Biography
Although Steve Conn makes his home in Tennessee, the essence of New Orleans permeates every note he creates. Born in Louisiana, he channels his Delta upbringing through piano and accordion, crafting a singular mix of New Orleans funk and central Louisiana swamp boogie. Mastery of the New Orleans piano style hinges on absorbing the innovations of Professor Longhair, whose syncopated rhythms and arpeggiated boogie-woogie inversions forged the city’s enduring keyboard tradition. Demand for Conn’s talents kept him busy on the road; he toured with BeauSoleil while also appearing as a solo performer, collaborated with fellow Louisiana hero slide guitarist Sonny Landreth plus Nanci Griffith and Kris Kristofferson, and contributed to sessions with Kenny Loggins, Joan Baez, John Mayall, and the Dixie Chicks. His grasp of music developed organically from childhood piano lessons and the example of his father, the respected swing jazz violinist and bandleader. While Cajun sounds filled central Louisiana, Conn gravitated instead toward the 1960s soul of James Brown, Otis Redding, and the soulful R&B of Bobby “Blue” Bland. He pursued English literature at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, playing coffeehouses there in the early 1970s. After graduation he formed the band Clear Creek, which gained popularity in New Orleans. During those years in the Big Easy he crossed paths with Professor Longhair, toured with Gatemouth Brown, and worked at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. In 1980, weary of Louisiana’s heat, humidity, and conservative outlook, Conn relocated to Boulder, Colorado, where he performed with blues legend Albert King yet focused primarily on his own group, Gris Gris. He soon pivoted toward mainstream music, moving to Los Angeles to work with Sheena Easton and record alongside Bonnie Raitt. Five years later he returned to Boulder to serve as musical director for the weekly radio program E-Town, which showcased artists including Michelle Shocked, James Taylor, Shawn Colvin, and Lyle Lovett. In 1994 Conn settled in Nashville, contributing accordion, Wurlitzer piano, and Vox organ to sessions for Rodney Crowell, Southside Johnny, Tracy Nelson, Gretchen Peters, Jason Wilber, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, though he found little inspiration in the commercial country machinery that defined Music City U.S.A. He cited fellow iconoclasts such as Charlie Degenhart, Henry Elsesser, Jon Randall Stewart, Darrell Scott, and Sam Bush as both friends and guiding influences. Literature has shaped Conn’s growth as a songwriter more than any other force, encompassing William Faulkner, Ernest Gaines—author of A Lesson Before Dying and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman—Will Campbell, Robert Penn Warren, John Kennedy O’Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces, and the novels of Walker Percy. He issued River of Madness on Not Ready Records in 1994 and reached New Folk finalist status at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas in 1997. Conn appeared on Sonny Landreth’s Levee Town, Jason Wilber’s Behind the Midway, and Gretchen Peters’ self-titled album in 2000. His reading convinced him that a compelling story can connect with listeners; viewing himself first as a songwriter, he began composing material for a new CD in 2001.
Albums
