Jodee Lewis - Buzzard's Bluff
  • Buzzard's Bluff (APD Showcase Vol 6 Featured Track)
  • It Ain't Killed Me Yet
  • Missouri
  • Though The Flood May Rise
  • Nothing Ever Really Changes
  • We Shouldn't Be Alone
  • Start Again Tomorrow
  • Cigarette Song
  • A House That Was Never A Home
  • Peace At Last
Press

Americana - UK
Jodee Lewis may have travelled North from Missouri to settle in Chicago, but she didn’t bring the blues with her: she’s traditional country, spinning tales to guitar, fiddle and banjo accompaniment. Buzzard’s Bluff is the title track of her album due on the 6th of April and captures natural lush landscapes of her Ozarks home – but just like the numerous birds of prey, a dark secret is always circling.

Magnet Magazine
As popular country music keeps moving farther and farther away from its traditional Nashville roots, it’s always great to find that certain artist who brings the nostalgic sound back home. Here’s a Southern native (now living in Chicago) sure to knock your cowgirl boots off. Meet Jodee Lewis, a former small-town gal who used to spend her days runnin’ through the trees, buildin’ forts and dreamin’ of the future. Now, Lewis is off and captivating music lovers with her gorgeous melodies, as heard on the title track of sophomore album Buzzard’s Bluff (out April 6). With her awe-inspiring acoustic sound and rustic voice, get ready to fall in love with Lewis. Download and/or stream “Buzzard’s Bluff” now.

If It's Too Loud
As what is considered country gets more and more popular in the mainstream, there is also a resurgence of throwback country that harkens back to the roots of how country started. Jodee Lewis will be considered that, but she truly has a unique sound. Her latest single, "Buzzard's Bluff," has the feel of old school country in the vein of Merle Hagard and Dolly Parton, but is just a bit too pop to be old school. That's not to say that Lewis is the modern definition of pop country, since she actually sounds like, you know, country. The song ends with a killer fiddle solo, so it can't truly be pop. "Buzzard's Bluff" is one of the few songs that new and traditional country fans might be able to agree on.

You can listen to "Buzzard's Bluff" below. The album Buzzard's Bluff will be out in April. For more on Jodee Lewis, check out her website.


Chicago Tribune

Chicago boasts its share of fine Americana artists. Among them is Jodee Lewis, a singer-songwriter whose outsized talent is as big as her voice.

Lewis played the Old Town School of Folk Music on Sunday night, a performance that served as a celebration of the one-year anniversary of "Whiskey Halo," her impressive solo debut.
Lewis is a Chicago transplant, born and raised in Missouri. She has been a longtime presence in the city's country and folk scene, most notably as a member of the alt-country act the Spares. With her gentle twang and crystalline soprano, she invests her songs with a palpable ache that recalls country thrush Lee Ann Womack.

An adept acoustic rhythm guitarist, Lewis was backed by three fine players — acoustic and electric guitarist Doug Zylstra, upright bassist Christian Dillingham and fiddler Katie Abernethy. Together they achieved a rich chamber-country sound that fit snugly into the warm confines of the Old Town's Szold Hall.

Dressed in a white, off-the-shoulder dress and leather boots, Lewis was a demure presence who let her powerful pipes do the talking. She kicked the night off with the kiss-off "I Don't Miss," a funky country-blues filled with unrepentant sass.

A similar attitude percolated through the cheeky "From a Bottle," a song that musically recalled the classic Bakersfield Sound. Zylstra's Fender Telecaster leads echoed the style of Buck Owens' guitarist Don Rich.

When it came time for the bittersweet duet "St. Clair County," Zylstra ably took the male vocal part filled on the recorded version by alt-country icon Robbie Fulks. On the waltz-time ballad "Lies That Bind," Abernethy contributed delicate background harmonies and mournful fiddle.
Although a number of Lewis' songs tremble with loss, they never devolve into navel-gazing self-pity. The entire set was a finely honed and delivered affair that included a respectful cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene," and an infectious version of the classic hymn "Leaning On the Everlasting Arms."

The Daily Country
A native of the Missouri Ozarks, Jodee Lewis was raised on folk songs and honky-tonk - and her music reflects the best of both worlds. The first place winner in the 16th annual Great American Songwriting Contest is gearing up to release her latest project, Buzzard's Bluff, where she explores the themes of loss, heartache, and hope. In advance of the album's April 6th release, Lewis answered her Essential 8 and relays the story behind the album's title, discusses the pros and cons of the road, details her favorite venue, and much more!

With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect?
Buzzard’s Bluff – I wanted this song to feel menacing and dark because it describes a child caught in a cycle of abuse who’s powerless to do anything to help themselves. However, I really hated to leave it like that because I wanted there to be a hint that the kids get out of there at last. So I tried adding a double-time instrumental outro. When I brought it to my band, I asked Doug (guitar) and Katie (fiddle) if they could try some quick solos over it and I absolutely loved what they did right from the beginning. It felt as if the victim was running - escaping.

