The Levi Square Story

It started as a high school senior’s daydream. Josh had been prone to gathering friends to sing together, but for some time he did not have a suitable group name. Then one day, a world history class assignment changed everything. He analyzed and wrote about a particular 16th century painting by Paolo Veronese called Feast in the House of Levi, for which he already knew the Biblical basis. Josh learned that the masterpiece was not well-received by the church councils since Veronese had been commissioned to paint the Last Supper. He was chastised and instructed to paint over the wrongful depiction. Perhaps then Veronese read the gospel for the first time, because instead of repainting, he gave it the fitting name by which it is now known. Josh learned all this and wanted to see a band that represented such a gathering: misfits, outcasts, rejects, all of whom know they are at a loss for holiness yet are chosen by Jesus. As he expressed this desire, a friend suggested the name Levi Square. The real thing took quite some time to materialize.

In 2018, while studying music in college, Josh was asked to lead worship for a midweek prayer gathering at the Louisiana Baptist Convention. True to his instincts, he gathered two friends to help, and they won over the small congregation of executives and strategists with their unique folk style; simply put, they were different. Afterward, someone asked “Do y’all do events?” Josh excitedly replied, “We do now!” They gathered up three more people and led worship at a small youth rally at First Baptist Church of Tullos, where they first took on the name Levi Square.

The original three saw an opening in the door of opportunity and kicked it down, gathering others and making their second appearance at the 2019 Louisiana Right to Life March in Alexandria in front of thousands of pro-life marchers. Throughout 2019, they were invited to a few churches in Central and Southwest LA. In 2020, they were again welcomed by Louisiana Right to Life, this time to both the Alexandria and Monroe marches. However, they would scarcely be seen in Louisiana again.

After graduating in 2020, Josh was called to Fort Worth, Texas where he started graduate school at Southwestern Seminary. Both in class and at church, he faced repeated rejection. Defying the pressure to conform, he continued his studies with a heart growing heavy until he was hired to teach at two music stores in Burleson. What was initially a way out of a life-draining job in fast-food turned into a career where for the first time since those final life marches, he felt a sense of belonging. He denied his own nature by quitting his masters degree to follow God’s lead into a full-time career in teaching the younger generation. A few extra part-time jobs later, Levi Square was revived as a private music lessons business that offers lessons in the student’s home. More is yet to come as God continually does new things in Levi Square. You might just want to witness this for yourself.