As the son of Grammy Award-winning songwriter Marcus Hummon (“Cowboy Take Me Away,” “Bless the Broken Road”), Levi Hummon knew at an early age that it was possible to find success in the music business.
But that didn’t stop him from pursuing an education. He attended school in St. Petersburg, Florida to study visual art. While there, he suffered a heartbreak and picked up the guitar. That’s when he found himself becoming the musician he was destined to be.
After his move back to Music City, Hummon did the only thing he knew to do: write. “I kind of stepped into the music industry and before I even knew how to write a song I knew how to write a song, and that has a lot to do with my dad,” Hummon explains.
Alongside his father and Andrew Dorff, Hummon co-wrote a song titled “Make It Love,” which Keith Urban was set to cut. Urban ultimately passed on the song about “taking all the pain and the hurt in the world and turning it into love.” Everything happens for a reason, though, and that’s when Hummon found himself as an artist. He uploaded a video for the song to YouTube, and it was shortlisted for an Oscar for “Best Original Song.”
“It was the biggest stepping stone to me discovering my voice as an artist and realizing I want to be a songwriter,” he says before continuing, “But I want to be an artist who sings his own songs.”
Regardless of what Hummon sings or writes about, he always tries to embody what his parents taught him. While it’s no secret that his father has influenced his music, it may come as a surprise that Hummon’s mother, Becca Stevens, has always served as the “roster of the whole family.”
Not only is Stevens a Nashville preacher, but she also founded Thistle Farms, a nonprofit organization that helps female survivors of trafficking, prostitution and addiction. “She always preaches this idea of love and compassion and peace, and to me that kind of exists in my music where I carry that ability to love one another,” Hummon says. “I always want to put on the best show for my fans and be out there at the merch table meeting people after and just spreading that same joy that they bring to me when I’m on stage.”
As Hummon toured with artists like Kip Moore and Frankie Ballard, he knew he needed to release the music people remembered him by. He listened to his fans and chose the crowd-favorite, “Don’t Waste the Night,” as his debut single.
“The song represents the new music and the new person that I am as an artist,” he explains of the single. “It’s the first step to all this new music we’re about to release.”
Check out “Don’t Waste the Night” and stay tuned. There’s a lot more to come from this talented young artist.
