Draft:Stephan Nance
Stephan Nance (born July 23, 1987){{Cite news |last=Markstrom |first=Serena |date=July 20, 2012 |title='Impossibly kind' rocker sticks to his principles |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/%27Impossibly%2Bkind%27%2Brocker%2Bsticks%2Bto%2Bhis%2Bprinciples.-a0297453427 |work=The Register-Guard}} is a singer-songwriter based in Portland. They are known professionally as Sparkbird since 2021.{{Cite web |title=Music / Sparkbird - Stephan Nance |url=https://sparkbirdmusic.com/music |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Sparkbird - Stephan Nance |language=en-US}}
Nance is from Eugene, Oregon and graduated from North Eugene High School. They are openly non-binary and mentored a queer teen in Klamath Falls. Releasing their debut album in 2012 with A Troubled Piece of Fruit, Nance had mental health issues after the album's release, due to accusations from and frustration with the teen's parents.{{Cite web |last=Greco |first=Kelsey |title=Stephan Nance: ‘Overwintered’ [Song Premiere] |url=https://www.vrtxmag.com/articles/stephan-nance-overwintered-song-premiere/ |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=Vortex Music Magazine |language=en}} The album features a cover of Nance in Harlequin Duck makeup designed by paleontologist Lisa Buckley.{{Cite web |last=Izaguirre |first=Frank |date=2020-03-06 |title=The Impulse to Sing: Birders and Music |url=https://www.aba.org/the-impulse-to-sing-birders-and-music/ |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=American Birding Association |language=en-US}} This led to three years away from music. As part of a suggestion of self-care by a therapist, they decided to attempt birdwatching as a hobby. Nance cite an encounter with a western tanager and their process in attempting to identify its species to have made him invested in the hobby. They are known for including numerious bird references in their songs. Nance's live shows features approximately 30 bird references, which the audience is invited to count using programs that include more than 50 bird species. The audience member who was able to identify the most references occasionally gets prizes given out by Nance.{{Cite web |date=2019-07-12 |title=How Birding Ended This Indie Musician's Creative Block {{!}} Audubon |url=https://www.audubon.org/news/how-birding-ended-indie-musicians-creative-block |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=Audubon |language=en}}
Sparkbird was their second album, released in
Nance released Look at the Harlequins! in January, 2019 under the label.
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