Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens earned wide recognition with 2005’s Illinois, a densely arranged album that reached number one on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers chart and produced his best-known single, “Chicago.” Born July 1, 1975, in Detroit, he is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose work has moved between lo-fi folk, orchestral pop, electronic production, Christmas music, and intimate singer-songwriter recordings.

Stevens made his solo debut with A Sun Came in 2000, released through Asthmatic Kitty, the label he co-founded with his stepfather. Across his recordings, he has often taken on a broad range of musical duties himself, including vocals, piano, guitar, banjo, bass, drums, keyboards, synthesizer, recorder, percussion, arranging, engineering, mixing, and production. His albums have ranged from the spare folk approach of Seven Swans to the electronic sound of The Age of Adz, while Illinois and the holiday collection Songs for Christmas draw on more symphonic instrumentation.

Religion and spirituality recur in Stevens’ writing, alongside a style that frequently combines acoustic instruments with elaborate arrangements and electronic elements. He has released ten solo studio albums as well as collaborative projects with other artists. His tenth studio album, Javelin, arrived in October 2023.

Beyond his own albums, Stevens contributed to the soundtrack for Luca Guadagnino’s 2017 film Call Me by Your Name. Its lead single, “Mystery of Love,” received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song and a Grammy nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nominations for his work.