Lee DeWyze (Album Release) with Wakey Wakey

Lee DeWyze “Album Release” Performance. Come celebrate Lee’s album release of his new album, "Oil & Water"!

Lee DeWyze launched the pivotal stage of what was already a high-profile musical career with his Vanguard Records debut –Frames, in the summer of 2013. What followed was a high-caliber list of praise from the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Yahoo Music, Rolling Stone, and dozens upon dozens more.

“I hunkered down and wrote an album,” the Chicago native explains. “I wanted to take it back to what I’m really about, which is writing emotionally charged, meaningful songs. It wasn’t like I wanted to find a label and then decide what kind of album to make. I knew what kind of album I wanted to make and knew I could make. It’s going back to the kind of music I’ve always loved. I grew up listening to Cat Stevens, Simon & Garfunkel—folk-based acoustic music. Don’t get me wrong—my experience on the show was great. But for someone like me and the kind of music I make, that only takes you so far. It feels really good to get back to the grass roots of what I’m about. The way I see it, everything that’s happened throughout my career has happened so that I can make this record.

”The show DeWyze is referring to is American Idol, which he won in 2010. DeWyze played guitar, piano, mandolin, banjo and drums during the recording sessions, during which he collaborated with renowned producer/songwriters Toby Gad, Drew Pearson, Matthew Wilder and Phil Allen, as well as mixer extraordinaire Jim Scott. “I’ve never felt a connection with my music, more than I do right now,” DeWyze says, making no effort to hide his excitement. “It’s a very real thing, and it feels right.

”Frames garnered many licenses and syncs and proved that DeWyze was not only a great singer, but an extremely talented song-writer. Shows like Nashville, Reign, and Hart of Dixie all used his music, as did ESPN, and several independent films. Blue Cross Blue Shield recently used the song ‘Don’t Be Afraid” as part of their national 2014/2015 campaign.

However, the doorreally kicked open when Lee penned the song ‘Blackbird Song’ for The Walking Dead in March of 2014. An original song that he wrote specifically for the show itself. Blackbird Song has accumulated over 50k single unit sales, 2M collective YouTube views, and has over1.1M Spotify streams. The song is considered oneof the top 10 syncs of the 2014by the Music Guild Association.

In 2015, DeWyze will release an onslaught of music and video content, and continue his relentless touring here in the US and overseas. Lee has a #1 song in Ireland called Lullaby that was recorded and performed by Ronan Keating. He also has a #3 song in Italy called Magnetic Heart recorded and performed by Marco Mengoni.“I’m finally in the lane I belong in, and I feel like I can just go.” DeWyze says in anticipation of what he’s preparing to unleash in 2015.


WAKEY WAKEY BIO December 2015 Wakey Wakey is the project of singer/songwriter and pianist Michael Grubbs.

It's a somewhat amorphous entity... one that has taken shape in a variety of forms, including providing music for the American television drama series One Tree Hilland an eventual role on the teen sudser.That's what keeps things interesting for both the Brooklyn, New York-based Grubbs as an artist and for his dedicated legion of listeners.

A native of Richmond, Virginia, Grubbs began playing piano at the age of five, impelled by maternal instruction and inspired by the works of Brahms, Bach and Beethoven. An artistic sensibility was formed and later augmented by his teenage discovery of a more contemporary canon, including Billy Joel, Elton John and Led Zeppelin, gradually evolving into WakeyWakey’s singular sound.

After 10 years of tending bar and playing open mic nights in NYC, he’d just about had enough. That’s when Grubbs met Mark Schwahn, chief writer and executive producer of hit American TV drama series One Tree Hill, performing a brief set for him helmed by a then recent composition, ‘War Sweater’.

“At the time I was really inspired by politics. I remember being really sad about it all. I wrote the whole song in 30 minutes. It’s crazy to think how much of an impact that 30 minutes has had on my life.

”Schwahn used the song in the finale of One Tree Hill’s sixth season and gave Grubbs a small recurring role in the show.

“Literally a day after ‘War Sweater’ debuted on One Tree Hill, it was number 13 on the iTunes chart”. There followed a rapturously received debut album, the impossibly tortured Everything I Wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You, and the devotion of a fan base whose fidelity to their idol led to the crowd-funding of a second album, 2014’s Salvation.

Currently, Wakey Wakey has signed toThe End Records and will release the highly anticipated full length album, Overreactivist, February 26,2016.