Levi Parham is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist from McAlester, Oklahoma, United States.
Early life
Levi grew up in southeast Oklahoma listening to his father's large Album collection, especially the Blues.
Career
Parham began his career in 2013, self-releasing his first-full length album titled An Okie Opera. Currentland Magazine named it one of the top Red Dirt albums of the year, alongside Samantha Crain, Red Dirt Rangers, and Jason Boland. He followed that release in 2014 with a six song EP titled Avalon Drive. After touring the U.S. extensively, Parham met producer Jimmy LaFave, who later signed him to Music Road Records in December 2015. Parham immediately went into Cedar Creek Studios in Austin, TX with LaFave to work on his next full length album. These American Blues was released 24 June 2016 to favorable reviews. PopMatters Magazine said of the title song, "It could stand as a rootsy election year anthem", while Elmore Magazine said Parham "sings with an occasionally world-weary, sometimes playful, but always powerful authority on America." The album These American Blues rose quickly on the Americana Music Association Charts, climbing all the way into the Top 40 and staying for several weeks, topping out at No. 23. In 2017, Parham toured Europe several times, with sold-out shows and festival dates in Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium, sharing stages with Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Chuck Prophet, Jonny Lang, Sam Outlaw, Jim Lauderdale, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Ben Miller Band, The Secret Sisters, Jesse Dayton, and more. In June 2017, Parham was featured on a various artists' tribute to Mark Heard, an album called Treasures of a Broken Land, which showcased Mark's great songwriting performed by the likes of Buddy Miller, Rodney Crowell, North Mississippi Allstars, Over the Rhine, Sara Potenza, and more. While working on this project, Parham befriended Amy Helm and the two sang a duo together. Later that Fall, Parham went on the road as supporting act for Amy, with a tour up the US West Coast and through Canada. Sometime in early 2017 while touring through the South, Parham got the chance to visit a recording studio that was once owned and operated by The Swampers, the rhythm section that started the Muscle Shoals Sound. While visiting with the engineer at the studio and touring the facilities, Parham got the idea to bring a crew of his Tulsa friends – guys who were still carrying the torch of the Tulsa Sound originated by guys like Leon Russell and JJ Cale – to Muscle Shoals to combine both styles of music and to get it all on tape. Parham assembled the lineup and in August 2017 he brought John Fullbright, Dustin Pittsley, Jesse Aycock, Dylan Golden Aycock, Aaron Behlor, Lauren Barth, Paul Benjaman, and Michael Staub into Studio B at what is now called Portside Sound to cut a record. The session went fairly smooth and quick, with the gang finishing out the majority of the songs within the first two days, cutting most songs completely live. The album was released in June 2018, titled It's All Good via Horton Records. In 2018, Parham was featured in a video music series called "Play It Loud", focusing on Oklahoma bred music artists, which won a Heartland Emmy.
