A Go-To Producer, Burgeoning Pop Singer Stephens Now Takes the Mic

Steve Visneau
A Go-To Producer, Burgeoning Pop Singer Stephens Now Takes the Mic

Producer, songwriter and recording artist John Allen Stephens, 32, is arguably one of the most important people in Houston’s music scene. As the owner of Third Coast Recording Co., a private recording studio he runs out of his East End home, Stephens has produced albums for many of H-Town’s top acts, including The Suffers, Camera Cult, Space Kiddettes, Tee Vee and Mantra Love.


Stephens has an artist career of his own, though, and will drop his R&B- and pop-tinged sophomore LP this summer, an autobiographical album that delves into what the young musician has learned from his past mistakes. “I’ve been wild my whole life,” he chuckles, before mentioning that one of the singles from the album is titled “Molotov.” (Listeners will have to pay close attention to the lyrics to find out why.)

Stephens encourages fans to check out his Bandcamp, where he’s releasing lots of new tunes recorded during quarantine, on Fridays, when the site waives fees and sends 100 percent of revenue to artists. 

Click here to see the full 2020 portfolio.

Art + Entertainment

ONE OF HOUSTON'S most beloved restaurants has new owners — a couple that enjoyed dining there so much they bought it!

Keep Reading Show less

A hand-painted grand piano in the dining room

FOR ALL YOU Instagram lovers who eat with your eyes, the wait is over. Dallas-based GAP Concepts is laying on the feminine charm in The Shops at Arrive River Oaks (née West Ave). The visual feast that is PostScript flaunts pops of pink and interiors inspired by the caterpillar-to-butterfly metamorphosis. You’ll recognize the new restaurant’s style — and wonder if Barbie will wander in — if familiar with the group’s XOXO Dining Room Dallas.

Keep Reading Show less
Food