Levi Riggs

Levi Riggs Performance Highlights

2003-2007: As a member of the Purdue University Varsity Glee Club
• Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops Orchestra, New York City
• Times Square, New York City
• Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, CA
• Thomas Fogarty Winery, San Francisco, CA
• Hugh Heffner’s Playboy Mansion, CA
• Indian Creek Country Club, Miami, FL
• Glasgow, Scotland
• St. Andrews Golf Course, Scotland
• Birmingham, England
• Guinness Brewery, Dublin, Ireland
• A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor
• Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, CA
• Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis, IN
• RCA Dome: National Anthem Indianapolis Colts v New England Patriots
• Conseco Fieldhouse: National Anthem for Indiana Pacers
• The White House, Washington, D.C.
• President George W. Bush’s 2nd Inauguration, Washington, D.C.
• Performed for the First Man on the Moon, Neil Armstrong, West Lafayette, IN
• Nationally Televised Purdue Christmas Show, West Lafayette, IN
• Hundreds of Churches and High Schools across the United States

2007-2009: As lead singer of The Overtones
• Performance with The Isaacs, Rossville, IN
• Performance with the Collingsworth Family, Indianapolis, IN
• Performance with Gold City and the Booth Brothers, Gadsden, AL
• Performance with Gary Jones of Mercy’s Mark, Columbus, OH
• Taste of Tippecanoe Music Festival
• Elkhart County Fair, Elkhart, IN
• Catalyst Conference, Gwynett Center, Atlanta, GA
• The Harvest Show, South Bend, IN
• Tour of Texas
• Tour of Michigan
• Indiana Right to Life featuring Mike Huckabee
• Hundreds of Churches in the Mid West
• Mission Trip Tour of the country of Romania

2008-2009: As a Solo Country Arstist
• Holistic Hardware Benefit/CD Release Concert, Lafayette, IN
• Taste of Tippecanoe Music Festival, Lafayette, IN
• CRAM Fest, Loeb Playhouse, West Lafayette, IN
• National Football Foundation Annual Banquet featuring Drew Brees, West
Lafayette, IN
• Hendricks County 4-H Fair, Danville, IN
• Danville Community High School, Danville, IN
• Delphi High School, Delphi, IN
• Monsanto Private Party, West Lafayette, IN


Recorded At:
• The Sound Kitchen, Nashville, TN
• In Light Studios, Hendersonville, TN
• Gaither Studios, Alexandria, IN
• Sound Logic, LLC, Lafayette, IN
• Windridge Recording Studio, Lafayette, IN (Levi’s Personal Studio)
- Levi Riggs

By Amanda Lucas
Alexis Fincher
Photo provided by Levi Riggs

When Levi Riggs, a 2007 agricultural economics graduate, isn't just a full-time seed salesman for Syngenta; he also is a singer-songwriter who records and performs around Indiana.

Levi Riggs is a full-time seed salesman, but he sings a different tune in his free time.

When he's not working for Syngenta, Riggs, who earned his bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from Purdue in 2007, is a singer-songwriter. He's confident of success in the music industry, and he said it helps that his company supports his music career by inviting him to perform at company meetings and seminars.

And after giving potential customers a seed presentation, he often sows future fans by giving them one of his CDs. "Having two careers is tough," Riggs said. "I never really have any downtime." The seed business focuses on making sales in the winter, so during those months Riggs treks across west-central Indiana for Syngenta.

But he stays warm by writing songs and recording in his newly-installed home studio. "I want to be a polished producer and sound engineer who not only masters the live performance, but who can also reproduce it in a studio," Riggs said.

In the summer, when farmers are out tending fields, Riggs performs around the state. "He lights up the room when he performs," said Malachi Jaggers, who helped Riggs record his album. "He connects with people and puts a lot of energy into his performance, and a lot of emotion."

Networking and relationships, essential in sales, are key factors in the music business, too, Riggs said. In addition to his solo singing career, Riggs performs with The Overtones, a gospel group that recently recorded an album in Nashville. "I really like singing tight harmony," Riggs said. "When you lock chords with four voices, it can be really cool."

When an audience sees Riggs today with his faded blue jeans, acoustic guitar and bright smile, they probably can't imagine he was once nervous about performing. His first big performance was with the Purdue Glee Club. Before the curtain opened in front of 6,000 people at Purdue's Elliot Hall of Music, Riggs said he felt some jitters. Now, stage fright is a distant memory.

"I can never go to a concert and watch other people perform," said Riggs. "To me, all the fun happens on stage. "It's just a rush and it's where I feel at home."

When asked about either career, Riggs' passion and excitement shine through. He said his music and sales careers both rely on some simple advice. "Pick the right people and you'll be successful with their help," he said.

Riggs' business savvy also helps him with his music. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes with band members, producers, promoters and album cover designers. He also works on marketing, business plans and publicity photos. He said his experience with Syngenta helps him understand how to juggle all these things.

"He has a drive, a very perservering attitude. He has a passion for what he does," Jaggers said. That drive is important. Riggs said he is always challenging himself to become a better singer, songwriter, guitar player and producer.

"I have respect for the time and effort it takes to produce a professional-level record, as well as an entertaining live show. I love a challenge and always envision success before it is realized," Riggs said.

He believes it is much easier to get noticed with MySpace and Facebook, although he finds it funny that his music is being played on Swedish radio.

"The full-time job keeps me grounded in a normal person's routine, but the music takes me places that most people will never see," Riggs said. When asked how he balances it all, Riggs laughs and says that eight hours of sleep is enough to keep him on the road.

Link:
http://www.ag.purdue.edu/destination/Pages/F09_Web1_Seed.aspx
- Destination Purdue

By Amanda Lucas

Levi Riggs dreams of becoming a famous musician and traveling around the world. Already, the 2007 agricultural economics graduate has the traveling part down pat. He's been all over the United States and has sung around the world.

