Cam Live at The Bluestone

CAM will be performing live at The Bluestone on Thursday December 1st

Doors for the show will open at 7pm

Opening Artist: TBA

Tickets available for $15 in advance and will increase to $20 day of show

General Admission Tickets are standing room only!

PURCHASE TICKETS

CAM.

THE SIMPLE, THREE-LETTER NAME IS BOLD. AND THAT RINGS TRUE TO THE ART, AND THE HEART, OF ONE OF COUNTRY’S SHINING NEW ACTS.

THAT BOLDNESS IS EVIDENT IN NEARLY EVERY STEP SHE TAKES. CAM MAKES IT A HABIT TO WEAR EYE-CATCHING YELLOW EVERY TIME SHE GOES OUT IN PUBLIC. THE STRINGS AND ACOUSTIC GUITAR IN HER BREAKOUT #1 PLATINUM-CERTIFIED SMASH, THE GRAMMY AND ACM AWARDS NOMINATED “BURNING HOUSE,” ARE STIRRINGLY FRAGILE, A BRAVE COUNTERPOINT TO THE PARTY ATMOSPHERE OF MODERN COUNTRY. AND SHE SINGS WITH A DYNAMIC CLARITY THAT’S BOTH DISTINCTIVE AND FRIENDLY.

CAM BACKS UP THAT BOLDNESS WITH A FIRM DELIVERY, EMBEDDING HER MATERIAL WITH A RINGING CONVICTION THROUGHOUT THE 11 SONGS ON HER ARISTA NASHVILLE/RCA RECORDS FULL-LENGTH DEBUT, UNTAMED. RELEASED DECEMBER 11, 2015, HER NEW ALBUM BURST ONTO BILLBOARD’S TOP COUNTRY ALBUMS CHART AT #2 AND EARNED 2015’S BEST FIRST-WEEK ALBUM SALES BY A DEBUT COUNTRY ARTIST.   WHETHER SHE’S SINGING ABOUT FRESH LOVE, BROKEN HEARTS OR DIFFICULT PERSONAL CROSSROADS, SHE’S CLEARLY LIVING THE EXPERIENCE FOR THE THREE OR FOUR MINUTES SHE’S IN IT. ACTUALLY, SHE’S RE-LIVING THE EXPERIENCE, BECAUSE THE EMOTIONS IN EVERY ONE OF HER SONGS COME UNAPOLOGETICALLY FROM HER SINGULAR INTERACTION WITH THE WORLD.

“THERE’S A LOT OF WORK INVOLVED IN BEING AN ARTIST, AND I’M SO HAPPY TO DO IT,” SHE SAYS. “BUT IF I’M GOING TO INVEST MY TIME IN THE WORK PART OF IT, THE MUSIC JUST HAS TO BE ME.”

THE “ME” THAT CAM PRESENTS TO THE WORLD IS MULTI-DIMENSIONAL. SHE’S POWERFULLY VULNERABLE IN “BURNING HOUSE,” FIERCE AND DEFIANT IN “RUNAWAY TRAIN,” EFFERVESCENT AND CAREFREE IN “MY MISTAKE.” AND THE EMOTIONS IN THE MATERIAL AREN’T THE ONLY THING THAT SEPARATES THOSE TITLES – EVERY SONG INCORPORATES A DIFFERENT SONIC PALETTE. WHILE ONE MIGHT RELY ON POLISHED POP INFLUENCES AND MELODY, ANOTHER YIELDS A PIANO BAR FEEL, ONE CLEVERLY INFUSES A BIT OF GREGORIAN CHANT, AND YET ANOTHER USES STEEL GUITAR TO CREATE A CLASSIC-COUNTRY MOOD.

THAT WIDE-RANGING ARTISTRY IS KEY IN CAM’S APPROACH. INSTEAD OF LIMITING HER CHOICES TO MAKE AN EASILY DEFINED PRODUCT, SHE’S PUT FAITH IN THE UNIQUENESS OF HER VOICE, ALLOWING THAT TO BE THE DEFINING CHARACTER OF A PLIABLE, ADVENTUROUS MUSICAL PERSONA.

CO-WRITING EACH OF THE SONGS ON UNTAMED, CAM SAYS, “THE COHESIVE PART IS ME AND MY VOICE. THE MUSIC ALL STEMS FROM THE SAME PLACE, AND IT ALLOWS YOU TO GO IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS WITH THE CONTENT AND THE LYRICS AND THE KIND OF VIBE THAT’S GOING ON IN EACH SONG.”

