Nate Leavitt began paving his way within the music industry by playing various clubs in the Boston scene at age 16. Over the past 30 years, Leavitt joined several bands, sometimes multiple bands at once, before emerging from the side of the stage. Playing lead guitar in groups such as Delta Clutch, The Blizzard of 78, OldJack, and Parlour Bells taught him a sense of honesty that could only come with continuously being challenged by his fellow musicians. With his album You, Me and the Silence in 2014, Nate Leavitt announced himself as a gifted artist in his own right. Already a respected guitarist on the Boston scene, the record showcased his rugged vocals and carefully crafted songwriting, gaining him a 2014 Boston Music Award nomination in the process. The next step was the 2016 EP, Someone Send a Signal,  which he recorded with his band, The Elevation. Positioning himself as the leader of his own gang, Leavitt made confident strides as a frontman with an unwavering support system. This gained him another Boston Music Award nomination that year.  

Diving back into the musical pool after two years of simply treading water just to stay afloat, Leavitt held his breath and jumped in with the 2019 album, I Miss Me Too. Recorded at Dan Nicklin’s Boston studio, Henley Row, and without any rehearsing or practicing, Leavitt wanted to capture the purest bond between himself, his bandmates, and the process. Reconnecting with regular bandmates Magen Tracy (piano and backing vocals), Dan Nicklin (harmonica, omnichord, guitar and backing vocals) Brendan Boogie (bass) and Paul Myers (drums), was the familial downpour Leavitt needed to put out the smoke signal that he was waving during his period of creative defeat. The trustworthy combination of Dan and The Elevation enabled him to let go completely.  The songs on I Miss Me Too build on the ghost folk of Someone Send a Signal – as if the spirits of Neil Young and Jason Isbell met up late one night for a secret recording session down in Muscle Shoals. Blending elements of roots, americana and rock, it is the convergence of Leavitt’s musical journey to date.

At the heart of the music is Leavitt’s introspective songwriting and his continuing search to define life’s contradictions, as well as the resoluteness of the human spirit. “I can be afraid of what comes out when I start writing,” he says “I go deep inside myself to find something to share and it’s a very personal process for me.” The genesis is a simple chord progression or mumbled melody, a bare skeleton to be flesh out and nurtured, either alone or with the help of his band. If you stripped back the layers of sound, you would discover a classic singer- songwriter on an endless search for himself.

GENERAL Nate Leavitt

nate@nateleavittmusic.com