Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathaniel Stewart.
Nathaniel, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started playing music when I borrowed my older brother’s guitar at age 12 (without his permission most of the time!). I think that the first song I learned was Wonderwall by Oasis. I started writing songs here and there, and realized that it was a unique way in which I could express what was going on in my heart and head.
Throughout my teenage years, I started singing, playing, and writing music with different friends in bands in addition to playing at church. Something I started to notice with the writing process was that when I did the work of articulating what was going on deep within my own psyche, other people connected with that.
When I was 19, I started working as a musician for a large church in San Diego, where on a given Sunday around 12,000 people would attend. I started to realize even more the effect that music has on people – that playing or singing a certain way can influence the way that people think or feel in a moment. It’s a very powerful tool in that someone’s heart can be opened up via a story told through song. I think that when we tell a story and do it well, people are welcomed into being a part of it. They can relate to it with their own experiences, thereby the possibility of empathy arises. Empathy is the gateway to action, which in turn can lead to change. I think we all can agree that this world needs change for the better.
Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t been a completely smooth road, but when I’ve talked to the people that I look up to, they all have had and still have struggles. For one, making art and doing it well is costly in the sense that it takes up a lot of time and money. I just recorded a short album (4 songs), and it’s taken over a year to write, record, and pay for everything, but I see it as an investment.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the LENA story. Tell us more about the business.
I’m no longer a part of that church I mentioned earlier, but I continue to write music under the name LENA, which means light. My goal is to write raw, honest songs that create space for people to feel what they need to feel and to talk about the issues we face in the world today.
For me, it’s less about competition with other artists and more about collaboration on bringing issues we need to talk about to light. I’m working on finishing and putting out a short album that will be available early next year.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The music industry is always shifting and changing, especially now with streaming and social media, etc. It’s hard to say what will come, but if I had to guess I’d say that weirder and weirder indie artists will become popular.
I say this because theoretically the middleman of the big label is disappearing, and artists have a direct passage to their fans with social media, Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.welcometolena.com
- Email: thebandlena@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/welcometolena/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welcometolena/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nathanielstwrt
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/nathanieljstewart/
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