Lee DeWyze American Idol - Season 9/Winner 8:30 pm w/Justin Philip Brooks Trio 7:00 pm

Official website

Singer-songwriter Lee DeWyze’s rousing emotionality and storyteller songwriting has enthralled both fans, and high-profile film/TV/advertising sync licensing tastemakers, earning him over 30 prime placements in just a few years.

Lee is a visionary songwriter with a catalog of seven albums, and a robust profile of sync placements and features. His songs brim with sophisticated hooks and heartfelt storyteller lyrics. Lee is a hands-on artist and ensures that every facet of his creativity reflects his artistic authenticity. To that end, he overseas every aspect of his albums, including co-production, album artwork, and video treatments.

Lee grew up in Mount Prospect, Illinois, and, at a very young age, would obsess over folk-pop artists such as Simon & Garfunkel and Cat Stevens. Some of his earliest memories are staring out the window, imagining he was inside the world of his favorite songs. Lee knew he was destined to be a songwriter, and, by the age of 17, he was a professional musician,

touring, recording, and earning regional radio spins. His career took a massive turn in 2010 when he won the ninth season of American Idol. The honor offered a boost in exposure to an artist already two-albums deep in a promising career. Post-Idol, Lee’s profile has skyrocketed as his songwriting has earned impressive sync placements. His breakout moment was penning “Blackbird Song” for the hit horror AMC series The Walking Dead. Since that track’s release in 2014, it has accrued over 12 million YouTube views, over 6 million streams on Spotify, and has sold over 100,000 copies, putting it in the Top 10 of 2014’s most influential music syncs. Since that career milestone, Lee has become a formidable artist in the sync licensing world.

Select career highlights here include placements in Elementary, Suits, The Fosters, Nashville, Reign, Hart of Dixie, and Bull. Blue Cross/Blue Shield chose his song, “Don’t Be Afraid,” as its official national campaign song two years in a row. ESPN placed his

song, “The Ride,” in several NASCAR commercials. In addition, Lee’s song, “Fight,” cracked the Hot AC Top 40 charts for 10 consecutive weeks. “Fight” was also featured in the critically-acclaimed indie movie, Sister. Lee directed the video for “Fight” for which he won an award from the LA Indie Film Festival.

Lee’s previous album, Oil and Water, earned accolades from Billboard and Huffington Post, among other outlets. It also cracked the Top Billboard Folk Charts, and made the Top 10 “Album Of The Year” list for PopDose Magazine. Recently, Billboard.com premiered the lyric video for his latest single, "The Breakdown" from, Paranoia. On the heels of all this heat, Lee has signed a publishing deal with Songs Publishing, home to Lorde, The Weekend, and Diplo, among other modern iconic artists, and signed an exclusive deal with CESD, the leading voice-over agency for animation, videos, film, and more.

Justin Philip Brooks - Official website - opens the show at 7:00 pm

With well-worn guitars and interweaving harmonies, Americana family trio Justin Philip Brooks brings the comfort of their Dallas, Texas front porch to their listener’s ears by artfully exploring the great traditions of folk, gospel, and country. “There’s something slightly mythical about the Gulf Coast when it comes to being a fertile ground for singer-songwriters. George Jones, The Big Bopper, Janis Joplin, Rodney Crowell, Robert Ellis and Hayes Carll are only a few fine examples, and now you can add the name Justin Philip Brooks to the list.” - 91.7 KXT