As a Purdue student, the Glee Club took him many places, including Scotland, Ireland and Washington, D.C. His favorite place was Ireland, where he sang at the Guinness Brewery in Dublin. He said Ireland is the most beautiful country he's performed in, although the weather is unpredictable. "One minute it's pouring rain, and the next minute the sun is shining on you," Riggs laughed.

While the weather may be unpredictable, the people are not. Riggs said the people in Ireland are the friendliest he's ever met. Riggs also travelled with the Glee Club to Washington, D.C., to sing at President Bush's second inauguration and took a private tour of the White House. He also sang at the Indiana Inaugural Ball and met many key players in Indiana government.

"It's just fun to sit around and listen to stories that those guys tell from their experiences in the music business. It makes me keep dreaming big," Riggs said.

Find out more:

Purdue Agriculture GOinAG
Purdue Agricultural Economics
Purdue Music Organizations
Levi Riggs Music

Link:
http://www.ag.purdue.edu/destination/Pages/F09_Web1_Seed.aspx - Destination Purdue

by Natty Morrison
Staff Reporter, Purdue Exponent
Publication Date: 01/22/2010

Though you can often hear it blasting from pickup trucks across Indiana, West Lafayette is not really known for its output of country music. One Purdue graduate, however, is doing his best to change that.

Levi Riggs has been plucking away in the country genre since college. Blending traditional roots arrangements, catchy pop overtones and gleamings of gospel music, Riggs has carved out a strong following throughout Indiana, both as a solo artist as well as the lead singer for faith-based vocal group, The Overtones.

But this spring, he hopes to a take his small-town charm to a larger level. Riggs’ song “F-150,” which he wrote, recorded, and produced himself, will be remastered and released with worldwide distribution through Nashville label Lure Records. Riggs and his manager began sending out the song around shortly after its completion, and were happily surprised to find several labels expressing interest.

“We sort of got ourselves into a bidding war,” Riggs said.

Ultimately he decided to side with Lure Records, citing its strong record of promoting grassroots music on a national scale.

“They’re a great up-and-coming indie label that could really help me break out,” Riggs said.

Upon signing his deal with Lure, the tune was presented to a round-table panel within the company, which speculated the song to be a potential top-20 record on the country music charts.

Riggs believes the positive response comes from the lighter, laid-back tone of the song.

“Its got a pop flavor. It’s just a feel good song” Riggs said. “A lot of my stuff is a bit more dark, so I think it’s pretty different.”

While Levi Riggs may be building toward the national stage, he hasn’t forgotten his roots here at Purdue. Riggs sang in the Glee Club throughout his college career, and it was during this time that he began writing songs and learning to play the guitar.

“I was primarily a singer, but I thought it might be cool to play guitar to back-up my voice,” he said.

But this desire to add depth to his singing eventually led to a newfound “musical individuality.”

“Being a singer in groups like the Glee Club and The Overtones, you’re playing a role,” Riggs said. “But being a songwriter, that’s you. You find out who you are.”

As Riggs patiently awaits the release of “F-150,” he is still reveling in this sudden shot at a widespread arena, especially from something he says he created so locally.
“Its amazing to think something you wrote on a piece of paper could become something people will be singing in their cars.”


- Purdue Exponent

• Indiana State Senate Resolution for Community Service and Involvement
• 2007 Purdue University Homecoming King Candidate
• Purdue University Honors Diploma
• U.S. Marine Corporal Terry A. Hoffmann Award for Integrity and Community Service

- Levi Riggs

By: Cat Anderson

Danville - A seed-salesman from Indiana just signed a record deal launching his career as a country-music singer.

In a few weeks you'll be hearing his song blaring from radios across the country, written and performed by Levi Riggs from Danvillle.

With a name like that, you might say he was born to be a country music star. But Riggs will be the first one to tell you it's taken much more than his name to make a name for himself.

"There's really no down time. There's no vacation. I'm either working, selling seed or I'm on the road singing somewhere," said Riggs.

The Purdue honor graduate in agriculture sells corn and soybean seeds for a living but says he learned what to do with his life by singing with the university's glee club.

"I got four years of touring on the road and seeing how music can impact peoples lives and that's when I really decided this is what I really want to do," he said.

Riggs tried the TV reality show route.

"I actually tried out for Nashville Star and didn't get very far and you realize that all these people have this same dream. But bottom line, it comes down to perseverance and passion and if you don't have that you're not going to make it even if you are an American Idol," he said.

Riggs has his own idol to keep him going.

"Elvis was even told no so I think I've got a decent shot," Riggs said.

Like Elvis, Riggs got into gospel. He joined The Overtones, toured the globe and recorded records in Nashville. He kept track of every piece of the process from the software to the microphones to the guitars and then saved up enough money to buy his own stage equipment at a cost of $15,000. He got the money through singing and working his seed-selling job.

Riggs then spent another $15,000 to $20,000 on equipment to build a recording studio in his home. But it's not just cash that he's using. It's creativity. He turned a closet into a vocal booth.

"I got my jerseys in there to kind of isolate some sound," he said.

He learned how to play the piano, the drums, and the guitar, recorded his own demo tape, sent it out, and got signed with Lure Records.

"They took some of my songs to this round table of Nashville critics who decides is it good or is it bad and they decided I have three songs that were probably good enough to be top 20 hits," he said.

Riggs says ultimately it'll be up to fans to decide if the music is good or not. He thinks his passion will be the seed that will sell it to them.

Riggs will be giving a concert on March 7th in the West Lafayette High School Auditorium at 3:00 pm. He's raising money for Haiti victims and football scholarships.
- Eyewitness News