Lewis’s name blows, literally. He hasn’t been canonized by the Vatican—yet. He Plays keys, bass, guitar. Rumored grandson of St Louisan Miles Davis. Former Broadway (Oyster Bar) musical director, singer/songwriter, sometimes played by Happy Montana, St Louis’s very own JZ, DJ Joe Louis, and the voice of The Soul of St Louis—Brother Francis
Lewis Blews wrote many of the songs in The Songa Songbook.
https://vimeo.com/1019247184/05c3b9e384
Everyone has a song in their heart; I just happen to be the conductor who helps you discover the notes you've been singing deep inside, all along.
It wasn’t always this way. I grew up in St. Louis, listening to stories from my elders about Miles Davis’ time in the city, when the streets were alive with music. But by the time I came of age, St. Louis seemed to have lost its song—it had lost its soul. So I packed up my keyboard and guitar and hit the road, not knowing where I was headed, following signs you can only see in the rearview mirror. I made mistakes, played the wrong chords; relationships came and went. I didn’t care who I hurt. I was never in one place long enough to feel the pain of those I’d come to love in the towns where I lived. I’d fill notebooks with song lyrics but never allowed myself to become the hero in any of the songs I wrote.
I penned melancholy verses for heartbroken cowboys in Nashville. During San Francisco’s Dotcom boom, I wrote choruses for the rich and ballads for them when they went bust. I pushed St. Louis out of my mind—a town that had gone dormant—while I made a name for myself on the marquees of Broadway, in the city that never sleeps. My soul never slept either; I was restless.
I would have sold my soul for a Tony, but never won, still I lost it in its pursuit. Music became a competition. Art became commodified. But I was called back home by my friend, Riverfront Tim, who spoke of bringing Miles Davis’ St. Louis back to life. The city was alive again, and I had a chance to rewrite its song. I boarded a plane and entered into a living story that my friend Forbes Nash once called ‘The Plot to Save the Soul of Business—(with music).’ An artist’s revolution was underway, transforming family systems and the music industry. I became less of a musical conductor and more of a heart surgeon, getting the rhythm of America’s Heartland beating once more with…
before your very eyes, and ears, at songa.live.