Owen Steel was raised between a farmhouse in rural PEI and New Brunswick’s rambling, seaside guest house, Salty Towers - the latter of which became a refuge for touring musicians over the years, many of whom instilled an interest of songwriting and performing within him.
Grid City Magazine reflects that, “his work has always carried with it a definitive experimental element that’s helped keep it ever so unclassifiable, yet familiar and undeniably something all his own. A fan of low-fi sounds, Steel's music has always maintained a certain degree of quirk...”
In January of 2020, Owen was invited to be the Dawson City Music Festival (Yukon) songwriter-in-residence, an opportunity which is offered to a singular Canadian artist once a year. With the pandemic altering the world shortly thereafter, Steel, like so many others, shifted gears and took a step back from playing live, opting instead to try his hand at running a small antique shop in St Andrews, NB.
2023 will see Steel stepping back into his element as a live performer, with multiple shows booked as a duo with Saint John guitarist, Sebastien Fleet; Recording sessions logged with Fredericton Psycho-boogie master, Keith Hallett; And a few other surprises coming down the pipe.
