Edinburgh Napier University

Music has always been an integral part of Steven Smith’s life. As a child, he remembers being transfixed by the songs playing on the radio, so much so that his family couldn’t get his attention when the music was playing. This led to Steven taking piano, guitar and saxophone lessons. However, he always had a desire to compose, and this sometimes put him at odds with his music teachers who wanted him to focus on practicing his scales. 

Steven joined Edinburgh Napier’s BA (Hons) Music programme and graduated in 2010. He then embarked on two career paths: one as a musician and the other as a teacher and youth worker. However, these roads have regularly intertwined throughout his career. 

In the initial years after completing his studies, Steven remained in Edinburgh and worked as a music tutor and performer. He was a member of a saxophone quartet alongside his former ENU classmates. They performed regularly at weddings and functions, and even undertook a tour of Spain! Steven also gigged frequently with a classical guitarist he met at ENU.

During the same period Steven progressed his career as a youth worker. He first showed aptitude for the profession in high school when he and a friend created ‘The Living Room’.

“We created a drop-in hub where students could come and have a cup of tea and a chat. We’d then give them some information to take away based on what we discussed. From here we created workshops and assemblies and ended up being recognised with a youth achievement award.”

Steven had developed relationships with numerous charities as part of this initiative. In his first year at university, one of these organisations – LGBT Youth Scotland – was looking for a part time drama support assistant. Steven took on the role and worked at the charity throughout his studies. After graduating he accepted a more senior role managing a team of youth workers and facilitating a year-round events programme. 

In 2014 Steven began a new chapter of his life and moved to London, ultimately staying in the capital city for a decade. During this time Steven continued to gain lots of experience in the charity, youth and music sectors. His roles included a primary school music teacher, and programme manager at Orchestras for All – the only non-auditioned and non-fee-paying youth orchestra in the UK. 

However, Steven’s passion is pop music, and he aspired to work in the industry. During his time in London, he made strides to make this dream a reality. To do this, he expanded his network and made industry contacts. At a music networking event Steven met a producer who understood his vision. The duo quickly struck up a partnership and continue to collaborate. Steven also needed to create a brand for himself which is how Venn Smyth was born. 

“Venn Smyth is a slightly more interesting version of my real name Steven Smith. I worked with a music management company who told me in my first meeting that I needed to change my name. Steven Smith is too common. If you try to google me nothing will come up. I tried a few names before landing on Venn. 

I use Venn diagrams a lot in my day job and it felt like a good fit for me. My music is in the middle and the outer circles are the different parts of me.”

Steven has released music under the moniker Venn Smyth for many years, with his debut album titled Master of Disguise released in 2023. He is also the founder of ‘Venn's Quop’ - a podcast and playlist dedicated to showcasing queer LGBTQ+ artists from around the world. This began in 2020 as a result of the lockdown. At the time, Steven had recently released new music and was regularly performing, however once the pandemic hit, everything ground to a halt. Unable to gig due to the restrictions, Steven needed another avenue to promote his music and connect with other artists. 

“I didn’t realise I was expanding my network as I was doing it. If you said to me, ‘right, tonight you’re going to a network event’, I’d be terrified. The idea of small talk is well out of my comfort zone – I never know what to say. But with the podcast, I am in control. I’m in an environment I feel comfortable in. It's important to find your reason for starting conversations”.

A decade after first moving to London, Steven decided it was time to leave. Unsure of what to do next, he volunteered at a yoga retreat in Gran Canaria, Spain for a couple of months in late 2023 to give himself some time to figure out his next steps. Fortuitously, Steven met a couple at the getaway who have spent the last 25 years turning a partially abandoned former cotton mill in Salford, Greater Manchester into a creative hub. The centre has artist studios, a bar and events space. Steven was offered a job as artist steward in residence. This would involve living at the centre and developing a programme of workshops and events. Steven accepted and took up the role in spring 2024. Before he could start, however, he had the small matter of competing to represent San Marino at Eurovision!

Steven has loved Eurovision since he was young. He knew that San Marino had an open competition, however it wasn’t until he began to think about leaving London and look for new experiences that he decided to apply. Steven made it through to the first and second rounds and was then invited to take part in the semi-final the following week. The only problem was that this required Steven to perform a brand-new track at the competition. He spent the train journey travelling from London to his new home in Manchester working on the demo. 

Una Voce per San Marino (A Voice for San Marino) took place in February. Steven wanted Scotland to be represented so his outfit consisted of a kilt and jumper that had Scottish and San Marino flags on it. Unfortunately, Steven didn’t make it through to the final, but this is not the end of his Eurovision journey. 

“Eurovision was a wild experience. I was gutted not to reach the final, but on reflection I understand what a cool experience it was. You never know what you’ll get from a situation and my time in the competition has opened me up to a whole new network of artists across Europe who love Eurovision as much as I do. 

“I’ve always been more interested in songwriting than performing and I now have a new goal: to be a songwriter for Eurovision.”