As a lover of music, a performer and songwriter, you knew that I would showcase up and coming female talent! So, for my first showcase we are going up north. I met this young lady while living in Nashville, and even worked a little with her management company to promote her, during Music Fest last summer. May I introduce to you, Miss Stephanie Grace!
Hailing from Douglas, Pennsylvania, Stephanie Grace,
a national performing country music artist and songwriter, is definitely not your average 16 year old;
but let’s back up a bit. Apparently Stephanie’s aspirations to be a singer
started at the age of two, as she danced around the house, singing Old MacDonald, using her mom’s eggbeater
as a microphone. Stephanie confesses that though she was shy as a child, in
kindergarten she would always be singing the loudest during music time. Hence,
a star was born.
That shyness quickly melted away
upon performing in her first grade talent show. Her performance of What
Dreams Are Made Of (from the Lizzie McGuire movie), validated her talent, and
fueled her passion for singing and entertaining. “I loved the adrenaline rush I
felt on stage and that’s when I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my
life” professes Stephanie, and her ultimate dream is to perform at the Grand Ole
Opry and to complete a world tour. With big dreams, youth, and talent on her
side, Stephanie is on her way!
From that point on, Stephanie has
enjoyed singing at various music venues and already participated in her own radio tours. From local restaurants, fairs and
carnivals, to opening on stage for such notable acts as Taylor Swift, Easton
Corbin, Gloriana, Josh Turner, and Bucky Covington, Stephanie is quite the
seasoned professional.
Having
performed at a fall festival for an audience of 40,000, which included Taylor
Swift, Stephanie met the young music icon, and states , "She(Taylor)
grabbed me and took me under her wing while she signed autographs, and I'll
never forget that," Stephanie said of Swift. "That's what I love
about her; she's very down to earth." Stephanie said Swift told
her, and her parents, three things, "Learn an instrument, write your own songs and
move down to Nashville." Stephanie is taking Miss Swift’s words to heart. "My
goal is to open up for someone on a huge tour and, of course, move down to
Nashville," Stephanie said. "You gotta sing in all the honky-tonks
and know everyone, so you have to be down there!" She is already
writing her own songs, inspired by her
daily experiences and casual conversations. Having
more than 70 songs in her catalog, one of her goals is to inspire others
through lyrics and music.
Stephanie won Pocono Junior Idol and Kids Country Idol in 2006, and it was around this time she met Al Brock, President of Spin Doctors Music Group, and Kristin Johnson, with Next Generation Artist Management, both out of Nashville, Tennessee. Stephanie attributes coming on board with Spin Doctors and Next Generation, to jump starting her career.
With her busy schedule... traveling,
performing, songwriting and visiting radio stations... Stephanie feels education is still most important. As a sophomore, she decided to enroll at Agora Cyber
Charter School. Stephanie states, “Cyber School is very new to me, but I think
it will make traveling and focusing on my music a lot easier. Education is
super important to me and I’m glad we found a method that works with my
schedule!”
