Taking the Nation by Storm, South Florida’s Katie Steel is Bringing It

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Jan. 10, 2014 - PRLog -- It’s a brand New Year and a brand new Katie Steel.  At only 15, this Broward teen is already a pro at concert tours.  Last year, she dazzled audiences in several cities as a headliner of the Teen Nation Tour, and she is kicking off 2014 with an encore schedule of performances.  Steel, will headline the Teen Nation Stand and Defend No Bully Tour with the guy duo South Six 5.  The tour, a grassroots peer to peer bullying awareness movement, hits stages in elementary and middle schools, as well as festivals twice a year in more than 10 states.

         This leg of tour will focus on reaching some 20,000+ students in the San Antonio, TX area January 20 through February 3.  Setting the stage afire with Steel and South Six 5 are teen performers from every corner of the country and Canada: Tristan Blaine, Katie Akin, Kira Silverberg, Faith Marie, and Nic Neufeld.  TNT is produced by Wilson Star Entertainment. Producer Lee Wilson put the concept in motion after his son was injured in a school attack, then further victimized when the attack was broadcast on YouTube.

         Steel was compelled to lend her voice for kids like Wilson’s son and others.  “I had a dear friend who was bullied.  I never knew what to do to help her. We lost touch with each other in elementary school; when I saw her again in middle school, her whole appearance and personality had changed. It was dark and sad; I almost didn’t recognize her. That is what bullying does.”

         In recent years, bullying has also been attributed to several suicides. Steel says she believes the tour brings a ray of light and hope to those being bullied. “I remember meeting a young lady who had stopped singing, because kids bullied her. She said we encouraged her. When I hugged her, all I could say was never lose your voice. It tears my heart apart every time I hear about someone my age, or even younger feeling like the only way they could stop being bullied is taking their life.”

         Steel became a part of the anti-bullying effort movement by becoming a Peace Ambassador with National Voices for Equality, Education, and Enlightenment in early 2013. Her commitment to being a voice of change through the organization, garnered her the position of NVEEE National Spokesperson. NVEEE is a Fort Lauderdale-based anti bullying, suicide, and sexual assault organization; Founder Jowharah Sanders says Peace Ambassadors, "serve as agents of change and serve as advocates, upstanders, and leaders in the fight against bullying, suicide, and violence in their various schools and communities."  As the National Spokesperson, Steel will expand her work to encourage support of those who have been bullied, provide anti-bullying information, and be a source of hope for youth in various schools and non-school based anti-bullying programs.

         Whether, headlining the Teen Nation Tour, or blowing audiences away with her vocal styling on behalf of NVEEE, Steel’s love for singing is evident.  The tour and NVEEE, however, are not the only things Steel has her eye on.  While continuing to promote her first single, “Tell Me I’m Pretty,” she is also embarking on something most young performers only dream of – working with two of the hottest names in the music industry.  Steel, has been tapped for studio work with the winner of the first season of NBC’s The Voice, Javier Colon.  Colon’s singles, “Come Through” and “If I Never Get to Heaven” continue to be chart-climbers. Teaming with Colon could be considered the frosting on the cake; and if it is, then getting the opportunity to wrap one’s vocals around lyrics by highly sought after songwriter Heather Bright is certainly the cherry on top. Bright, is widely known for penning the current radio hit "Stay the Night" by Zedd featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore.  With these powerful partnerships and another national tour on tap, it’s safe to say we are going to be hearing a whole lot more about Katie Steel.  Details on the tour, and her work with anti-bullying, are available at Steel’s re-imagined website - www.katiesteel.com.