Ashleigh Stone is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, composer, and production leader whose career bridges intimate artistry and large-scale musical vision. Based in Lubbock, Texas, her work transcends genre—moving fluidly through folk, rock, jazz, orchestral, indie-pop, and beyond—guided not by category, but by emotional intent. At its heart, her music is a meditation on love, resilience, and the full spectrum of the human experience.
Her lifelong devotion to music began at age five with piano lessons and church singing, and quickly expanded into musical theatre, classical performance, songwriting, and live gigs across West Texas. A multi-year member of the Texas All-State Choir and a decorated UIL Solo & Ensemble competitor, she was performing full sets of original music by age sixteen. Her formal training includes classical vocal performance studies at Texas Tech University, followed by a Bachelor of Science in Sound Engineering (with a Minor in Piano Performance) from Texas State University in 2011, and a Master of Music in Composition completed in 2018.
While at Texas State, Stone served as President of the Grammy U Chapter, was a finalist in DownBeat Magazine’s Student Jazz Recording Competition, was a winner in The Recording Conservatory of Austin’s Singer-Songwriter Competition, and received Honorable Mention in the Texas State International Piano Festival Concerto Competition. She completed an engineering internship in the United Kingdom under the direction of internationally recognized studios Strongroom and The Way, further solidifying her technical expertise behind the console as well as on stage.
In 2009, she released her debut EP Phoenix, followed by Live at Firestation (2011). In 2010, Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October discovered her music and began inviting her to tour nationally as a support act. By 2015, Furstenfeld signed Stone to Up/Down Records, which produced and distributed her debut full-length album Elements. Recorded primarily as voice and piano—including sessions she tracked herself on a Mason & Hamlin grand piano in her childhood church sanctuary in Lubbock—Elements showcased a stark, intimate artistry that established her national presence.
Stone is also featured on Blue October’s Billboard-charting 2013 album Sway, contributing vocals to “Things We Do at Night” and piano to “Fear,” as well as appearing on the Amazon Music acoustic release of “Congratulations.” Sway debuted at #1 on the Billboard Alternative Chart and #13 on the Billboard Top 200. During this period, Stone performed the national anthem on ESPN for the San Diego Padres’ opening game, appeared on AMC’s Showville, and received national press coverage from outlets including Elmore Magazine, AllMusic, and The Vinyl District.
Her sophomore album, Dõs (released November 8, 2023), represents a sweeping evolution of her compositional voice. Expansive and genre-defying, the record weaves orchestral passages, vintage keyboard textures, virtuosic piano, multi-part symphonic vocal harmonies, multilingual lyricism, and bold rhythmic experimentation into a cohesive meditation on duality, internal and external revolution, and hope. Where Elements distilled her essence, Dõs reveals the breadth of her lifetime of study and lived experience.
As a composer, Stone’s portfolio includes operas, string quartets, chamber works, film scores, percussion compositions, and theatrical productions. In 2018, she was a finalist for OPERA America’s Female Composer Discovery Grant for her opera Oedipus and was elected to the honor society Pi Kappa Lambda. She performed as a pianist with the Austin Symphony and collaborated with director Isaac Burns to create an original score for Mr. Burns: A Post-Apocalyptic Play. Her commissioned orchestral work for the SMART Orchestra debuted in 2021, and her composition “Detuning” serves as the theme for the Amazon Prime streaming series Father Militant.
Beyond performance and composition, Stone has spent over 16 years shaping the music industry from behind the scenes. She has held multiple leadership roles with South by Southwest (SXSW), including Associate Production Manager for SXSW Music (2022–2023) and Festival Volunteer Coordinator (2025). In 2015, she founded SMFest, a city-wide, multi-venue festival in San Marcos, Texas, featuring over 100 bands, 50+ comedians and filmmakers, 11 venues, and an estimated 15,000 attendees in its inaugural year. She has also served as Production Manager and House Engineer for Prima Vista Lubbock, recording engineer for the 2026 Lubbock Music Now television special, and sits on the Sound Advisory Board for South Plains College.
Throughout her career, Stone has worked as a touring artist, composer, audio engineer, producer, vocal coach, piano instructor, classical accompanist, booking agent, and festival architect. Her professional affiliations have included Women in Music, the Austin Music Foundation, the Recording Academy, and BMI—reflecting her longstanding engagement across every layer of the industry.
Whether alone at the piano or producing a multi-stage festival, Ashleigh Stone creates spaces where music feels like home—honest, expansive, and deeply human. Recently, Stone was accepted to begin her journey towards a Masters of Divinity degree in Fall 2026 at Meadville-Lombard in Chicago, evidencing her commitment as a leader and force of kindness and justice. Although her path has never been linear, it has always been intentional: to connect, to elevate, and to reinvent what it means to be a modern female artist.