Picture an East Oklahoma brush-arbor-camp-meeting with a five year-old Stephen Lee Veal on the front row, enthusiastically banging away on a tambourine to old time gospel music. His mother, Virginia, was the guest Lay Preacher. Replay this scene a couple of hundred times across scrubby hills. Toss in a Dad who sang and played Cowboy Guitar/Harmonica. Add a bunch of Hank Williams, a family move to the Central Gulf Coast with it’s gumbo mix of Country, Blues and Cajun and you’ve got good roots for a songwriter.
Wood Newton, Jimbeau Hinson, CJ Watson, Les Kerr and Tammy Vice are some of the successful writers Stephen Lee has co-written with in Nashville. He has also been featured on fifteen writers’ rounds at the Bluebird Café in Nashville and for seven shows in New Orleans at the House Of Blues/Parish Room for "15 Minutes of Fame". In Nashville, for Lee Rascone’, Stephen headed up a monthly “Alabama Songwriter’s Round” for three years running.
On the Gulf Coast, Stephen produced the Songwriters’ Saturday Showcase monthly for six years at Veet's and has been a regular at the Frank Brown International Songwriter's Festival since 1998.
Stephen’s first cut was by the Gulf Coast Quartet in the Seventies His songs have won numerous awards, notably the first place in open and overall best for "Feels Like Alabama" at the 2002 Hank Williams Festival held annually in Georgiana, AL. Stephen is currently a co-coordinator of the Pensacola Chapter of NSAI.
Hey Stephen,
I only got to share the stage with you once, but you completely blew me away. Really hope we can do it again soon. Enjoying your music, my friend!
Thanks for sharing the video, 3 great talents. Hope to see you and Julie soon. Rick and I will be heading up to Muscle Shoals next friday for a 3 day venue for the Handy Festival. We'll be back the following weekend. Enjoy this beautiful weather. LA
I thought it was really nice of y'all to offer to help with my load-in Thursday while I parked the truck. ALL my gear was on stage before I returned. It's very humbling to be reminded some truly accomplished music heroes first and foremost excel at being s man. Very rare. THANKS
We were so pleasntly surprised to see y'all. What a hoot! I'm glad you got home safely. Coming to Nashville again soon? Let's plan something when you are.
Hi Stephen, Had to respond to your status about playing the Bluebird! So wish I could have been there to hear that round! I'm sure it was a great show!!! Also wanted to let you know that one of my best friends in my 20's was a female preacher! Yeah! And, she could lay a lot of the men to shame with her delivery and insight! Sounds like we've had a lot of the same life experiences! So happy to see a fellow "brother" make it and have such an amazing songwriting talent being noticed in the real world! God bless, Donita :o)
Hopin all things good are surrounding the Veals..I heard a Toby Keith song called "If I Were Jesus" and he sounded so much like you it was uncanny...same style, same vocal range..thought of you and wanted to stop by and say hi. yall take care Donnie
You know, Mom and I were talking the other day, and we remembered that you taught me one of the most important things for a musician to know....how to change guitar strings!!! I still try to get out of it though...lol. Hope y'all are doing good, tell Julie hi!
Thanks a bunch for including us! There's certainly some fine artists here! Some, we've shared the stage with and a few are personal friends or ours.peace, love & harmony, Ricky & Micol Davis
