Modern Youth With Vintage Roots
CMT Featured Video
”Barefoot & Pregnant”
The over the top “Barefoot and Pregnant” video has amassed over 20 million views! It finds Gwen Levey and the Breakdown on a set that was constructed and hand-painted by her parents. The band performs as a gospel choir, intercut with a pregnant woman performing household chores, and crescendos in a party of drunk good ole boys line dancing alongside pregnant women in maternity party dresses. “Barefoot and Pregnant” emphases the ideal of feminist icon Emma Goldman’s paraphrased quote, “A revolution without dancing is not a revolution worth having.” The song’s sentiment struck a chord and went viral on TikTok from Levey’s live versions before she even made it to the studio.
The Bluegrass Situation premieres
"Lighter"
"Don’t miss another country sensation, Gwen Levey, too, who shares a brand new music video for “Lighter,” the title track from her upcoming EP that is another excellent anthem for survivors of systems of violence. Beginning with subdued solo guitar and voice, the song soars into crisp modern country that will certainly have you feeling… lighter." -BGS
In Their Words: “If my previous EP, Not The Girl Next Door, was about all of the toxicity I was experiencing the first few decades of my life, ‘Lighter’ is about shedding all that sh*t and stepping into my healing era. The EP represents the light I’ve been able to find to carry me through some very dark days. The two-and-a-half minute song is an upbeat anthem as a survivor of not only an eating disorder, but of overcoming abuse and life’s tribulations, and my hope in writing it is that other survivors will also feel empowered." - Gwen Levey
Praise for
"Not The Girl Next Door":
"This arena ready collection cements Levey as an artist to keep an eye on." - Nashville Scene
"Gwen isn’t as coarse as Janis Joplin or pop-synthetic as Taylor Swift. 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
"It blew me side ways! ...There’s definitely a modern Country feel to these songs; but as I said earlier Gwen Levey and The Breakdown's are 100% unashamedly Country Rock, with no pretensions at riding anyone’s coat tails in the Nu Country, Alt Country or Americana fields …. Ms Levey is who she is; take her or leave her …. and I’m in the former camp and can’t wait for a) a full album and b) a UK tour. and boy do they rock …. even on the ballads."
-The Rocking Magpie
The first single off of Lighter,
"Nights Like You" is OUT NOW!
This mid-tempo, fun sing-a-long love anthem is about finally falling for the right person who brings out the best parts of yourself.
