Be Steadwell
Be Steadwell
Singer/Songwriter
- Sang behind Janelle Monae, Maxwell and Alicia Keys at the Women's March in DC
- Opened for Big Freedia at Honeygroove Fest 2017
- 2018 album featured on Bandcamp Daily
Be is a queer pop composer and author from Washington DC. Be's goal as an artist is to write love stories centering Black girlies, introverts and weirdos.
Be earned a BA in Black Studies from Oberlin College and an MFA in film from Howard University. Be's short films Vow of Silence and Black Tea (2025) screened in film festivals around the world, including Black Star, HBO OutFest, The Schomburg Center, Inside Out Toronto and The Bush Films.
In 2019, Be wrote and directed Dear Ex, the musical. Dear Ex imagines a queer black woman's experience of healing after a breakup. In 2021 Be released their pop and R&B album- Succulent. In 2023, Be joined the cast of Parable of the Sower the Opera by Toshi Reagon and Dr Bernice Johnson Reagon.
Be released their debut romance novel Chocolate Chip City in 2025. Be currently lives in Baltimore. They tour their music and work as an adjunct lecturer at Howard University.
Location: Washington, DC
- Photo (.jpg)
- Poster (.pdf)
- Contract Rider (.pdf)
- Tech Rider (.pdf)
- Stage Plot (.pdf)
Our next performer is Be Steadwell, a queer pop composer and storyteller who composes songs on stage using looping, vocal layering, and beat boxing. Using pronouns of “He, They, She, Be”, their original music features earnest lyricism and affirming queer content - combining activism and art! Be’s goal as a musician is to make other black girlies, queers, introverts, and weirdos feel seen and loved. Please welcome to the stage, Be Steadwell!