On February 13th 2006, Steph found himself in the Bethany Christian Centre; a 17-bed hostel for homeless men with addiction problems. He had previously been living rough on the streets of Edinburgh where he begged to feed his alcohol and drug addiction.
Steph had once been a promising classical guitar student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, but personal problems stemming from his teenage years led to mental health issues.
Steph found sanctuary in alcohol and drugs. These problems continued to grow and grow until they consumed him and became his sole priority in every aspect of his life.
During his 8-month stay at the Bethany centre Steph began to address his reasons for drinking and taking drugs. It was also during this time that he found the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Steph picked up the guitar for the first time in years and began to write songs about his experiences of substance abuse and being homeless.
It was the first time Steph had ever written songs or indeed sang anything in this musical format, and he found great comfort and healing in both writing songs and his faith in Christ.
After leaving the Bethany Centre in Edinburgh, Steph continued to write music and started performing in and around his local area. Later that year he had married and started a family which greatly influenced his writing. He began to network with other musicians and music lovers via the internet, and continued to travel to play gigs and various festivals.
In 2009 Steph released his debut album, the critically-acclaimed ‘Light in the Darkest of Nights,’ an album about his testimony of how he came to faith in Christ. Since then Steph has also released two other albums, ‘Deliverance’, and album about his experience of homelessness, as well as the highly anticipated ‘Kingdom Come’, an album about seeking the heart of God which involving several high-profile musicians within Scotland.
Steph’s profile continues to grow, as he seeks to spread the work of the Gospel wherever he goes. Most recently he signed a publishing deal with Integrity Music, and has had the privilege of playing all over the UK, Scandinavia, Poland and Germany in big and small venues.
He has also had the great honour of being involved with organisations such as CLAN Gathering, Origin Scotland, Tearfund, Open Doors and The Bethany Christian Trust, and has appeared on BBC Radio 2 numerous times, as well as on BBC Songs of Praise.
2015 looks to be an exciting year for Steph as he will be working in partnership with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). He is also crowd-funding new projects through music-platform Rocket Fuel (https://rocketfuelhq.com/stephmacleod).