‘we’re all in a prison, if we allow that’

“Singer-songwriter Steve Griggs wears his hair long. It’s not because he’s an ‘outlaw’ country artist; his hair reflects his Cherokee heritage.

“‘Long hair allows you to sense your surroundings more than short hair,’ he explained, adding that the influence of his Cherokee grandmother — his dad’s mother — is among his primary influences. How Native Americans comb, braid, tie, and color their hair all has significance. Often, the length has spiritual connotations, too; it does for Steve, who’s part of the lineup for the March 1 Floresville Opry…

“She (Elsie Houston) admires his (Steve Griggs) humility, and the way he stops to help others along the way.

“The two were asked recently to be part of a pilot film project, ‘Forward,’ about homeless veterans.

“The project touched them deeply, as both hold great admiration for our nation’s military. Steve’s father, a highly decorated Navy veteran, served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Steve’s two older brothers served in Vietnam.

“Steve and Elsie recently returned from the 2018 Ameripolitan Awards in Nashville, where Steve was nominated for Best Outlaw Male Artist.

“His album, ‘Fort Worth to Bakersfield,’ is an Academy of Western Artists nominee for ‘Pure Country Album.'”

Opry artist talks music, faith, freedom
By Nannette Kilbey-Smith
Wilson County News
2018-02-21

Excerpts from the article posted on Wilson County News website. See the full article at:
https://www.wilsoncountynews.com/news/2018-02-21/South_Texas_Living/were_all_in_a_prison_if_we_allow_that.html
Title and Article: Copyright 2016-2018, Wilson County News, All Rights Reserved

From Antonio Edward, Executive Producer of F O R W A R D: We met Steve Griggs and Elsie Houston at the Shiz Annual Red Carpet Event 2017 (SARCE 2017). Velia Dana, a good friend of theirs, invited them to our red carpet event. Since then, we wanted Steve Griggs to be our star singer in a movie we were producing called 8 Bucks. While we are still getting funds for the 8 Bucks production, I asked both Steve and Elsie to be in the F O R W A R D Series Concept Trailer. I did not know this until the day of the shoot, but they just got off the plane that Saturday morning (January 06, 2018), drove from the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Buda, TX which is a 4 hour drive, wrote an original song “Moving Forward,” and performed it for us for the rolling credits of our trailer. You can see an edited version of the song at the end of the trailer here.

“Moving Forward”
Written by Steve Griggs
Co-written by Elsie Houston
Performed by Steve Griggs
Courtesy: Raincrow Records
Publisher: Kituwah Publishing
Registered: Broadcast Music, Incorporated (BMI)

Steve is producing a new album featuring this song. We will post the link to the album here on this site and on our Facebook Page as soon as it is available. Thank you Steve Griggs and Elsie Houston for being part of our project. We really appreciate the hard work and endurance after your long flight, as well as the inclusion of your song onto your next album. We cannot wait! And we will be calling you back in future productions. Thank you Velia Dana for introducing us.