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 beatboxing. 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. Be’s thesis film Vow of Silence screened in film festivals worldwide, including Black Star, HBO’s OutFest, The Schomburg Center, and Inside Out Toronto—and it received Best Experimental Short at the Black Star Film Festival.
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 Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of The Sower the Opera by Toshi Reagon and Dr Bernice Johnson Reagon. In May 2024, Be will release their album, DEAR EX THE MUSICAL. Be currently performs their music internationally.
Be’s debut novel, Chocolate Chip City will publish thorough Bywater Books in 2025.
Follow Be at:
Twitter | @BeSteadwell
Instagram | @BeSteadwell
Facebook | /be.steadwell/
Website | //besteadwell.com/
