It’s been a short two years since Virginia-raised artist Levi Foster relocated to Nashville, but he’s already fueled a strong story shaped by craft, conviction, and a willingness to evolve his sound. His most recent album, We Made Fire, produced by Ken Coomer of Wilco, marked a key moment in that trajectory, capturing the voice he’s been honing since his days playing in bluegrass circles as a kid.
Now, he’s set to release a new single on December 12 (a rework of his song, “You Can’t Look At Me Like That”), offering the first glimpse into the music he’s been quietly developing. He also just wrapped his sophomore album arriving 2026 and produced by Shooter Jennings. We caught up with Foster about these upcoming projects and the background that brought him to this point.
Q: You grew up near Lynchburg, VA. Did you come from a musical family?
A: No, not at all. I had to like go and find other musicians to play with. Like, nobody in my family really played. I kind of grew up going to a bunch of like bluegrass jam circles and spent a lot of time seeking out that stuff as a kid.
Q: How did you get into music?
A: Just growing up on older country, really. My dad played a bunch of, you know, like Johnny Horton and Merle Haggard to the point where I was like, “what’s this?” There was an older guy at this campground nearby who would always play old folk songs – like train songs. He showed me some guitar chords when I was probably like 11 or so. I asked for a guitar for Christmas and have been doing it ever since.
Q: When did you leave Lynchburg for Nashville?
A: I left Lynchburg in 2023. I was playing a bunch around Virginia since I was like 16 – doing that for like eight, nine years. Then it got to a point where I was doing it full time. I was just tired of doing the cover band scene. You know, people wanna hear “Chattahoochee” over and over. And meanwhile I was writing songs, so that’s what kind of drove it.
Q: Did you know people in Nashville when you moved?
A: Man, I had one connection – a guy from the same town as me, and we had never met. My cousin went to the same high school as him and was like ‘Hey, you should read out to…” And he and I started writing songs together at this publishing company and became fast friends. I ended up getting my first publishing deal there actually, like a year and a half after I moved here.
Q: How do your Virginia roots show up in your songwriting?
A: The Appalachian scene is pretty prevalent tonally, whether it be harmonies or even just progression wise or melodic things. I pull a lot from that, because it’s kind of what I grew up playing. I try to keep it original while still pulling stuff out of that whole vein of music.
Q: You just recorded a new album in L.A. Can you tell us about it?
A: It’s getting mixed right now and should be done by the end of the year. Trying to figure out a release process for next year… It’ll be summer 2026 most likely. It’s called Appalachian Funk Tree.
Q: What does that title mean to you?
A: It’s Appalachian funk and country music – that’s the main thread, kind of genre blending. It’s more story-based stuff, I would say, than my first album. Definitely more rooted in country conceptually and musically.
Q: Why L.A.?
A: Well, we reached out to Shooter Jennings to see if he wanted to produce it, and he was like, “yeah man!” I mean, we just reached him at the right time. And he was like, “Can you do this August?” And we flew out there to his spot.
Q: Had you met him before?
A: No. There was a woman I know who knew his manager – she cold-emailed him, sent him the album, said, ‘Hey, we’re looking to do something…” He got back pretty fast. I was like, “dang, this is perfect.”
Q: What was it like working with Shooter?
A: Very collaborative. The first thing he said to me was, “Thank you so much for trusting your songs with me. That means a lot.’” I was like, “dude, stop, you’re gonna’ make me cry.” But it was very collaborative, more so than anything I’d done before.
Q: You have a song coming out in December. Can you tell us about that?
A: It’s an alternate version of a song I did on the We Made Fire record, “You Can’t Look At Me Like That.” Kind of like a live acoustic version – something I worked up with my band. There’s actually gonna be an EP at the top of the year, a four-song EP, all songs from We Made Fire, just acoustic live versions.
Follow Foster here to stay up-to-date on shows and new music, and check out We Made Fire below!