David StormBorn Leonard — An International Street Musician Childhood | Award-Winning Filmmaker | Musician | Poet | Producer David StormBorn Leonard, is an award-winning filmmaker, musician, poet, producer, who grew up as an international street musician whose creative journey has been shaped by resilience, adventure, education, and a lifelong connection to the arts. Born into a family immersed in music and performance, David’s artistic journey began long before he entered a classroom. As an international street musician, he has experienced the unique freedom of performing for audiences in public spaces and connecting with people through music across cultures and communities. His music and storytelling are deeply influenced by his experiences, travels, struggles, and the people he has encountered along the way. David’s story is also rooted deeply in New Orleans culture. Growing up, his family lived and traveled in a converted bread truck they called the Mississippi Queen, transforming it into an RV and using it as a home while parking in the historic Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans. That unconventional upbringing exposed him to the sounds, characters, traditions, and cultural richness of one of America’s most legendary musical communities. His life has also included extraordinary hardship. At one point, David experienced homelessness in Flagstaff, Arizona, living at approximately 7,000 feet above sea level and sleeping outdoors during the brutal 2004–2005 winter, including a historic blizzard. Rather than becoming the end of his story, those experiences became part of the foundation of his determination, creativity, and perspective as an artist. Academically, David has built an impressive record of achievement. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Delgado Community College in 2015 with an Associate of Arts in Performance and Media Arts, concentrating in Television Production. He continued his education at the University of New Orleans, where he earned President’s List honors and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Film. David later earned a Master of Science in Entertainment Business from Full Sail University, graduating with an outstanding 3.9 GPA. His academic and professional accomplishments have also included membership in several prestigious honor societies and organizations, including Phi Theta Kappa, Sigma Chi Eta, Alpha Lambda Delta, and the Golden Key International Honour Society. As a filmmaker, David is an award-winning creator whose work spans film, television, music, poetry, photography, and multimedia production. Through StormBorn Productions LLC, he continues developing projects designed to amplify creative voices, celebrate culture, and tell stories that might otherwise remain unheard. His music reflects the same spirit that has defined his life: unconventional, resilient, passionate, and constantly evolving. David StormBorn’s artistic world blends hip hop, trip hop, poetry, storytelling, experimental sounds, New Orleans culture, and personal experience, creating music that explores struggle, identity, love, humanity, imagination, and the search for truth. From growing up in a converted bread truck in the Tremé, while performing as an international street musician, to living in the historic Bywater neighborhood in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans, and surviving homelessness in the mountains of Arizona, earning multiple academic honors, becoming an award-winning filmmaker, and building his own production company, David StormBorn Leonard represents a life lived through creativity and perseverance. This isn’t simply music. It’s a journey. This is StormBorn.
