Gene Lewin — Drums & Groove

In any trio, the drummer is the whole shape of the sound — and in GrooveLily, Gene Lewin has filled that role with something extra. He is the rhythmic engine, yes, but also a vocalist and a full creative partner in one of indie theatre and independent music's most distinctive acts.

What He Does

Lewin's drumming holds a particular brief: support a band whose genre-blend moves in a single set from rock to folk to jazz to musical theatre, often mid-song, without flinching. That kind of elasticity demands a player who listens as much as he hits — and Lewin delivers it. The trio's live energy, so frequently cited by fans as the reason to see them again and again, runs directly through him. Electric violin, keyboards and voice can soar because the rhythm underneath is confident and alive.

He is also a singing drummer — a rarer thing than it sounds when done well — and his voice contributes to the three-part harmonies that are part of the GrooveLily signature. On recordings and on stage, that third voice matters: it fills out the sound in a way that makes the trio feel larger than three people have any right to sound.

In the Shows

On the theatrical side, Lewin has been there through the full arc of GrooveLily's story-driven work. He was part of Striking 12 — the band's reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl as a New Year's Eve story — and of Sleeping Beauty Wakes, and the Antarctic adventure of Ernest Shackleton Loves Me. These are book musicals in a real sense: scripted, narratively driven, demanding performers who can carry a dramatic world while also being a tight live band. Lewin does all of it.

“That kind of elasticity demands a player who listens as much as he hits — and Lewin delivers it.”

The band traces its roots to the mid-1990s, when Valerie Vigoda led The Valerie Vigoda Band before the trio found its name and its shape. Through that evolution and every stage since, Lewin has been the constant rhythmic fact at the back of the stage — the player whose steadiness gives Vigoda's electric violin room to cut loose and Brendan Milburn's keyboards room to roam.

Fans who have seen GrooveLily live know that the groove in the name is not an accident. A large share of it belongs to Gene Lewin.

GrooveLily is an unofficial fan tribute. We have no affiliation with the band, their management, or any label.