Stephen Hedley - Singer/Songwriter

Brought up in Windsor, Ontario, Stephen Hedley grew up only minutes from the Ambassador Bridge which connects Windsor to its U.S. counterpart Detroit, Michigan. With a clear signal from Detroit’s massive radio market, Stephen enjoyed a diverse diet of Otis Redding, Jeff Buckley, Stevie Wonder, Nick Drake, Marvin Gaye, The Stooges, U2, Neil Young, Philip Glass and everything in between. Son to a British Anthropologist and an American classically trained pianist, with sabbatical years spent in New Zealand and Newfoundland as a child, it’s no wonder that Stephen’s outlook and his songwriting have always been unique and genre bending.

In the fall of 2008 Stephen Hedley had just finished putting the finishing touches on his first full-length album, Scenes, and was heading out to play dates in B.C., Ontario and Quebec. It was this solo tour that first offered Hedley a glimpse of the surprising intimacy and freedom possible in a solo performance, and when he returned to Vancouver he immediately began preparing to do it all over again.

Following a showcase at Los Angeles’ Room 5 in October 2008, Stephen secured a song placement in the ‘Linear Pictures’ feature “In My Pocket.” Over 3 minutes of the track “Bitten” was used as a featured piece of music (montage without dialog) and the film itself went on to be screened at Sundance and win the “Audience Favorite Award” at the Palm Beach International Film Festival 2009.

Around this same time, an earlier investment in a European publicist began to bear fruit as news of radio play and reviews started coming in from the U.K., Holland, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, France, Italy and Portugal. While Scenes had received positive critical response in Canada and the USA, it seemed apparent that Stephen’s eclectic and melodic brand of pop might find a wider audience in Europe.

Never one to miss an opportunity to travel, and with worldwide distribution for “Scenes” already in place through Burnside Distribution Co., a European tour followed and Stephen spent the summer of 2009 playing coffee shops, radio stations, theatres, bars, pubs and street corners to whoever would listen.

Back in Vancouver he and producer Joe Cruz got to work on a 4-song acoustic EP. Leaving his longtime live band and all the electric instruments at the door, he entered the studio and got to work. These new recordings shifted focus from Scenes’ lush arrangements and layered production to a raw and more immediate sound more closely mirroring the live experience, and reflecting Stephen’s growing confidence as a live performer.

With the EP due to be released in early 2011 on Wundertone Recordings, a sophomore full-length album in the works, and now a newly-minted US citizen, more traveling will almost certainly be on the agenda for Stephen Hedley in 2011 and beyond. Stay tuned to StephenHedley.com for all the latest updates, releases, free music, contests, etc. and connect with Stephen on facebook, twitter, myspace, and at live performances in the real world!