Songwriter Spotlight: Zhailon Levingston

We're thrilled to be working with Zhailon Levingston for the first time. He wrote a new song for this concert, which will be sung by John-Michael Lyles. Zhailon is currently directing a regional production of Joseph in Louisiana. He is active in creating works for Broadway Advocacy Coalition and co-founded Words on White, a project of Young Amazing Souls.

What about the concert excites you most?

The possibility to help an audience feel empathy for a group of people they may not think of often.

How do political and social justice issues influence your work?

Most recently my work has been most connected to political or social justice issues. The challenge for me is to find ways of making the political personal, so that issues affect people in ways they never thought of. 

What can artists do to resist oppression?

The artist's job is to be the freest member of society, to model in our process and work the hope we have for this world. Resistance to that hope will inevitably come, but we must lean into our vocation in tough times and continue being a beacon of light, and more importantly, truth, for others!