2019 Issue 5 Sep/Oct - Focus Mid-Tenn Magazine

Pioneering ‘out’ music
Kreis’ music career began
in 2005 and he mentions
only a handful of LGBT+
musicians were singing and
writing about same-sex
relationships.
“I got my start there.
Nobody else was writing
about those topics. Some
people have told me I was
one of the pioneers of
the out music movement.
Gratefully publications like
The Advocate and Instinct
were talking about us.”
Kreis notes that other
pioneers performing music
with LGBT-centric messages
included Ari Gold, Erik
Hyman and Rachael Sage.
While launching his music
career, Kreis auditioned for
a role in a new theatrical
show called Million Dollar
Quartet. He landed the role,
but it wasn’t until 2010 that
the show actually made its
Broadway debut. His role
in the musical earned him a
Tony Award. “It was a huge
undertaking. I’ve always had
a passion for new works.”
In addition to Million Dollar
Quartet, Kreis was also
a cast member of Tonynominated
revival Violet,
the national tour of Rent,
Smokey Joe’s Café, Pump
Boys & Dinettes, and the
films Frailty, Don’t Let Go,
Slip Tumble and Slide, A
Very Sordid Wedding, and
The Divide.
During that time, he also
recorded seven albums,
some of which achieved
top 10 positions on various
charts, No. 1 music videos
and national tours. He made
several TV appearances on
The View, David Letterman
and The Tonight Show with
Jimmy Fallon.
Reconnecting to his roots
​Despite his success,
Kreis felt like acting took
MORE ABOUT
LEE KREIS
To learn more about
Levi Kreis, visit
www.levikreis.com.
him away from music
for a while. “I wanted to
reconnect to my roots,”
mentions Kreis. “I dove into
creating new music and
it took me a while to find
myself musically.”
His new album Bad
Habit will be released
on September 20 and
took Kreis three years to
complete. “I wanted to have
fun with this record,” he
states. “I spent some much
time dissecting religion and
spirituality. I needed to fall
in love with music again.”
Kreis mentions the
title came from years of
struggling with addiction.
“I have a history of being
a pretty bad boy. My story
reflects a lot of personal
victories that a lot of people
can relate to. I had a drug,
cigarette and alcohol habit.
For me, I sympathize with
those people who are trying
to find their own victory over
something people look down
on. People like to judge
them. I wanted to connect
with my community.”
Thankfully, Kreis has been
sober for 10 years now.
The first single off the
album, Three Words is a
flirty vibe reminiscent of
Raquael Saadiq’s Let’s Take
A Walk and Duffy’s Mercy.
“I began to think of what
aspects of attraction mean
the most. I love the dance;
where you know there’s a
spark, but nobody wants to
admit it. But you can’t fake
the chemistry.”
As an openly gay
musician, Kreis is used to
rejection, starting his career
at a time when being an
LGBT+ artist was a risk for
any major recording label.
“I have gone through
eight major labels and
when the label heard I was
gay, they didn’t know what
to do with me. All outlets
supporting diversity now
is a new thing. It wasn’t
always like that. We always
heard ‘no’. Gratefully things
have changed a lot.”
SUCCESS / SEP+OCT 2019 / focusmidtenn.com / Page 25