I chatted with Levi Foster about his music career, tornadoes, and his infamous impressions.
Talk about your background, where you grew up, etc
I grew up in a town called Rustburg, Virginia. I grew up surrounded by Bluegrass and Country music. I used to go to Bluegrass festivals when I was younger. After the shows, people that were camping there would just play music. I grew up in these jam circles and that’s how I learned some of these old songs. When I was fifteen, I started playing in bars and cafes in town. I ended up doing it full time through high school; we would play all over Virginia and North Carolina. I moved to Nashville when I was 26; I wanted to do more original music. I lived in my van for about six months after I moved to Nashville.
Let’s talk about that..it was next to a Cici’s Pizza?
::laughs:: Yeah. There’s a Cici’s next to this Walmart. If I had an off day, I would go eat at Cici’s, use their internet, and write music in the van. I would either stay at Walmart or Crackel Barrel parking lot since they don’t kick you out.
You have a song out called “Fat Elvis.” What is it about?
It’s about a wild night out in New Orleans..when you should’ve gone home and didn’t. My friend and I had this conversation about the different eras of Elvis. He says “I love Fat Elvis!” We were talking about going to Graceland and how the gift shop has all of these postcards of Elvis and one of them has him in pouring sweat. Someone said “I’m sweating like Fat Elvis going down to Memphis, Tennessee.” So we crafted a song around the premise of situations where you would be sweating like Fat Elvis. It was a really fun write.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
I would like to know if someone’s telling the truth or lying. But the payoff would be like I couldn’t lie. So basically I would be Jim Carrey in “Liar Liar.”
We have to talk about your impressions. I’ve seen a lot of them. The one that got me the most was your Willie Nelson singing “I Want It That Way.
I don’t think I’m that good honestly. It started when I first moved to Nashville and I was messing around with TikTok. I realized the only things that are getting traction is funny stuff so I fucked around with it and started doing goofy things. I thought I should take an old country artist performing a newer song and the first video got over one hundred thousand views! My goal was to garner a bunch of followers and if five percent of those would listen to my original stuff, that’s way more than zero.
Your new song is called “Bloodhound.” What inspired it?
I was in a hunting cabin in Kentucky last summer; no internet, no nothing, and wrote a whole bunch of songs by myself. I was about to get engaged. I bought the ring but hadn’t asked her yet. The song is about me finding the love of my life wherever she may be.
What is it like being able to travel around the country and perform for fans?
Oh it’s the best thing in the world. I love meeting new people and talking to people who love music. We actually just did some dates with Colby Acuff in Oklahoma and Texas. Survived two tornadoes when we got there. That’s my bread and butter. I love Nashville but love touring.
Two tornadoes? Wow?
Being from the East Coast, I’ve never been under a tornado warning. We got to Oklahoma, got to the B&B, unpacking, around 11pm at night..but the sky was bright like it was 5pm. We heard these apocalyptic tornado sirens go off. We got the alerts on our phones immediately. Everyone is used to that in Oklahoma. They were outside on their porches drinking beer. I was like “Am I the only dude scared right now!?” ::laughs:: The next night we were in Fort Worth and we had another tornado warning while we were playing. Huge hail storm. I rented a van and the van was all dinged up by this golf ball sized hail. I’m still in a insurance dispute over that one.
Are you excited about bringing your show to Monkton?
Yeah, for sure man. That’s going to be a great run. I have a guy in Culpepper I’m going to stay with; going to see some family. I love old buildings like the Manor Mill. It’ll be a great time.
Levi Foster will play at Manor Mill in Monkton Thursday, June 11th!