Be Steadwell
Be Steadwell (They, She, He, Be) is a queer pop composer and storyteller from Washington DC. Be composes songs on stage using looping, vocal layering and beat boxing. Be’s original music features earnest lyricism, and affirming queer content. Be’s goal as a musician is to make other black girlies, introverts and weirdos feel seen and loved.
Be earned a BA in Black Studies from Oberlin College and an MFA in film from Howard University in 2014. Be’s thesis film Vow of Silence screened in film festivals around the world, including Black Star, HBO’s OutFest, The Schomburg Center and Inside Out Toronto.
In 2019, Be composed the music for The Alvin Ailey Dance Company’s production of “the gone”. Later that year, Be wrote and directed A Letter to My Ex, the musical. A Letter to My Ex imagines a queer black woman’s experience of healing after a breakup. In 2021 Be released their latest album- Succulent.
In 2023, Be joined the cast of Parable of the Sower the Opera by Toshi Reagon and Dr Bernice Johnson Reagon.
This spring, Be will release their album, Dear Ex: the Musical. Be currently works as a lecturer in Howard University’s School of Communications.