Steph Stewart & the Boyfrends

Location: R.A. Fountain

from our promo for this concert

[Fountain, NC] Steph Stewart and the Boyfriends perform original alt-country and Americana Friday night at Fountain General Store.

Unshackled returns on Saturday with a new lineup for a concert of original and traditional bluegrass gospel and bluegrass.

Steph Stewart, an emerging artist from Durham, has been getting rave reviews and comparisons to Loretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and Tift Merritt.

“Her press has been amazing,” said Alex Albright, RAF’s proprietor, “especially considering she’s released only a 5-song debut EP and her touring has been limited mostly to the Carolinas and Tennessee.”

Stewart’s first single, “Wake Me Carolina,” was a finalist in “Our State” magazine’s songwriting competition, and her live shows with backup band the Boyfriends have been highly praised wherever she has played. 

Reviews tout her “sweet-sounding twang with a casual back-porch vibe” and have called her “the next great female voice in alt-country.” 

Stewart’s backup band, the Boyfriends, consists of some of the best session musicians in the Triangle: Omar Ruiz-Lopez on fiddle and mandolin, Mario Arnez on lead guitar, and Nicholas Vendenberg on upright bass.

Tags: acoustic Carolina, alt country, bluegrass, original