Rising Stars: Meet Cole Stephens

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cole Stephens.

Hi Cole, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory. 
I was born in raised in the oldest town in Texas—Nacogdoches. My love of music comes from my mom’s family. My papaw introduced me to music and guitars from the time I could hold one. I have photos of us together with him playing his acoustic, and I have a toy guitar around my neck, trying to imitate him. He played gospel music with my grandma for many years, traveling around the south. He gave me my first real guitar around age 6. He also had a variety music show in Many, LA, and that’s where I took the stage to sing for the first time at age 8. My parents enrolled me in guitar classic guitar lessons age eight, but I just wasn’t interested in that style of music… I changed over to electric guitar lessons, but I guess I just wasn’t ready.

Flash forward to high school, I fell in love with the Texas Country Music scene. Gratefully, we have Banita Creek Hall in Nacogdoches. I was able to see artists like Cody Johnson, Parker McCollum, and Koe Wetzel before they were common names. I picked up my acoustic again and started teaching myself country music on the guitar.

2020 changed everything for me. COVID hit, but for me, it became even worse—on May 5, 2020, my family lost our home to a fire. Everything I had was gone—including my guitars. A family friend gave me one of his guitars, and I began getting together and playing with one of my good friends. I started playing and singing in my room and writing some songs. Music became comfort and peace in a time when my life was turned upside down.

My mom gave me a few hours at a recording studio for my birthday, and I recorded my first three songs. One of them was “Bonfire,” which I released in April 2022. The week before I left for college at Baylor University, the opener for Joey Greer at Banita Creek Hall got sick. Kevin White, the owner of Banita Creek, called me up and asked if I could open for him.

I was hooked the moment I took the stage!

I spent my Spring Break in 2022 in Nashville with a musician from Nacogdoches, Spence Peppard. Together, we wrote “I Could Use Some Rain,” and I released it a month later. Afternoon my freshman year at Baylor, I decided to return home to Nacogdoches to go to Stephen F. Austin State University so I could use my “college fund” for recording more music.

Honestly, I had no idea what to do next. I just started sending out emails trying to find places to play. Joey Greer helped with out with a few more opener spots so that gave me a boost.

I have released six more singles, three of these I wrote and arranged. I have opened for artists Joey Greer, Jon Stork, and the legendary Tracy Byrd, gracing stages at iconic Texas venues like Banita Creek Hall, the Dosey Doe, Love and War in Texas, and Old Coupland Hall.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Music is a crazy industry. I’m still just trying to figure it out. I’ve been fortunate to have lots of good support from people in music, my family, and good friends. We’ve worked together to try to learn the ropes. One of the struggles is just getting places to perform. There are so many great artists around Texas. We all want to play, so you just have to be patient to get the opportunities that come your way. I’ve had lots of people give me a chance.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Honestly, I’m still finding my identity as an artist. I’ve been playing around with different styles—trying more of a country-rock sound these days. I know I haven’t written or recorded my best work yet. It’s still to come. But at this point, I’m most proud of “I Could Use Some Rain,” and I most enjoy performing “Ain’t Enough Beer.”

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Creating music that people can connect with. Music has always been a huge part of my life. It’s my outlet for expressing myself and finding comfort. Music has saved my life on occasions and has comforted me in the worst of times. I want to make that music for people. The songs that people cry to and the songs that people have the best time of their lives to.

Pricing:

• Acoustic solo $300
• Acoustic duo $450
• Full-band shows start at $800

Image Credits
Keith Matchett
Clay Bostian