Stephanie Briggs

By Traci Chudej
Photos by Sarah Griffin

All around the world there are different types of music - Jazz, Country, Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, Americana, Heavy metal and Hip Hop. Each listener has their own taste in what they like while relaxing, dancing or for a night out. Unfortunately in today’s world record labels dictate to artists what they want them to sing, how they want them to sing and what happens is the artist and their passion often gets lost and the passion can no longer be heard in their music. Not so for Stephanie Briggs. Stephanie Briggs makes music her way, every day. By telling a story and expressing her art, this fresh young artist is doing what she loves in an original way. Original music is often hard to find in a day when artists are selling out their beliefs and conforming to their music labels’ requests, making it impossible to distinguish one artist from another – then, in walks Stephanie Briggs.
Stephanie Briggs is not the typical child prodigy, singing in talent competitions since she was five, aspiring to be famous someday. No, Stephanie is a woman who didn’t even pick up a guitar until she was in college. “With a guitar I purchased with scholarship money, I began playing for myself,” says Stephanie. She did play clarinet in her high school band in El Campo, Texas. After graduating high school in 2000, she made her way to Texas State University, where she majored in art. “My dad was creative and artistic, so that’s what I wanted to do, but then I bought my guitar,” she says. Stephanie played for herself, writing music, and soon she was playing tambourine in a band from West Columbia. It wasn’t long before she found herself being encouraged to pick up the bass guitar in yet another original band.
At 27, Stephanie’s job has been her music for the last six years. Stephanie controls her website, finances and even takes her own photos. Stephanie played with Roger Wilcox until the band broke up, and has developed her own style and her own sound. She writes her own songs and gives every performance her all. While Stephanie did not grow up in New Braunfels, she calls this musically rich community home with her husband Matt. Matt does a bit of everything for Stephanie, playing whatever instrument she might need and supporting her in all she does. “We have lived frugally, but I would not want to do anything else,” she says. Stephanie and Matt worked at the Gruene batting cages, saving every dime to record her new CD. “This trip in the studio was enjoyable. We didn’t worry about time, we took our time, the freedom made me want to explode,” she says. Ray Wylie Hubbard recommended The Zone recording studio in Dripping Springs. Stephanie recorded her debut album SPARK, filled with folk music mixed with a little pop, poetic words sometimes spoken in a rap beat that even the “rap haters” will love, and acoustic songs showcasing her raw and fresh talent. The CD is full of original music that makes you think or just get lost in the words. “I made a commitment to myself and the music industry to always be original,” says Briggs.
Stephanie’s music isn’t the traditional music typically heard around New Braunfels, she says, “I write. I don’t follow suit, I enjoy music for it being music.” Stephanie’s sound is fresh, unique and speaks to the soul if you are a music lover. Maybe her sound will just catch your ear. Stephanie says excitedly, “Where do we go? We are looking for our niche and establishing a fan base along the way.” Stephanie Briggs is so down to earth and admits, “I write obsessively, if I have an addiction that’s it.”
On the weekends you will find Stephanie playing anywhere from New Braunfels to southern Oklahoma with a full band, and on Sunday nights you will often find her and her husband Matt playing an acoustic set at Adobe Verde. “It is so nice to just enjoy the music and acoustic on Sundays, after Friday and Saturday playing full band,” she says.
Stephanie is planning a tour up the coast of California, and in October fans can set sail for four days on the Stephanie Briggs cruise to Cozumel. You can learn more about this talented artist by checking out her website at www.stephaniebriggs.com, where you can keep up to date with Stephanie’s schedule and purchase her new album, Spark.

www.stephaniebriggs.com