Biography
Who is Steve Grand?
Early years in Chicago
Steve Grand grew up in Lemont, Illinois. He describes this town as a quiet suburb outside of Chicago. He started writing music at age 11. After graduating from Lemont High School, he attended Belmont University in Nashville for one year. Later, he returned to Chicago to enroll at the University of Illinois but left to pursue his music career.
He counts many rock and pop artists as influences, such as The Beatles, Elton John, and Green Day. His father inspired his deep appreciation for music by telling stories about songs and how they connected to specific life moments.
Rise to internet fame
Before his musical breakthrough, Steve worked as a model and performed piano at churches and clubs in downtown Chicago. He wanted to release original music rather than just cover songs. In July 2013, he uploaded the music video for his song All-American Boy to YouTube. He produced this video himself for 7,000 dollars.
It gained over one million views in just eight days. This success led to appearances on national programs like Good Morning America and CNN. Filmmaker Jason Knade directed and edited the project. The video depicts a young man in love with a male friend and features a campfire setting.
Albums and artistic growth
Steve funded his debut album, All-American Boy, through a successful Kickstarter campaign. Backers pledged over 326,000 dollars to support the project. The album was released in March 2015. He followed this with his second album, Not the End of Me, which came out in July 2018. This record reached number 10 on the Billboard independent charts.
He also released singles like Stay and Time. He collaborated with singer Eli Lieb on a duet titled Look Away in 2016. He occasionally performed in Provincetown, Massachusetts, during the summer months of 2017 and 2018.
Activism and international projects
He has been an active figure in the LGBT equality movement. He has performed at various Gay Pride Festivals across the United States, including WorldPride Toronto in 2014. In 2015, he traveled to Europe as an Arts Envoy for the U.S. State Department.
He promoted LGBT rights in Austria, including giving a talk for the It Gets Better project. He performed concerts for the LGBT community in Vienna and Graz. He also appeared at Europride in Riga, Latvia. These opportunities allowed him to use his platform to support gay causes internationally while engaging with diverse audiences.
Personal life and experiences
Steve realized he was gay by age 13. He struggled to find acceptance from his family and their Catholic faith. During high school, he spoke with a Christian therapist who held the belief that he would be happier living a heterosexual life. He has clarified that this experience was not what people typically know as conversion therapy.
He came out to friends beginning in the eighth grade. He has spoken openly about the difficulty of coming out to his parents as a teenager and the emotional impact it had on his family relationships.
Birthday and age
Steve Grand was born on February 28, 1990, which makes Steve 36 years old today. That birthday falls under the Pisces sign. Steve shares the date with 37 other famous people.
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