Stephanie Bennett

My name is Stephanie Bennett. I was born and raised in Coatesville, Pennsylvania a small town situated about forty-five miles west of Philadelphia and 120 miles north-east of Baltimore, Maryland. Coatesville was mostly famous for its thriving downtown, village-like communities, and flourishing iron industry, Lukens' Steel.

Lukens' was the oldest steel mill in commission within the United States. In 1995, it was one of the three largest producers of plate steel and the largest domestic manufacturer of alloy-plate. The company produces carbon, alloy, and clad steel plates along with stainless steel sheets, strips, plates, hot bands, and slabs.  

During the late 1960s, my father worked, tirelessly in that steel mill yet still had enough energy to practice and learn how to play the guitar.  Because of it, he was invited to perform with local quartet groups who boasted of sharing stages with main stream artists and performers.   

Music had always been a staple in the Allen household as mom sang with the local church choir and dad played with several groups. My parents were blessed to give birth to six children, me included. And although we never performed in public, they would often get the six of us together to practice hymns and quartet songs. We resisted. And though my mother insisted that we were going to “sing,” she never pushed us beyond us rolling our eyes to the ceiling and leaning against the wall in protest. We often got our way as practices would often end with an “okay, gone out and play.”  That was key, exposure without serious prodding, pushing, and arm twisting. 

During these short practices, I believe the seeds of music had been planted.  My first public performance was at the tender age of eight or nine. Met with reluctance and much fear, it was a nudge, a quick suggestion by my mother to sing a solo during morning services. Though I performed nervously and wildly off key, all I managed to hear was a beautiful voice resonating inside me like a finely tuned instrument.  I knew in that moment that I wanted to sing.    

During my teen years and early 20s, I would go on to sing and perform at many functions which included but was not limited to musicals, beauty pageants, church services, weddings, and funerals.  Back then, I rode high on the hog. But then one day, like a screeching halt to a fast moving car, I remember my dad telling me, “You don’t have any problems right now, but you just keep on living…”  Not sure what he meant in that moment, but as I journeyed through life, I discovered its true meaning. I had reached a place in life where I too had issues to work though. But, instead of internalizing them, I expressed them in song. But as I began to write and sing about my experiences and share them, some found it difficult to buy into my writing and singing style. 

For many years, I stopped performing in front of live audiences and committed solely to writing and singing to the four walls in my studio, praising God, expressing anxiety, and working out inner battles. I had come to the conclusion that my music was not suitable to perform in traditional church settings.  I would have continued in that vein had it not been for the voice of Wayne Dwyer, a motivational speaker who pleaded, “Don’t die with your music in you.” Those words resonated inside me just like that off-key song the day of my first performance. And now, here I am. Ready and available to share the music God has given me.  

Because of the nature and style of my writing, I began to consider the guitar as a good accompaniment tool. There was only one problem, I could not play the guitar nor did I know of anyone who could play the way I needed to hear it. So in October of 2014, I walked into a Guitar Store, tried on a few guitars and bought a shiny, blue Albeniz! It took a while, but I have learned to play one bluesy number that I love and will share with audiences where ever I go. 

In closing, I want to establish an interactive, singer/songwriter series into my live performances. The objective is to give the audience a chance to air their feelings and immediately construct lyrics out of their own experiences while the music plays. My mission in singing and performing is to minister and help others, mainly women going through similar issues I've faced. One of my favorite quotes, “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle,” pretty much embodies the whole of my existence. If I can help somebody as I pass along, then my living shall not be in vain.