Livingston’s ‘A Hometown Odyssey (The Story Continues)’: A Deeper Dive into Music, Emotion, and Growth

Photo: Brian Ziff

Livingston, born in Denton, Texas, has used music as an outlet for his anxiety from a young age, continuing this trend in his latest release, A Hometown Odyssey (The Story Continues). As the extended version of his debut album, this release adds nine new songs, including singles “Glow,” “Gravedigger,” and “Look Mom I Can Fly.” 

Blending authentic storytelling with classic pop instrumentation and production, Livingston pours his heart and soul into every release. On Wednesday, March 5th, Songbird was privileged to attend a press conference with Livingston, courtesy of °1824. He shared an overview of his typical songwriting process, sources of inspiration, and detailed his goals for his music. 

Pop Passion Blog: What was the moment in your life that you realized you wanted to pursue music?

Livingston:  I was on the L train into Chicago on a family trip when I was 13, and I had Logic Pro on my MacBook. I had been messing around with making beats for a while, and just using a bunch of different sounds together, and I found these horns and strings that I could play on my computer keyboard. I made this beat, and the song ended up being called “Young.” It was on my first EP, and there was nothing wild about it. It was like a lot of those early 2010s pop songs with all of the orchestral stuff in it. But, something happened in my heart, just watching the city unfold through the window of the train and creating something on my computer that felt in sync with the emotion of what I was viewing at that very second in the outside world. I was just like, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I'll do anything to do this because this feeling makes sense.”

Lovebomb Magazine: You’ve described music as an escape from anxiety. How has songwriting helped you navigate your emotions, and what impact do you hope it has on listeners?

Livingston: Songwriting is kind of this magic prism that can take all of these emotions and thoughts that are very difficult to put into words and then very clearly [combine] all of those things into one being, into one message. Artists can do this; painters can do this, where you look at something that you just made, and it could be really simple, but you can look at it and realize you said a lot with this that you didn't even know you needed to say. And that's how I view it. It is an escape, and it's a way to kind of channel all this noise that on its own can feel so chaotic. Then you end up with something kind of simple and beautiful. And that's what I want to help people find in the chaos: just some sort of clarity, even if it's just for a moment—just a reminder that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, they can hear some of the chaotic emotions in the songs that end up helping them simplify what's going on inside of their head and in their heart. 

OhSoYas Media: In this new era of Livingston, how do you want to evolve and present yourself as an artist? Do you feel that A Hometown Odyssey will be a defining moment in that journey?

Livingston: When you start to tour a lot as an artist, you discover what your music is to people. Before touring, I definitely had an idea of what [my music] was, or what I wanted it to be, but now after playing 70 shows on this album, I have a really clear idea of why people show up. Regardless of age, where they’re from, or what their struggles in life are, people have complex inner stories that they are looking for some sort of clarity, hope, and guidance to help them get through—that’s what music was for me when I was a kid. All that I want to be is for anyone who is trying to find a way to put one foot in front of the other in their story, to just create a soundtrack for them in a place where they feel very powerful and very in control of their destiny because music can do that. It can make you feel like a stronger version of yourself, which is really what I want to do. I want to bring people together. I want the music that I create to unify people in the real world, in real rooms, and at real shows. The purpose of the deluxe album is to crystallize that with songs that are even more confident than the original album because I grew up a lot since I made that.

Bearcast Media: If someone’s never heard your music before, what’s the one thing you hope they take away after hearing this album?

Livingston: Inspiration. I just want people to have a bit of awe and wonder and hold on to that, even when there are a lot of reasons not to. That’s all I want to do—it’s simple.

Listen to the extended album here: