Pink Mercury

Reviews for the band Steph fronted for 13 years, called stephaniesĭd:

"...a rather transcendent set ...the band was different, melodic, quirky, and just plain good.... A sleeper act
which hit the mark with an almost Bjork-like panache." --Bonnaroo Beacon

"[For breakout song of the summer] Wilco's new song 'You Never Know' is a strong contender for me, as is stephaniesĭd's 'Bullet Train.'"--Dan Reed, WXPN Philadelphia

"Sharp writing!" -- David Dye, World Cafe/NPR

"The band's non-pandering brand of pop ...is intricately, artfully textural and full of surprises."
--CityBeat, Cincinnati

"...a mesmerizing mix of songs that can be hushed and calm one moment, and then suddenly dark and explosive the next." - Robin
Hilton, NPR All Songs Considered

"Although generally referred to as an indie-pop band, their sound is actually far more complex and compelling than that genre label implies.... interesting, experimental and creatively edgy."--Steve Shanafelt, Mountain Xpress, Asheville

"The songs move from intimate to anthemic... effortlessly poetic letters...acute insights ... shimmering synth hooks and smoothly shifting melodic textures... difficult to classify but easy to love." --Wayne Robins, Billboard Magazine

"This is world-class music, period. No labels necessary." --Fred Mills, Blurt Magazine

"Fierce, siren-like intensity...voracious appetite for rhythm... a band that isn't afraid to risk being innovative to put out something truly personal." --Harp Magazine (now Blurt)

"Dig It: A Scandinavian Pop princess gets lost in the American South and is rescued by a Jazz quartet."--CityBeat, Cincinnati

"They seem to have a thing for those instruments not easily associated with the musical zeitgeist... [three of their singles] would be on the podium if this were my Olympics and I was holding a collection of medals." --awmusic.ca

"Musical touchstones include Rilo Kiley, Bjork, Cocteau Twins, Radiohead, sharing with these bands the ability to create gorgeous melodies over deceptively smart and deep musical ideas... it's rock without the guitar solos, ...with melodies....hooks, and the gratifying payoff of the cascading chorus." -- WGSM, Greensburg, PA

Stephanie Morgan is a singer/songwriter as well as an actor for voice and screen. She has a Master's in Social Work and spent a bunch of time working with all kinds of people before launching as a songwriter. She likes being curious about the world.

After her band of 13 years, stephaniesĭd, disbanded in 2016 with a sold-out last show at the beautiful Diana Wortham Theatre their Steph's hometown of Asheville, Steph continued making music for “the darkness in you that's trying to find the light.” Or you could call it "unabashed soul music for seekers", or just "catchy, wrenching pop music", or something.

Her band, whatever configuration, possesses all the proper tools needed to create wonderful live shows and beautiful recordings. The music explores both the melancholy and triumph of human life and love, and she chooses players with big skills, minds and hearts, so they tend to be equally faithful stewards of large, intoxicating swells and infectious, danceable grooves. Recordings affix crunchy guitars, weepy synthesizers, vibraphone lines, thick bass notes, horns, strings, and Steph's vocals. The live show is unabashedly emotional.

Steph has formed deep roots in her chosen incubator, Asheville, NC, a town widely known for its musical soul, where stephaniesĭd sits in the Hall of Fame as "Best Rock Band" in the city's reputable Mountain Xpress poll.

Stephaniesĭd had songs featured on Showtime's "Nurse Jackie", NPR's "World Cafe" and "All Songs Considered", Team Ibex's "The Red Helmet", and The Weather Channel, and on numerous compilations. Steph's music was the subject of a rock ballet in Asheville, NC, and she founded the very first multi-venue music festival in Asheville, back in 2007, called POPAsheville.

Steph's debut solo album, Chrysalism, a transitional release featuring songs worked up by stephaniesĭd prior to its dissolution and produced by Matthew E. White and Spacebomb Records in Richmond, VA, released in the spring of 2017.

She now makes highly improvisatory music with Pink Mercury.