Stephen
Stavola
About
Born and raised in Queens, singer-songwriter Stephen Stavola is a native New York City artist whose songs often reference the city that has been his home all of his life. He studied piano from the age of seven, fell in love with the music of Brian Wilson by the age of twelve, and wrote his songs on the family upright at the age of fifteen. Since then, he has written hundreds of songs and performed throughout the New York City area, with the piano principally as his band. His songs have a folk-rock sensibility that can evoke thoughts of artists like Paul Simon and Jackson Browne. Many songs also reveal an affection for the great songwriters of the thirties and forties with their beautiful harmonic arrangements and their well-crafted lyrics. With a gift for melody and powerful, intelligent and heartfelt lyrics, he writes songs that have a transcendent quality that defies reductionist categorization. He presently plays throughout the New York City area, and his musical home is Greenwich Village.
Testimonials
"Nice melodies, great lyrics."
Livingston Taylor - Towne Crier Cafe
“[Stephen Stavola]...going to be one of the great songwriters.”
Lamont Hampton - Jazz Musician and Producer - son of jazz great Slide Hampton
"Steve Stavola can talk about ANYTHING and make it sound interesting. I mean like, even a piece of dust on the sidewalk would become an object of adoration or at least much amusement. His songs are exactly the same way."
Morgan Heringer - Autumn Antifolk Festival Review 2012
"Understated Excellence."
Bob Black - Summer Antifolk Festival Guide - 2013
“ That's what this album [The Light: A Tribute To The Music Of JJ Hayes] is all about, the incredibly powerful writing of Hayes, and the interpretations of his songs through his loving artist community. It's hard to pick favorites, but a couple that stand out are the version of "On the Shoulders Of Giants" by Rachel Laitman, and "Did Your Beauty Ever Break Their Hearts" covered by Steve Stavola... that song quite possibly will change your life. An appropriate summation of Hayes writing can be found in one of his lyrics describing the writing of Steve Stavola, which says 'I find his music healing, because his images are true...'"