By Perry Smith

Photo credit: Perry Smith.

Jack Stepanian (‘21) knew from an early age that music was much more than just a hobby. As a newly-crowned graduate from the University of Virginia, balancing academics with a growing music career, Stepanian is fully committed to pursuing his passion for music full-time. In an interview with The Match this spring, Stepanian shared details about his musical journey and his hopes for the future.

Stepanian’s passion for music all started back in his early childhood. He recalls picking up the guitar for the first time in 2nd Grade. It was through one of Stepanian’s neighbors, a musician, that he got his first lessons. “He was a student musician at Collegiate School and also my babysitter,” Stepanian said. “My mom would pay him to give me lessons for an hour. That’s how it first started.” Throughout Stepanian’s early years, he viewed music as a hobby, but it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic hit that Stepanian began really working on his career in music. “That’s when I really started focusing on my songwriting, my guitar playing, and my singing, more than just for fun. It became something I wanted to take seriously.”

Stepanian’s desire to pursue music after high school wasn’t an immediate decision for him. For his first year of college, Stepanian committed to Hampden-Sydney College to play lacrosse, but he decided soon after that he wanted to transfer to UVA for his sophomore year to be able to focus more on his music career. “One of the main reasons I transferred schools was to pursue music. I realized I couldn’t see a future without it,” he explained. Stepanian mentioned that COVID-19 was the first major turning point for his music journey, and transferring schools in 2022 confirmed that this was what he was meant to do. “I’m going to be a musician, a singer-songwriter, and performer my whole life.” 

Stepanian’s journey into songwriting began around the same time he started playing the guitar. He recalled that his first time writing his own song and performing was an additional verse to the classic Christmas song “Jingle Bells” when he was in 2nd Grade. “One time, I did a Christmas show at GlobeHopper, a coffee shop in Church Hill. That was probably my first experience performing something I had written.” Beginning around 2nd Grade, Stepanian would occasionally perform small coffee shop gigs around Richmond, including at GlobeHopper and Ellwood Thompson. 

By Middle School, Stepanian recalls that around 6th or 7th Grade, he had started writing his own original songs. When discussing his songwriting process, Stepanian described it as truly unpredictable, and it differs completely from song to song. “Each song is different. I start by either picking up a guitar or sitting behind a piano, and write the music first,” he says. “Once I have an idea of the music, I’ll come back and write lyrics on top of it.” The time Stepanian spends writing these songs varies as well. “I’ve written songs in 10 minutes, and I’ve written songs in 10 months, so it just depends.” 

Image credit: Jack Stepanian.

Currently, Stepanian has released one single, “Cheap Ride to Heaven,” and one five-song EP, Made For Us, all of which are available on Spotify and Apple Music. Out of these released songs, Stepanian’s most listened to is “Brighter Side,” which was the first song he ever released on streaming platforms.

Stepanian started performing with his current band, which includes drummer Eli Bemiss, the bassist Eric Willersdorf, and Jo Santos on the keys, in 2023 for larger audiences more consistently, once he moved to Charlottesville and started his second year of college. “We were able to get some shows around town right away,” he said. “Some of those early shows were pretty crucial, because they helped create this base of fans that developed, most especially around town.” As he keeps performing at different venues and for various crowds, Stepanian’s fanbase continues to grow further outside of the Charlottesville area. Building his fanbase is not an easy or quick process, but social media has been a great tool for reaching more people and gaining popularity. The Collegiate community is also a major portion of his fan base, as many current Collegiate students and alumni know about him and his career. Stepanian utilizes Instagram and TikTok consistently to help gain recognition. 

With each performance, his audience continues to grow, creating even more opportunities for him to take the stage. Recently, Stepanian has performed The Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville and The National in Richmond. Stepanian performed as the opener for The Stews at The National on March 1, which I attended. He attracted a variety of age groups, most of whom were high school and college students. His stage presence is enthralling, and the audience was captivated by the upbeat mood Stepanian brought to the venue. Caroline Zandler (‘25) was there and said, “The vibe of the performance was great, and everyone around me was dancing and singing along to his music.” Along with these recent performances, he has a very exciting gig coming up as one of the performers in the Iron Blossom Music Festival in Richmond in late September. This is a monumental step in Stepanian’s music career and will only help to further his success as a musician.

Pursuing a career in music while also being a full-time college student is a great deal to take on for one person, but Stepanian is grateful for it all. “I’m doing all things that I love and am so passionate about, whether that’s music or my history or Spanish major at UVA, so I don’t look at any of these things as chores,” he said. “I’m excited, really, with everything that I have going on, so it’s more of excitement for these things than it is a pain to be doing all of it.” Stepanian’s devotion to everything he has going on in his music and academic life is a key reason for his success thus far. Time management is also something very crucial for him, as he explained knowing how to balance all of these tasks effectively is important.

Photo credit: Perry Smith.

While music is a major part of Stepanian’s life, he has a variety of hobbies and interests outside of it. After he transferred to UVA from Hampden-Sydney, he joined the club lacrosse team to continue his passion for lacrosse. Along with lacrosse, Stepanian has other passions. “I love reading and writing, even if the writing isn’t music-based.” Stepanian also mentioned how much he loves spending time outdoors hunting or fishing with friends and family. Stepanian is one of four Cougars, including his older sister Megan (‘16), his older brother Nick (‘18), and his younger brother Tyler (‘23). His hobbies offer a balance to his busy schedule, providing him with inspiration outside of his music career.

When asked to give one piece of advice to those aspiring to pursue a music career, Stepanian offered a valuable outlook on the journey. “Realize what a gift it is to be able to create something out of nothing. Many people doubt themselves throughout the journey, but being able to create art is something special. Embrace it and enjoy the process.” He emphasized how important it is to have perseverance throughout this experience; no matter how many setbacks one faces, they should keep pushing forward, because the ability to pursue a passion is worth it in the end.