J. Stephen Smith is an American singer-songwriter and music industry entrepreneur with over forty years of writing experience. His 2010 album Land of Plenty, recorded with The Redemption Center, received critical recognition — even as far away as Melbourne, Australia, where a reviewer compared his songwriting to the work of Mark Heard and T-Bone Burnett — and the Aquarian Weekly praised its “gritty hooks, intelligent lyrics and heartfelt vocals” in the tradition of Steve Earle. Drawing on the literary folk sensibility of Bruce Cockburn, the narrative grit of Steve Earle, the spiritual Americana of the late Mark Heard, and the fearless honesty of Lucinda Williams, Smith’s songs explore faith, loss, grace, and the human condition without easy answers.

In 1995 Smith founded Blind Records while living in Rochester, New York — initially as a platform to get unsigned and unheard artists airplay at local radio stations. The label grew to release several compilation albums under the series title The Immutable Record, and later released full albums by Jesse Sprinkle, Every Eye Closed, Mojo Heroes and The Redemption Center.