Sam Harris, BA The Arts ’10; Adam Levin, BA Interdisciplinary Science ’11; and Noah Feldshuh, BA Liberal Arts ’10
X Ambassador members and Lang alumni Sam Harris ’10, Adam Levin ’11, Noah Feldshuh ’10, deliver inspirational, hard-hitting songs.
Lang alumni Sam Harris, BA The Arts ’10 (vocals, guitar, saxophone); Adam Levin, BA Interdisciplinary Science ’11 (drums); Noah Feldshuh, BA Liberal Arts ’10 (guitar); and Casey Harris (keyboard) formed X Ambassadors in 2009. Brothers Sam Harris ’10 and Casey Harris grew up with Noah Feldshuh ’10 in Ithaca. While attending The New School in 2006, Sam met Adam Levin ’11 and the friends eventually became bandmates.
In 2015, the band released their debut full-length album, VHS. Their most notable songs include “Jungle,” “Renegades,” and “Unsteady.” That same year, Fiat Chrysler’s commercial for the Jeep Renegade, featured the uplifting folk rock song, “Renegades.” But beyond serving as the theme song for a sleek new vehicle, X Ambassadors’ instantly recognizable “Renegades” is a rallying cry for anyone who has overcome hardship to pursue their dreams. The song, which topped the charts, is accompanied by a music video that shows a collection of inspirational clips of people with physical disabilities performing remarkable athletic feats. The song was inspired, in part, by keyboardist Casey Harris, who has been blind since birth.
“This video is about people who defy the odds; who, when all the cards seem to have been stacked against them, still find ways to accomplish incredible things. My brother is one of those people,” says Casey Harris’ brother, Sam Harris. “We chose to include [Casey’s] story in this video because he is an inspiration to all of us in the band. Casey is a constant reminder to me of how important it is to embrace what makes you different and to not let anything get in the way of doing what you want to do.”
At SXSW 2019, the band closed out the wildly energetic SXSW Outdoor Stage at Lady Bird Lake. The band’s sophomore album, Orion, was released on June 14, 2019.
Noah Feldshuh is currently on hiatus.
Portions of this article were originally published on The New School blog: https://blogs.newschool.edu/news/2015/09/x-ambassadors-deliver-inspirational-message-on-renegades-video/
