Bro. Stephen is a traveler. A musical Jack Kerouac, moving from town to town across America, letting the experiences and landscapes sink into his being, eventually allowing them to flow out in the form of his gentle, yet powerful music. A musician like Bro. Stephen is hard to find these days and when you do it's rarely on a music blog, rather a coffee house in the shadows of a small town or at a house party where only friends sing every line to his songs. He has the talent of any buzz band or big name folk act out there, but he's just not interested in playing the game, creating a back story that defines his music more than the music itself. Hell, he didn't even send me his music, I had to stumble upon it.
His catalogue is extensive, with a bunch of tracks floating around in various corners of the internet. Bro. Stephen, after doing some research, goes out on self-booked tours each season, traveling to whatever spot will have him and in doing so I've seen a great growth in his music. With each stop on the map, it seems Stephen learns something new and it eventually comes out in his music. I found two offerings, a four track EP for LEM and a single that appears on the Midwest Fest 2011 mixtape. It's artists like Bro. Stephen that remind me that the passion for music will never die. He doesn't care about blog buzz or creating a sensational backstory to grab attention. It's this music as music that makes Bro. Stephen's songs incredibly special. It also helps that he has a lot of talent, smart lyrics, and an unmatched sincerity that drips off each track.
Amazing music. I love Bro Stephen.
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