Music, culture, and the moments in between.

For Stevie Darnell, music never really disappeared. It just got quieter for a while. Not because he stopped loving it, and not because he made some dramatic decision to walk away. Life just started filling the space around it. School, work, church, collegiate ensembles, music directing, and everything else he was committed to kept moving. Somewhere in the middle of trying to finish what he started, his own music slowly moved to the backburner. Before releasing his latest single, “When Love Don’t Love Back,” the Central Illinois-based R&B artist had released music before. After deciding to go back to college and finish his education, things shifted. While working full-time and earning his Music Business degree at Illinois State University, Stevie was balancing the life he was building with the part of himself that still wanted to create.

Right now, I’m in the phase of my life where I, supposedly, need to have it all figured out. I’m fresh out of college, employed, and I live at home with my family. With my education complete and the start of summer, I am now constantly surrounded by my friends and family, and I’m so grateful to be back home and have the support systems that I do. I know after writing all this, it sounds like I feel secure and am in a good place (which I am, don’t worry). But after graduating last month, I’ve done a lot of reflecting.