Trey Lewis 2023 Bio People call Trey Lewis a troublemaker – and if the singer-songwriter’s honest, that’s mostly fair. With a stage presence built on equal parts intensity and integrity (and a knack for saying the quiet parts out loud), he’s an artist who boldly breaks country’s unspoken rules, and has often worn his title like a badge of honor. The world needs people who shake things up, after all. Then came 2020’s “Dicked Down in Dallas,” and the reputation grew. Full of take-no-shit honesty and speaking the colorful language of everyday fans, the track found Lewis giving country’s age-old cheating theme a shot of modern adrenaline, and it definitely stirred up some trouble. Hitting Number One on iTunes and gathering more than 100 million streams, it introduced Lewis as the straight-talking, salt-of-the-earth hero he is – a career-launching hit followed by the rowdy realism of “Single Again,” as Lewis kept the story going for another iTunes Number One. But here’s the thing – there was always more to his music. And now he’s bringing it out. Teamed with River House Artists/Sony Music Publishing for his full-length Nashville debut, this perennial underdog and relentless road warrior is getting real, releasing a set fittingly titled Trouble Maker. “If you come to this album as a fan of ‘Dicked Down in Dallas,’ you're gonna leave a fan of Trey Lewis,” the rising star boldly proclaims. “That's my job.” Fair enough. But things haven’t always been so clear, and Lewis is open about the mountains he’s climbed. It’s part of why he’s such a straight-shooter in song. Sober since the age of 19, the Alabama native began using drugs and alcohol at just 13, and now credits rehab, support groups and hard work for saving his life – and also for getting him on stage. He first started playing guitar in recovery, Lewis explains, and group meetings helped him bust out of his emotion shell for good. A fan of country giants from Garth Brooks and Toby Keith to Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean (among others), his first gig came shortly after getting clean – and with his mischievous personality unlocked, the future hit maker immediately shined. Chasing the new high of an audience's rapt attention, he formed a band and booked hours-long shows in bars all across the South, spending 12 years on the road mixing well-worn country covers and his own original tunes – all while the mixed drinks flowed. He could have stopped there and called it a day, sober and filled with purpose by his musical calling … but there was more in the tank. And even back then, there were two sides to the star. His troublemaking ways were in full force on stage, making Lewis an engaging live entertainer. But when writing songs, his journey often spoke the loudest, with heartfelt tracks exploring life’s deeper layers the result. In any case, Lewis kept on grinding, perfecting his mix of contemporary country horsepower, Southern rock and call-it-like-I-see-it attitude, and by 2019 had made the move to Nashville. Roughing it out in a world of happy hours and handshake deals, “Dicked Down in Dallas” went viral in 2020, with his shows turning into sell outs and his rowdy side front and center. A series of remixes and the back-inthe-saddle anthem, “Single Again,” followed suit, with Lewis staying on message and on the gas through 2022. But now, it’s time for that “other half” to join the party. “I’ve always had that chip on my shoulder,” Lewis explains. “Not in a vindictive way, but people have always looked at me different. Like, ‘Wait, you don't drink? That's weird.’ Or I'd show up and the crowd would expect me to be some crazy character. Then they realize that I'm not a character, that I actually had character.” Seeing Trouble Maker as his life's work to this point, that character shines in each of 15 new songs. Tracks like “Up Yours” follow in the footsteps of his breakout hit, with a playful heart and clever lines matching country-to-the-core credibility. Written by John Pierce, Ben Stennis, and Lee Thomas Miller, it’s an uptempo country rocker perfect for a dropped tailgate or a neon-lit dance floor, telling the story of a guy trying to drown his sorrows, only to have them stirred back up. With Lewis’ patented flair for a lyrical payoff, listeners get sucked right in waiting for the hook, and it doesn’t disappoint. “It's just fun,” he says with pride. “It has that spirit, and most importantly it has that edge. I mean, who else is gonna sing that song?” Others like “Pretty Hungover” are tailor-made for his feel-good shows, full of flirty fun and dedicated to those girls he sees in the front row each night – ones who wake up with a dead cell phone and a headache the next morning, but still take your breath away. Meanwhile, tunes like “Always You” offer a classic tribute to the meant-to-be-love between downhome hearts, and with “Mine Never Could,” Lewis proves he knows his way around a power ballad, his voice rising like a storm with a stubborn heart. But even so, he makes the most “trouble” in the project’s deeper moments. The ones where character is the main ingredient. With the rootsy, Appalachian-flavored “I Quit,” the rising star presents a quiet, almost solemn vow of dedication with another pure-country turn of phase – its romance matched only by the wisdom of a guy who’s been through the darkness, and knows light when he sees it. And with the reflective title track, “Trouble Maker,” the long journey comes full circle. A tender acoustic ballad with a kind-hearted soul, the song tells the tale of a “broken boy” becoming a man (the hard way), as Lewis lends a been-there-done-that shoulder to those in need. With his voice sturdy, yet soft, it’s the reassuring message this troublemaker could have used long ago – that we are not just the things people label us. We are what we work to become. “It's like my biography,” Lewis explains. “It's the story of who I am.” Built around integrity, with a hard-working but good-natured spirit, it completes a set that truly proves the world could use a few more “trouble makers” like Lewis today. “I know I don't sing like Luke Combs or Morgan Wallen,” he says. “But I feel like I have a God-given gift to make you feel something, and I'm gonna use it. I'm gonna give it everything I got.”