What’s the story behind your album’s title?
Buzzard’s Bluff is the name of the first song on the album, but it’s also the name of a real bluff in the Missouri Ozarks near where I grew up. It’s pretty hard to get to – you can’t drive – you have to hike up; you’d never just stumble across it as an outsider. It’s a beautiful place; my sister and I spent a lot of time there as kids and then as teenagers. We’d be looking over this amazing view, but circling in the distance would be these huge birds of prey. As I was writing this album, I was thinking a lot about growing up in the Ozarks, and the imagery of Buzzard’s Bluff seemed to fit my thoughts. The Ozarks are beautiful and secluded, but in the quiet places, predators sometimes lie in wait.

Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination?
For me, song ideas usually start with an emotion that I’m feeling and want to express. Sometimes I’ll use the actual circumstances that have caused the emotion, but typically I make up a story. Like most songwriters, I carry around a notebook and use the voice recorder on my phone to jot down lyrics, ideas and melodies that I think about during the day. And then when I sit down to write, I check the lyrics against the melodies and see if any of them seem to go together. If I’m feeling something very strongly, then I usually finish the song right away, otherwise I’m distracted and can’t function well in my regular life. But I also have lots of ideas that never get finished until I’m on a deadline – like studio time is booked, or a show is coming up where I’ve promised new material.

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Top 40 Charts
New York, NY (Top40 Charts) As the music coming out of Nashville edges ever closer to the pop genre, it's up to artists like Jodee Lewis to carry the torch of traditional country. With striking arrangements that are the perfect vessels for her songcraft, not to mention a voice that is full of rustic mystique, Lewis is a writer and storyteller with timeless appeal.

Though a Chicago native for nearly two decades now, she was raised in Osceola - a town of 800 people in the Missouri Ozarks. Her childhood home was down a secluded dirt track, set amongst 190 acres of woodland, where days were spent running through the trees, building forts and secret hideouts. Each Labor Day would see the arrival of Rodeo Daze - 3 nights of rodeos plus parades featuring marching bands and kids racing turtles for money. These memories bleed into her songwriting

Lewis grew up in a household where Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings and EmmyLou Harris were fixtures on the radio. Her granddad, himself a guitarist in a band, also played his part by introducing her to the artists that he loved, such as Earl Scruggs, Patsy Cline and Lefty Frizzell. These country, honky-tonk and Americana roots still shine through in her own music.

Recently, Lewis has dug ever deeper, incorporating influences like Ray Price and Merle Haggard into her sound. It's all there on Buzzard's Bluff, her second album, and the follow-up to her debut, Whiskey Halo. Despite being billed as a solo record there's a true feeling of unity amongst her band, helped by the fact that they all met each other at church.

Named after a real bluff near where she grew up, Buzzard's Bluff is a fitting landscape for Lewis' songs of searching self-reflection. By looking back on a childhood where minding your own business was prized above all else she hopes to navigate the difficulties of being an adult, wife and parent. Returning to this place has also meant dealing with the tragic loss of her second child, Luke, which has had a very significant effect on her life and music.

On the album's title track Lewis sings "there ain't nobody gonna run in here and save me." But through the loyalty of her family and the strength of God's grace she has not only found salvation, but has created her most personal statement yet.

Buzzard's Bluff Release Date: April 6, 2018

Nooga.com
Jodee Lewis, “Buzzard’s Bluff”
From an early age, Missouri native Jodee Lewis was surrounded by music, with the sounds of Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris and Waylon Jennings floating through her home. With support from her grandfather (who also introduced her to artists Earl Scruggs, Patsy Cline and Lefty Frizzell), Lewis would develop a deep appreciation and affection for these sounds, eventually combining them to form her own musical history. And with the release of her second record, “Buzzard’s Bluff,” out April 6, she continues to merge these influences into a rustic sound that brings together traditional country tones and a more modern approach without losing the innate twang and shuffle.

On her new single, “Buzzard’s Bluff,” Lewis doesn’t appropriate pop’s mainstream rhythms but sticks to the shared histories of country and folk music. The track wanders through a lush Americana landscape filled with mournful strings, affecting slide guitar and her persuasive voice. It’s a throwback but only in the sense that it doesn’t try to latch on to any current trends and, instead, focuses on the details of its own bucolic lineage. It feels timeless, a song without age or dated accents. Equal parts sylvan barnburner and intense self-analysis, it speaks to the present by evoking the dramatic honesty that clings to the past. There’s also a wild temperament lodged within its blood, exuding the fury and force of a runaway freight train.

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  • Members:
    Katie Abernethy Fiddle/Background vocals, Christian Dillingham Upright Bass, Doug Zylstra Acoustic Guitar/Electric Guitar/Slide Guitar/Mandolin/Background Vocals, Jad Jabbour percussion/piano, Jodee Lewis Lead Vocals/Acoustic Guitar/Banjo, David Cover pro
  • Sounds Like:
    Lee Ann Womack, Alison Krauss, Patty Griffin
  • Influences:
    Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Lee Ann Womack
  • AirPlay Direct Member Since:
    02/08/18
  • Profile Last Updated:
    08/15/23 05:10:38

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