Stanford attended Philadelphia's University of the Arts for music. Stanford abandoned the academic world midway through his tenure for a life on the road with eclectic Philly rock act Townhall, a relationship that lasted five years. In 2006, Stanford gathered his songs, left his job at a laundromat, and moved to Los Angeles, where within weeks of arriving he landed a record deal with Epic Records. The soulful singer relocated to Smash/Mercury Records the following year, moved back to his native Philadelphia, and released his debut album, Big Drop, in June 2008. It was preceded by an EP and the lead single "My Own Worst Enemy" which was featured on VH1's "You Oughta Know" program. After his departure from the label, he formed his own independent label gbones Music and released the EP Roll Away in 2010 which featured his biggest single to date, "Meet Me in L.A." which garnered considerable airplay. He followed it up with the Las Palmas EP in 2012 and an artist residency at The Piano Bar in Hollywood. His second studio album, Something Better was released in 2014, and featured the track "Happy As You Are" which was featured on Amazon.com's "Artists on the Rise" series. Later that year, he premiered a holiday track "It's Christmas Time " for his fans. In 2015, he worked on the soundtrack to the feature film "The Grace of Jake" starring Jordin Sparks and Michael Beck. He released his new single "Pressure Makes Diamonds" in October 2015, and premiered it on Pat Monahan's show on SiriusXM's The Pulse. He premiered a new song "I Got Famous" on his official Soundcloud/YouTube accounts in May. In August 2016, he announced he had scored two original songs for the upcoming J.K. Simmons film "The Bachelors" set for release in 2017. The following month, he announced he had signed with Round Hill Music, as a songwriter. In a September e-blast, he announced a new single release for November titled "Starring You". In 2017, he continued to tour in addition to releasing three more additional digital singles "Better Man" "Future Classic" and "Moving On." In 2018, his song "Magic Hour" received placements in the television seriesKevin Saves the World and Chicago P.D.. He released a new digital single "Holding On" on May 23, 2018. In August, he announced a new EP recorded in an old Los Angeles church titled Alone at the Pilgrim set for release in November. Additionally, he premiered a new digital single titled "Rebellionaire" on October 10. In November, he began premiering a series of videos from the Alone at the Pilgrim sessions each week produced by TAR+FEATHER, leading up to the release of the EP on December 7.
Personal life
He's married to his wife Nikole, and they welcomed their first child, a son named River in March 2013. Their second son, Arrow, was born on March 24, 2015.
