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Trigger Warning : Loss of a Parent due to Suicide is discussed. If you are sensitive to this topic please skip this episode of the podcast. 

Lew stops by the show to discuss, finding his voice, moving across country to pursue his dream, his father's suicide, his debut album Fool's Gold and more.

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“’No Room In Hell’ is a rose-tinted daydream and an embodiment of the whole record,” says genre-defying soul artist Lew Apollo about his luminous new single. The first glimpse of his highly anticipated debut album Fool’s Gold, which is out August 8, 2025, the track is a masterclass in emotional duality, pairing honeyed production with themes of longing and illusion and setting the tone for a record that is equal parts cinematic and soul-baring. “‘No Room In Hell’ came to me in about 45 minutes,” he explains. “I was in a good mood, riding high on discovering the band Jungle, and everything just clicked—the beat, the melody, the lyrics. It captures the exact energy of the record: shiny on the outside, but full of deeper questions underneath.”

A Minnesota native now rooted in Austin, Texas, Lew Apollo has built a name as a bold new voice in modern soul—drawing comparisons to Hozier, Leon Bridges, and Labrinth, yet offering something entirely his own. Following the breakout success of his 2023 EP JUNGLE—which amassed over 150,000 streams in just two months—Lew’s next chapter unfolds in Fool’s Gold, a deeply personal exploration of mental health, grief, love, and the blurred lines between fantasy and reality.

In 2022, Lew experienced a life-altering loss when his father died by suicide. The grief was shattering—but also galvanizing. His dad had always been the one cheering him on, the one sitting by the stairs to say his guitar sounded amazing, even when Lew couldn’t believe it himself.

In the months that followed, Lew began writing with even greater urgency and vulnerability. His music became not just a creative outlet, but a space to grieve, honor, and connect. He now writes openly about mental health, isolation, and anxiety—not as a solution, but as a way to remind listeners that they aren’t alone.

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