With backing tracks being heard on stages everywhere and audiences unable to decipher what’s being played live or coming from a computer, here’s a new band bringing music to you in its rawest form. Stafford Stevens, a country music act unlike any other, perform their unique sound as a two-piece band constructed with a female drummer and male guitarist. At the helm is Brett Stafford Smith, a lifelong songwriter from Alabama. Brett moved to Nashville and played the bar scene on Broadway for a few years but longed to be a part of something musically bigger than himself: a band. It was at a gig in Music City that he met Taryn Stevens. Taryn, a traveling nurse living in Nashville by way of Michigan, was raised playing the piano, but had never practiced percussion before meeting Brett. The two began to spend time together, forming an unbreakable bond through their mutual love of good times, music, and each other. 
       As their relationship grew, Brett started looking for a drummer for a two-piece project he was envisioning and hoping to bring to reality. To his surprise, Taryn offered to learn how to play the drums so Brett began teaching her the basics, and almost immediately it seemed Taryn took to percussion, as Brett’s mama would say, “like white on rice.” Brett instinctively knew that he and Taryn had their own individual gifts of music; but together, they cultivated a harmonious sound. This revelation marked the birth of Stafford Stevens.
      With rousing performances across Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Michigan under their belt, Stafford Stevens provides the listener with meaningful songwriting compounded with their unique sound. Their demo, with songs such as “Who You Drinking With,” “League of Your Own,” and “B.Y.O.B. Weekend Party,” draws audiences in with themes of growing up in the South, maturing into adulthood, navigating the winding roads of new love, and ultimately having great times with lifelong friends. “Who You Drinking With” is a song that reminds the listener to seize the day, and to always toast in celebration among friends regardless of what happens to be in their glass. “League of Your Own” is a heartening love song meant to empower and remind the listener that “you’re perfect as you are, so own it.” As a tribute to good times at the lake with old friends, “B.Y.O.B. Weekend Party” is a song that pays homage to the fact that “Natty Light, green water, and sunshine” are the perfect mixture for “a place you never wanna leave."

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