Levi McGrath (Photography by El Roberts 2006)

The Right Note [Originally published in Warcry. Reprinted with permission.]

He might be just 20, but Levi McGrath has his eye on a great many things. By Jen Vuk

Musician Levi McGrath has managed to fit quite a lot of living into the past year. He’s finished his music composition degree, signed his first record deal, worked as a youth worker on St Kilda’s streets and even travelled to Africa.

‘Yeah, you can say I’ve been busy,’ he says. ‘But it’s been great.’

Signing with grassroots record company Small House Records in June this year was the culmination of a dream for the 20-yearold that began in Donald, in rural Victoria, where Levi was born.

‘I started to play music, piano, when I was 12, which was quite late. I then picked up guitar at 13 and kind of played a range of instruments from there, but really got interested in songwriting.’

The songwriting led to a band called Orphan, a four-piece rock outfit that played around Bendigo, a former Victorian goldmining town, and then onto university.

‘For the last two years I’ve been studying music at Southern Cross University in Lismore [in NSW] but I came back to Melbourne because [my fiancée] Megan is down here.’

Levi and Megan, who works for World Vision, met at a youth festival about four years ago. For some time they fostered a shared dream for an African adventure but a lack of funds kept their plan on indefinite hold.

‘We basically didn’t have near enough money to go and that was the biggest thing holding us back,’ explains Levi. ‘While we were trying hard to save we told both our churches that we really had a heart to go and they were fantastic. They put on fundraising events. One of my friends even shaved off his long hair to raise money. ‘We went under the care of our churches and were able to come back and report on all the things we did over there.’

While in Africa they both met their sponsor children and worked in Uganda with grassroots organisation African Child Foundation, which ‘really looked after its own local community and at ways to build up support of child sponsorship’.

Being in Africa also provided Levi with the opportunity to use his music for children’s outreach.

‘We’d go to the local towns and do talks and play music,’ he explains. ‘Then we visited Kenya because we had a few friends there who showed us around.’

When they returned to Melbourne, Levi got in touch with a street ministry organisation called House of Restoration.

‘I went out with them Friday nights and ministered in the city, meeting with people, praying with them if we could, and just seeing where they were at.

‘We talked to a whole range of people. There was a group of transvestite prostitutes who we mainly spent time with down in St Kilda. And in the city we met up with heaps of homeless guys and ex-prisoners who hung out in Flinders St [Melbourne’s central rail station] and being with them was just awesome.’

Levi says few things could have provided his music with more substance and sense of urgency than his experiences both in Africa and with House of Restoration.

‘I think it’s so important for me to have a reason behind the music,’ he says. ‘When I write songs now so many of them have been inspired by my experiences in street ministry and Africa.

‘I will never forget the people’s generosity both in Africa and on the streets. To meet people who don’t see you only for what you look like but for who you are…I think from that the best music can come out because it’s real.’

In addition to enjoying his new-found relationship with Small House Records and discovering the joys and rigours of touring and gigging, Levi says he’s keen to explore youth ministry and, of course, set foot once again on African soil.

‘At the moment [Megan and I] are trying to pair up with World Vision and a record label so we can promote them wherever we go and we hope to one day live in Africa… that’s our goal.’

As if that’s not enough, Levi’s also got a very important wedding he has to get to later this year—his own.

‘Yeah, we’re looking for a place to get married,’ he explains, almost sheepishly. ‘Life’s really good at the moment. And I can’t attribute anything to myself because God’s totally had everything in his hands.’

www.levimcgrath.com/