About
“Gwen’s country music is the dominating double-fisted kind & not afraid to make light of a serious subject. Her songs are well-written & melodic. Never so message-driven as to be preachy & radical. Gwen delivers with sophistication & not with a temper. But she does draw attention." - Americana Highways
From a very young age, Gwen Levey was musically, dramatically, and visually gifted.
Her 2023 hit, “Barefoot & Pregnant,” set the tone for the vivacious singer-songwriter's career. Her music video blends country and pop music elements with joyous satire, combining songs with messages that can be fun and do matter. It went viral, garnering 20 million views to date across her YouTube channel, various social media platforms, and even reaching CMT Australia.
The music video for “Barefoot & Pregnant” traveled to Hollywood, winning awards at film festivals such as the California Music Video & Film Awards, the London Music Video Festival, the Global Music Awards, and the Best Shorts Competition, which included Oscar and Emmy Member voters. The Best Shorts Competition also nominated Gwen for a Humanitarian Award for her work.
Gwen’s music and songwriting come from the real world. They are broadly appealing and agilely cross over boundaries. In 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned after years of being a cornerstone of women’s rights. “Barefoot & Pregnant” was born — an easy write with fire and passion pouring out of her and her co-writers Will Rambeaux and Sherrie Austin.
The song was off her second release, Not the Girl Next Door, a chronicle of her triumph over toxic times, being silenced, and enduring abuse. She fearlessly shared her wisdom and revealed her true self. The album featured session musicians with country music royalty on their resumes, including Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, and Darius Rucker. The media praised her for exposing issues linked with personal experiences, from Nashville Scene to Americana Highways to The Bluegrass Situation, and more.
Hailing from Alexandria, VA, Gwen was an only child who found ways to entertain herself, making films, writing screenplays, acting, and singing. This led her dad to gift her a video camera when she was eight years old. By the time she was in 5th grade, she had created a kids' talk show and debuted her stage play, “Good Always Defeats Evil,” which she wrote and performed with a cast of her classmates. She developed into a prize-winning filmmaker and singer-songwriter, awarded a partial college scholarship for a video she wrote and directed in high school.
Throughout high school, she was very involved in the Washington, DC music scene and became a member of SAW (Songwriters of Washington). At the age of 18, she won an honorary SAW award in the adult category for Best Song. In addition to music, she played several lead roles in school productions, which led to her performing at the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., two years in a row for the Washington Area “Cappie Awards,” for which she was also nominated. She was also the Co-Editor-in-Chief of her high school newspaper, The A-Blast, which collaborates directly with and is printed by The Washington Post. Gwen went on to earn her degree at the University of Mary Washington as a Theater Department scholar and graduated with honors.
In June 2017, Gwen followed her arrow and moved to Nashville, and as soon as she set foot, she attended the Judy Stakee Songwriter retreat. Stakee, a former VP of Warner-Chappell Music who helped shape some of the most respected female voices in music like Sheryl Crow, Jewel, and Michelle Branch, praised the budding songwriter, saying, "She has what it takes to make it as a Nashville songwriter.”
With hard work and determination, she landed a development deal in 2018 with Go Long Entertainment, then under the Sony umbrella, and began to dream big as a songwriter and performer. In 2021, she released her career debut EP, which included a song called “Love The Thorns” that caught the attention of John Marks of Spotify, who helped champion her on the platform to reach a wider audience.
Gwen’s songwriting began to blossom, and she tackled a wide range of subject matter, leaving nothing untouched, from personal struggles to toxic friendships to social and cultural injustices; she was unstoppable. “Person after person in my life was toxic in some way,” says Levey. “As someone with outer strength and confidence, I was clearly attracting them for some reason. But that took a toll. Fortunately, through the healing process, I’ve empowered myself by realizing my worth and finally setting boundaries.”
Since moving to Nashville, TN, from her home state of Virginia in 2017, Gwen hasn’t taken her foot off the gas pedal. Between live shows, studio work, and doing the Nashville hang, she dove into songwriting with anyone and everyone she could.
After scoring her development deal in 2018 with Go Long Entertainment, she began writing with Will Rambeaux (John Michael Montgomery, Faith Hill, Patty Loveless) and Sherrie Austin (Blake Shelton, George Strait), expanding her musical landscape. She was able to carve out a good-sized corner to stand in, with her first few singles landing on major Spotify and Apple Music playlists, until that fateful day in June 2022 when the landmark court decision Roe v. Wade was overturned, and she turned to her guitar for her reply. In collaboration with Rambeaux and Austin, out came “Barefoot & Pregnant”, and the heavens opened up. Gwen took this as a sign to make it her mission to use her art to fuel her activism and got on her soapbox about the importance of women’s rights to create the award-winning “Barefoot & Pregnant” music video. The song traveled far and wide, and Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go’s claimed it to be “one of the most important songs of our times.”
“Barefoot & Pregnant” led Levey to become a part of the intense political climate heating up in Tennessee. The Tennessee Three’s Gloria Johnson and Senator Charlane Oliver became a fan of the song and invited the singer-songwriter to perform at a press conference in front of a 20-foot IUD to raise awareness for contraception and IVF protections in the deep red state. Because of these efforts, Governor Bill Lee signed protections into law nearly a year later, making Tennessee the first red state to protect the right to birth control and IVF. Being a small part of this decision fills Levey with immense pride.
As a viral content creator with a big voice, Gwen got invited to the first-ever Trending Up conference in Washington, D.C., in May 2024. There she had the opportunity to connect with other viral content creators, expanding her network, and meet with politicians in D.C. who support her music and activism. Working with other survivors and creators, she co-founded Rise Above Justice Movement, a viral coalition of survivors of violence that has grown rapidly since August 2024. What’s their theme song, you ask? Why it’s “Barefoot & Pregnant”, of course.
“I knew I had to write the song because I’m a survivor, so co-founding an organization that helps survivors just made sense,” Gwen says. “It continues the work that keeps me going every day.”
While a lot of Gwen’s following keeps up with her content online, those who make it to her live shows are always treated to an engaging time. In 2018, she experienced her very first standing ovation playing a sold-out show at the legendary 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville, where she would later return to host her “Barefoot & Pregnant” release party in September 2023. Since then, she has made many appearances headlining various Tennessee Pride Festivals, performing at the historic Bluebird Cafe, as well as Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta and The Bowery in NYC. Her advocacy work led her to appearances as the headliner at the 2024 Day for Democracy, the 2025 People’s March, and Network Nova’s 2025 Women’s Power Summit in Washington, D.C.
Gwen Levey and The Breakdown's forthcoming EP, Lighter, branches off from the country-rock sound of her two previous EPs to fully explore her musical roots. Produced in collaboration with her drummer, Marcus Davis, this project offers a fresh sonic direction that is both energized and deeply personal. The title track, “Lighter,” reflects Gwen’s evolution as both a survivor and a truth-teller. Fans will surely appreciate her upcoming release, which features an exciting variety of Gwen’s musical style, including captivating lyrics, heartfelt emotion, and a hopeful message for better days.
And the beat goes on for Gwen with BUST Magazine naming her one of the “Five Female Artists You Should Be Listening To Now” and PBS premiering the music video for “Barefoot & Pregnant” on their program, “Music California.”