Stephen Duros is a guitarist, songwriter and performer. He plays the Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar and Keyboards. Stephen utilizes the Flamenco Guitar as the main instrument for his hybrid style of instrumental music. Even though he isn’t a traditional Flamenco guitarist, he uses some of the the rhythms and roots he learned years ago when studying with Paco Arroyo.

Stephen was born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, 1975. Early on, he showed a precocious interest in everything musical. Keyboard lessons at 6, and soon after that, drums. By 10 he was competing annually in the Yamaha National Keyboard Festival.

Always open to new ideas & sounds, Stephen used his winnings to buy an electric guitar... which quickly became his favorite instrument. "The minute I felt that fret board, I was hooked," he says. During the teen years he formed various rock bands, developed his skills composing and arranging original material and performing in front of audiences.

But after a good friend introduced the music of Paco De Lucia and Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra, the influence of flamenco and acoustic guitar drew him to experiment with Spanish/Latin, Jazz and New Age Music.. While he initially went to L.A. to pursue his academic career and check out the music scene, it wasn't long before he was introduced to the guitarist Paco Arroyo, a master of Flamenco duende, who became a strong and valuable mentor.

"I went to check out some clubs in LA and met some players who suggested that I talk with Paco Arroyo who lives in Glendale, CA," says SD. "So I called him up and started studying with him. It was a serious eye-opening experience for learning flamenco rumba rhythms and other techniques. Paco, yeah... those sessions made an enormous difference in my playing." During this formative time, Stephen paid the bills by doing lighting design for various artists and nightclubs in Hollywood. Hollywood... a very good place for a young artist in his early twenties to be. And he got lucky again when he met the legendary drummer Simon Phillips (Jack Bruce, Pete Townesend, Toto, et. al.) who offered to record him. "We recorded two songs together in Simon's home studio," says SD. "It was an amazing learning experience for me... I was like a sponge soaking up all the knowledge." Not only did Phillips play but also there was some heavy lifting from renowned bassist Mike Porcaro of Toto.

Stephen was now moving a long way away from those Elysian days playing his flamenco on his grand father's large ranch in the Ozark Mountains. Occasional gigs at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey with his friend Dan Sistos doing originals and stretch jams of occasional Luna Negra requests was a good preparation for what was to happen next -- a chance encounter in 2004 with Ottmar Liebert in the parking lot of the Key Club after the maestro had just finished a gig.

"He gave me his first CD and I liked it," says OL. "When we lost our longtime LD (we worked with him 1994-2004) we called Stevo and he was willing to jump right in and tour with us. He did all the lighting for the Winter Rose tour with the string quartet and brought his guitar along. We jammed a bit and I really liked his groove and asked him to join the band. I also offered him a deal with SSRI”. After the Winter Rose tour he started recording "Thira" in January of 2006 and then continued to tour with Luna Negra from 2006 to 2009. Stephen has released two albums on OL’s SSRI label. “THIRA” and his first album “Miranda” as a download only album. 

Stephen is currently working on his 3rd album for his hybrid style of music