Angie Stevens & the Beautiful Wreck
Melding the influences of alt-country, indie-rock, contemporary folk, pop and honk-tonk, Angie Stevens has settled comfortably into the shoes of an Americana artist with soul-bearing, live performances that have captured audiences all over the map.
Originally from the Northern Plains, Stevens pulls her music from her own life experience: The 1991 suicide of her older brother (Steven, the root of Angie’s music and from where she gets her stage name), observing the struggle of her mother’s alcoholism and trying to find her own way through the day-to-day havoc she has physically, mentally and emotionally endured.
“I picked up a guitar when I was ten, fascinated by how something made of wood could understand my depressed brother more than any person I knew,” said Stevens. “I was drawn to it, but after he committed suicide the next year at age 21, I didn’t go back to it until [a few years later].”
At sixteen, Angie was gifted Steven’s Stratocaster guitar by her mother. She latched back onto the instrument, quickly relearning the frets. By the time she got to college, she was spending more time studying Minnesota’s open mic circuit than her curriculum, and soon found herself in Colorado, which she has called her home for over seven years.
“I think that since I’ve come to Denver, I’ve grown up a lot,” said Stevens in a 2006 Westword article. “I became a mom and could reflect on everything and not be so attached to it. Both [of my] records are totally reflective of my childhood, because I’m at the point where I can write about it.”
Stevens released debut album I’m Okay in 2005, following a consecutive release in 2006 of Stand Up Girl 1 & 2, which have since, been merged into one record; one showcasing rich instrumentation, the other; stripped-down tunes with Stevens’ poignant lyrics.
Since then, Stevens has grown from playing the open stage at The Mercury Cafe to headlining her own CD release at Red Rocks Amphitheater.
In 2005, “Noise:Floor,” featured Angie on their monthly music series on Comcast Entertainment Network. In 2006, Stevens snagged a sponsorship from Coors Brewing Company and quickly began adding a number of states to her tour schedule (CO, WY, NM, MN, WI, ND, SD, NE, IO, CA, TX).
In 2007, major media really began to take notice.
A Stand Up Girl video from the Stevens’ Red Rocks appearance showed up on “Pick of the Week” on Country Music Television’s “Top 20 Video Countdown.” In late summer, the HBO series Big Love featured Sleepwalking on one of their hour-long episodes. Stevens has since signed on with MTV to have her songs featured on the networks regular programming.
This year, Stevens has performed at both South by Southwest and the Sundance Film Festival. She has joined a national promotion by Immersive Studios (Boulder, CO) for The Seven Voices DVD concert series and In April, she and bassist, Susan Phelan, represent Colorado music in a New York City National Tourism Conference.
Holding the titles of Best Singer/Songwriter by Denver’s biggest alt-weekly, Westword and Hapi Skratch Entertainment’s Emerging Artist of the Year are sturdy examples of Stevens’ talent, drive and her ability to have expanded on her own hardships to something bigger than herself – to help her listeners relate on a much grander scale.
“It’s my soul being bared,” Angie confesses to Dave Herrera in the Westword article. “It’s me. It’s everything I’m about. Every time I sing, I go through that roller-coaster ride – and I think I need to. If I’m not feeling it, than I shouldn’t be playing it.”