The Story Behind Steve Smith… When it comes to West Virginia, people think Country Roads, mountains, coal…and MUSIC. Those are the roots that gave Steve Smith the depth he performs and writes songs with today. The story of his first banjo, a borrowed instrument he took to immediately, but in reality, one his family couldn’t afford. And at the age of 12, it just didn’t seem doable. But one look at his dirt bike and the owner of the instrument seeing Steve’s enthusiasm, a trade was made, and a musician was “born”.

He not only became proficient enough to play that banjo at festivals all over the region, he learned the art of making them, too. That first $800 banjo is still in Steve’s possession, and it was the one that won him the banjo pickin’ contest in Friendsville, MD in 2006. Not bad for a kid who learned by watching other picker’s fingers and listening to the radio in his daddy’s car!

That banjo gift got him an invitation by Rhonda Vincent to play her Bluegrass Cruise to the Bahamas. It started an impromptu jam session with Charlie Daniels in a western store in Nashville. It also landed him a gig as the Official Banjo Instructor at West Virginia University through their bluegrass programs. And as a craftsman, a banjo he built was chosen by Earl Scruggs to play at a South Carolina Gathering. It played so well that Earl insisted on signing the instrument…inside the rim and on the head. Needless to say, Earl was impressed saying “he had signed a lot of banjo heads in his day, but he wanted people to know that he signed and played THAT one!”

The banjo has certainly taken Steve more places than the dirt bike he traded for it! As an inducted member of the Wheeling Jamboree, Steve is honored to be a part of musical history with the second longest running country music broadcast in America, second only to the Grand Ole Opry. That also led to a popular podcast and morning radio show with his wife, KT on WWOV in Wheeling. Speaking of his wife, KT, she is his team captain on his musical journey.

Steve is transparent when he talks of his first marriage ending leaving him ‘heartbroke-mad’ at God. His dream of being the best dad and husband did not work out as he had planned. He describes it as life happened. When you ask about his love story with KT, Steve laughs about the prayer he sent out to find his perfect mate. “God, I don’t know who she is. I don’t know where she is. But I need somebody. I am so lonely.” He took a chance with online dating on Christian Mingle. He saw her but she didn’t live in the same town. Her “About” section on the app read like a novel. His… not so much. She answered his message with, “Come on over and take me out to dinner.” They dated two years before getting married and they are literally writing their history like a roadmap of romance, adventure, and music. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

Six months into marriage, Steve was diagnosed with Blastomycosis, a fungal infection that stemmed from his day job working around natural gas and breathing in the fungus that can occur when the gas meets water. He spent 15 months in treatment and almost died. He believed in the oath, ‘til death do us part’ but he wasn’t expecting it to happen so quickly. They weathered the storm, and Steve made a full recovery, but the gratitude is in the spirit of songs he writes and records.

Musically, Steve shares his first visit, green as a gourd, to Nashville when he was only 18 years old. He was in a motel with only a Gideon Bible and a Yellow Pages…no internet. He looked at recording studios and saw Beaird Music Group.

He didn’t know that Larry Beaird was one of the top studio musicians, heard on so many of the hits coming out of Music City in the 80’s and 90’s. But just like God’s plan for that banjo he couldn’t afford, and the woman who would be his perfect mate, He had a plan for a great musical connection as well.

While so many get into the wrong hands when it comes to recording and producing a project, Steve met an honest man with talent and connections to get him started and Steve has continued to record with the same team for four albums.

Music has always been more than entertainment to Steve. He has used his gift as a calling to help people. In 2020 he and KT were introduced to Legacies Alive a non profit that provides unwavering support to Gold Star Families. A GSF is one that have lost an immediate family member in the line of duty in military service. Steve was so taken by the courage, resilience, and sacrifice of these families, he removed his home-pride West Virginia hat and donned the Legacies Alive cap to honor the families sharing their cause wherever he goes. He not only wears the hat, but composed his song, The Brave, featuring CMHoF & Opry member Charlie McCoy for the organization and the families it serves.

Steve Smith and his band bring a tour bus of talent to fairs, events, churches, and festivals with a family friendly show filled with familiar covers, originals that sound so familiar you’d swear they were hits, and adding some bluegrass and gospel to complete a fun celebration onstage anywhere they go! They also bring a digital promotion team to help promote not only their performance but the event where they are playing. Steve Smith and his band are a win-win wherever they are booked!