Lee Penn Sky is an award-winning songwriter well known to the Treasure Valley and beyond. His story is one of overcoming physical hardship and circumstances to find his peace through music. He’s an accomplished musician and has made his mark on the Treasure Valley music scene with no signs of slowing down. He’s released 4 studio albums, shared the stage with countless well-known musicians, and has taken part in numerous songwriting ventures. When he’s not working on his music, he volunteers as a board member for the Idaho Songwriters Association or within some other avenue of the local music scene. To say that Lee is actively making our valley a better place for music is an understatement.

I met with Lee at Luxetone Studios, a second home to him when recording with his longtime buddy, Brandon Wallace. It’s easy to see why Lee loves recording there; it’s a comfortable, peaceful space with top-tier equipment and years of expertise with Brandon at the helm.

He first got into music when he was a little boy. His parents started him off with a violin. He took a few lessons and got frightened by the teacher mentioning his fingers would eventually turn into wood with enough practice. He was involved in choir but never felt his voice was up to par. Late in his teen years, he was singing in a metal band when he realized his voice wasn’t quite cutting it. He learned bass as a result and started a band with one of his best friends called Mr. Picasso Head. They gigged often around his home city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and released an album called Love and Other Natural Disasters. During that process he picked up the guitar and started finding his way through that while writing songs. The band eventually broke up, he finished his grad program in social work, and he moved out to Idaho. He had secured a job working for a wilderness program for kids. He was excited to delve into all of the adventure sports that Idaho had to offer, being an avid adrenaline junkie.

On a fateful winter day, Lee stopped to assist a rollover on an icy, remote highway. While calling 911, he was struck by an oncoming vehicle, nearly losing his life. He had multiple surgeries on his leg and had to learn how to walk again twice within his recovery. He was able to return to work but kept reinjuring his leg. During this period, he poured a lot of time and angst into playing guitar and writing. He and his family moved to Boise in 2003 where he started promising himself he would play at open mics to get out there. After putting in some work on his vocals, style, and performance (his wife lovingly gave him vocal lessons as a wedding gift), he decided to do an album. Prelude to Hindsight was his first studio album. It took him another 9 years to do another. In 2015, he released 29 Left Down with his band, Lee Penn Sky and the Oliphants. It was produced by Steve Fulton at the Audio Lab. He was playing sets with his band at this point and had found success in festivals and various local venues. He met Brandon Wallace (Luxetone Studios) through shows at Treefort just as he was craving some bass time in a band. He decided to do a tryout of sorts for Brandon’s band, Ola Sweet. It ultimately did not pan out (hilariously noting how terrible his setup went). However, it started a friendship that blossomed into a beautiful collaboration. Brandon and Luxetone Studios is his happy place. It became a synchronistic relationship to deliver the exact sound he was looking for in his future albums.

Lee and his family stumbled upon some letters from Israel that had long been in the drawer of his great-grandmother, Sadie. These letters were written by his grandmother’s nephew, Jakob, accounting for his escape from the Holocaust. After some translation, they revealed Jakob’s story of finding that his entire family was gone when he returned to his village after work one day. He managed to evade the Nazis until the end of the war and immigrated to Israel to start over. Lee immediately started writing about the perceived emotions and feelings from the letters. His family located Jakob’s descendants in Israel and booked a trip to connect with their long-lost relatives. It served as a deeply impactful experience for Lee and his family, spurring many songs that became the album, Lean into the Letter.

He approached Brandon about doing the album and felt immediately that the music was in capable hands. Their friendship grew during the work put in on Lean into the Letter, which was released in early 2020. It inspired Lee to get to work on another album, which became Prophets and Pretenders, released in July of 2025. It’s had massive success on Spotify and YouTube. I’m partial to “The Painter”, as the lyrics navigate choosing art and passion over anything else. To me, it is about leaning in to purpose regardless of circumstance; something that all creatives can identify with. The success of Prophets and Pretenders has propelled him into continuing the momentum, and he is currently working on another album with Brandon by his side.

Lee loves big festival shows that he’s had the opportunity to be a part of, but his favorite types of shows are intimate house concerts with a sweet listening crowd. He is a storyteller at heart and a humble individual. He is quick to point out the times that he’s really thrown himself into scary beginnings and embraced sucking. Throughout hardships from his accident, he remained optimistic in his pivots and direction in life. He’s always taken these moments and turned them into learning and growth opportunities. It’s an example of persistence and ambition we can all admire and aspire to.

Lee’s advice to upcoming songwriters:

Go do it until you find your voice. Get the best equipment you can. Get a guitar that plays well and that resonates with you-it’s more inspiring to play.

When you are writing, keep the editor out of your head until the flow of ideas ends, then go back and start the flow again.

Lee spends his time giving back to the music community through serving as a board member for the Idaho Songwriters Association. The group hosts their songwriters forum every last Tuesday of the month, which is a fantastic opportunity for any songwriter to show off their skills and find community. They will also be hosting a fundraiser benefit on November 12th in the Sapphire Room; tickets are available on Eventbrite.

Be sure to follow Lee on Facebook, Instagram, or his website to stay up-to-date on performance schedules and announcements! You can find Lee’s albums on Spotify or Apple Music or delve into his music videos and live performances on YouTube.

Subscribe to Treasure Valley Notes to stay up-to-date on our local musicians’ schedules!

Interested in being featured in a “Deep Dive”? Contact us HERE.