Stef Paglia

Show & Culture

Winner of the Belgian Blues Award for “Best Instrumentalist” 2024 Top 10 blues-rock guitarists in Benelux 2023 #3 in the Blues/Rock charts in the United States, 2023 Stef Paglia picked up a guitar for the first time at age 12. His father introduced him to the blues through guitar virtuoso Stevie Ray Vaughan. He immediately caught the blues fever, which would shape the artist he is today. He grew up in the Belgian city of Aarschot and, after finishing secondary school, enrolled at the PXL-Music conservatory in Hasselt (Belgium). He graduated and became a full-time musician. In addition to his own project, Stef is part of several touring European bands. From 2011 to 2026, he is a member of The BluesBones (winners of the Belgian Blues Challenge 2016), with whom he recorded seven albums. In 2019, he joined Kaz Hawkins (winner of the European Blues Challenge 2017) as a sideman and recorded three albums with her: Memories Of, Until We Meet Again, and Live in Brezoi Part 1. Over his career, Stef has also shared the stage with international artists such as Laurence Jones, Danny Bryant, and The Nimmo Brothers. In 2017, Stef started his own band under his name. With his partner Iris Teunissen, he began writing original compositions, leading to their first album, Never Forget, released in 2019 (recorded and produced at Superfly Studios in England by Wayne Proctor). This album marked the start of his solo career. The EP Light & Darkness was recorded in the summer of 2022 at Dunk!studios in Belgium and released in early 2023. The tracks revealed a new sound, and the EP reached #3 on the US Blues/Rock charts. In January 2026, a live album will be released, recorded at the Open Air Blues Festival Brezoi in July 2025.