BIG STAGE MONDAYS Hit Songwriters Show Presented by Backstage Nashville feat. Dave Pahanish , Ray Stephenson , Haleigh Martin & Shawn Lacy

It is a rare creative soul who can work at the highest artistic levels in two distinct disciplines. Ray Stephenson has just this kind of soul.

Wildly literate, utterly artistic, impossibly ambitious, absolutely a slave to his art, the South Georgian is completely committed to the truth. He is a world class  songwriter, recording artist, an intensely captivating live singer, guitar player, record producer & virtuoso painter. Add in the ability to express the uniquely personal in a universal way, and you have a true artist. 

Ray Stephenson does exactly that in his paintings, his songwriting & his performances. 

As a musician, Ray Stephenson is a Grammy Award winning, Platinum selling singer/songwriter from Nashville, TN. His successes include winning CCMA Songwriter of the Year in 2013, writing the title track of Kenny Chesney’s album Hemingway’s Whiskey, and writing the Blake Shelton/Miranda Lambert duo and album title track, Red River Blue. Both reached #1 on the Billboard Album Charts and were certified Platinum. Some of the most revered and iconic legends in Country Music have recorded his music, including Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Merle Haggard. He’s been a part of 4 Grammy nominated projects and 1 Grammy winning project (Guy Clark’s final recording, My Favorite Picture Of You, which brought home the Grammy “Best Folk Album” in 2015).

​

As a painter, Ray's paintings are hanging in the homes of collectors like Willie Nelson and Oprah Winfrey.  In 2012, Ray became the Official Painter of the Monsters of Rock Tour. He’s been featured at the Bluebird Cafe, Ascend Amphitheater, Nashville Airport, the Country Music Hall of Fame ,Gaylord Hotels, Aloft Hotel, 3rd and Lyndsley, CMT and Two Old Hippies. He's had feature articles in Nashville Arts & Southwest Georgia Living magazines.

His paintings explore his love of color, texture, music & nature. Ray’s artistic influences are found in the paintings of Odd Nerdrum, Gustav Klimpt, Rembrandt and Andrew Wyeth. His fine art is highly sought after by art collectors & is a part of several prestigious private collections. He has exhibited his work in Nashville, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Atlanta, & the US Virgin islands.