Lilli Lewis

Biography

Lilli Lewis, born in Athens, Georgia, began composing music at age three, banging on keyboards and having her mother transcribe her creations, even staging family air piano performances by age four. Facing early lung troubles that doctors warned might prevent her survival, she developed a fierce sense of agency, drawing from authors like bell hooks to affirm her necessity and craft her personal narrative. Trained as a classical pianist and singer, her career pivoted after her father's death, channeling grief into songwriting; she ran away to Boston in the early 2000s, immersing in the Cambridge folk scene amid classical and jazz hubs like New England Conservatory and Berklee, before missing Southern vibes and settling in New Orleans.[1][2][3]

Now based in New Orleans, Lewis has been active over two decades as a singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer, known as the 'Folk Rock Diva' since founding the folk-rock band The Shiz with her wife Liz Hogan in 2009. Her style blends southern gothic, Americana, folk, roots, country soul, gospel, and jazz—a polyglot sound rooted in church 'moaning intonations' and foot-stomping on her father's 150-year-old hardwood floor church, classical training, and opera-like melismas evoking Aretha Franklin or Jessye Norman. Key releases include her debut Out from Yonder (2008), big band-backed We Belong (2019) with the Lilli Lewis Project, My American Heart (2020), and Americana (2021), co-produced by Mark Bingham and featuring guests like Rick Nelson and Gina Forsyth, emphasizing orphaned songs and personal stories of freedom.[1][2][3][7]

Lewis's legacy includes activism, co-organizing the first Black Opry Conference in New Orleans in October 2021 with Holly G. of Black Opry, creating an intersectional space for BIPOC artists in folk-adjacent genres dominated by gatekeepers. Success for her means self-expression and service, bridging genres birthed from Black culture while rejecting classical snobbery toward jazz or folk.[1]

Fun Facts

• Began composing at age three, performing 'air piano' concerts for her family by age four.
• Earned the 'Folk Rock Diva' moniker in The Shiz band due to her epic, aria-like performances as the only Black member with a classical background.
• Overcame childhood lung issues that threatened her survival, turning them into a philosophy of agency inspired by bell hooks.
• Grew up near Kenny Rogers in rural Georgia, with country music constantly in the air.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• bell hooks - Author whose writings inspired Lewis's sense of agency and personal narrative amid health challenges and trauma (N/A) [Childhood onward]

Key Collaborators

• Liz Hogan - Wife and co-founder of folk-rock band The Shiz (The Shiz (band founded 2009)) [2009–present]
• Mark Bingham - Co-producer (Americana album) [2021]
• Rick Nelson - Cellist guest artist (Americana album) [2021]
• Gina Forsyth - Singer-songwriter/fiddler guest artist (Americana album) [2021]
• Holly G. - Co-organizer of Black Opry Conference; founder of Black Opry magazine (Black Opry Conference (October 2021)) [2021]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia