev took piano and guitar lessons, as well as performed in his middle-school talent show.

“I first got into music when a friend gave me a mixtape in elementary school featuring Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana, The Police, MC Hammer and U2,” he said. “It sparked something in me that led me to where I am today and how I make my living through creating sounds.”

After graduating from high school in 2000, Lev attended the University of Indiana.

He decided to complete his student teaching as an eighth-grade English teacher on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona.

This was the beginning of his musical adventure. 

“It was a very informative time in my life, and knowledge is what really inspired me to go and teach on the reserve,” he said. “Becoming familiar with our indigenous history here in North America and understanding a different perspective was fascinating for me. I wanted to relay the knowledge and the lessons I learned out there through my music in ‘Four Directions.’ It was a great way to learn more about the world but also about ourselves. I learned a lot about myself, what I’m able to do and my identity. I was truly just as much a student as I was a teacher there.”

For five years, Lev worked to develop his debut project, “Four Directions,” which compiles four conceptual EPs — “All Roads East 2017,” “Way Out West 2018,” “Deep South 2019” and “True North 2021” — into one 20-song statement.

It was always Lev’s dream to have his music on vinyl or a record, and “Four Directions” allowed him to do that.

“Seeing it all come together and holding it in my hands with the beauty of the art, the color, the lyrics; it was just a huge accomplishment for me,” he said. “It just showed me that I could do it.”

Although Lev thought “Four Directions” was going to be the only project he would create, he quickly caught the music bug.

His latest release — “Walk. Talk. Dance. Sing.” — is an inner-travel monologue from the pandemic and beyond.

The EP blends Lev’s classic acoustic guitar and upfront vocal aesthetic with diverse sounds spanning pop, lo-fi rock, electronic, indie, folk and Caribbean-kissed musicality. 

The five-song collection compiles Lev’s songwriting during the pandemic, capturing the highs, lows and all the emotions in between.

CALLING THE TUNE

Lev’s releases have earned praise from magazines such as American Songwriter, Paste Magazine and IU Alumni; online outlets including BuzzFeed, CBS Radio, AXS and The Bluegrass Situation; and have received national folk radio support, along with placement on prominent industry Spotify playlists. 

In 2019, Lev won multiple industry awards for his work. His second album, “Way Out West,” won a Washington Area Music Award for “Best Country/Americana album,” while his single, “Chasing Daylight,” won a grand prize in the Songwriters’ Association of Washington Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Competition. In 2021, he won another Wammie Award for “Best Pop Artist” in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area.

Lev has played hundreds of shows, locally, nationally and internationally. Select highlights include performing at the Kennedy Center Millennium stage; his album release at Pearl Street Warehouse in D.C.; the DC Music Rocks Festival at the 9:30 Club; his appearance at the National Cherry Blossom Festival; and multiple European tours.

Now, Lev is working on his upcoming release project, “Three Worlds,” which includes three separate EPs. The first EP will be called “Present Journey,” which features Lev’s most recent single, “That Universal Song.” 

“Three Worlds” will be followed with a collaborative album called “Two Friends” and then Lev’s last project, “One Road.”

He currently is touring full-time and working on international tours.