ADVENTURE AND UNIQUENESS WERE PRACTICALLY BUILT IN TO CAM FROM THE OUTSET. CAMARON MARVEL OCHS WAS BORN IN THE WATERFRONT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TOWN OF HUNTINGTON BEACH, SHE SPENT BIG CHUNKS OF HER YOUTH AT HER GRANDPARENTS’ HORSE RANCH IN OCEANSIDE, WHERE THE TRACTOR WAS RED AND THE BARN WAS BLUE. HER GRANDFATHER WAS BOTH A COWBOY AND AN ENTREPRENEUR – HE STARTED HIS OWN BUSINESS, BUILDING WOODEN OFFICE DESKS – AND HER PARENTS WERE SIMILARLY NON-CONFORMIST. HER FATHER GREW UP IN A MILITARY FAMILY AND HAD THE GUTS TO MOVE OUT ON HIS OWN AT AGE 17, A TIME WHEN MOST KIDS ARE LOOKING TO DAD FOR A FEW EXTRA BUCKS TO PUT GAS IN THE CAR AND SEE A MOVIE. HER MOTHER HAD AN EXECUTIVE POSITION IN CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AT A TIME WHEN THOSE JOBS WERE RESERVED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY FOR MEN. IN TURN, THEIR INDEPENDENT, SELF-RELIANT STREAK WAS INSTILLED IN CAM, PARTICULARLY AFTER THE FAMILY RELOCATED TO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

“WE’D CLIMB REDWOOD TREES IN THE BACKYARD, AND I WOULD CLIMB SUPER HIGH AND GET STUCK,” SHE RECALLS WITH A LAUGH. “I’D ASK MY DAD TO HELP ME DOWN, AND HE’D SAY, ‘WELL, I CAN’T. YOU’VE GOT TO GET YOUR OWN SELF DOWN. BUT I’LL STAND HERE AND CHEER YOU ON.’”

THERE WAS PLENTY TO CHEER. FOR EIGHT YEARS, BEGINNING IN FOURTH GRADE, CAM WAS PART OF THE CONTRA COSTA CHILDREN’S CHOIR, WHICH SANG IN 14 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. THE CHOIR TOURED INTERNATIONALLY, PERFORMING IN SUCH EXOTIC LOCATIONS AS CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL IN ENGLAND, NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS AND THE VATICAN.

THROUGH THAT PROCESS, CAM LEARNED MUSIC THEORY, HARMONY, STRUCTURE AND TONE. AND SHE LEARNED THE JOY OF BEING PART OF A TEAM.

“I LOVED SINGING IN GROUPS,” SHE SAYS. “I DON’T NECESSARILY LIKE TO BE THE CENTER OF ATTENTION.”

WHEN SHE HEADED OFF TO COLLEGE, CAM STUDIED PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS. THE SCHOOL IS CENTERED IN FARMLAND OUTSIDE OF SACRAMENTO, PART OF THE SAME RING OF SMALL-TOWN SUBURBS THAT INCLUDES FOLSOM, A TOWN THAT WOULD BECOME VITAL TO THE LEGEND OF JOHNNY CASH.

THE SETTING WAS CRUCIAL. CAM HAD ALREADY BEGUN TO CONNECT TO DIVERSE BRANDS OF MUSIC – SHE WAS DRAWN TO STRONG, INDIE-ROCK FEMALES AND TO SINGER/SONGWRITERS IN HER CASUAL LISTENING AT THE SAME TIME SHE WAS SINGING CLASSICAL MUSIC WITH THE CHORAL GROUP. BUT COUNTRY MUSIC WAS A BIG PART OF THE SOCIAL SCENE AT DAVIS, AND IT BECAME AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN HER SELF-EXPRESSION.

“VARSITY BLUES CAME OUT, AND EVERYBODY WORE COWBOY BOOTS TO SCHOOL,” CAM RECALLS. “AND EVERYBODY LISTENED TO TIM MCGRAW AND THE DIXIE CHICKS AND SHANIA TWAIN.”

THAT INCLUDED CAM, WHO IDENTIFIED WITH THE VALUES OF HOME AND COMMUNITY THAT ARE CENTRAL TO THE GENRE. THAT EMOTIONAL CONNECTION WOULD PAY OFF WHEN SHE PURSUED MUSIC PROFESSIONALLY. WHILE LIVING IN LOS ANGELES, CAM MET A KINDRED SPIRIT IN UP-AND-COMING SONGWRITER/PRODUCER TYLER JOHNSON (TAYLOR SWIFT, P!NK). A SONGWRITING PARTNERSHIP WAS BEGUN, WITH PROMISING EARLY RESULTS – THEY CO-WROTE A SONG ON MILEY CYRUS’ ALBUM BANGERZ, AND CAM ALSO LANDED A SONG ON A PROJECT BY INDIE COUNTRY ACT MAGGIE ROSE.

CAM AND JOHNSON METICULOUSLY WROTE AND REWROTE THE MATERIAL FOR WEEKS AND MONTHS AT A TIME UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYE OF GRAMMY®-WINNING PRODUCER AND SONGWRITER JEFF BHASKER (FUN., MARK RONSON), WHO HELPED BRING HER TO THE INDUSTRY’S ATTENTION IN NEW YORK, EVEN WHILE SHE MADE ORGANIC INROADS IN MUSIC CITY.

IN A BIT OF A FLUKE, CAM’S MUSIC WAS DISCOVERED ONLINE BY NASHVILLE RADIO PROGRAMMER MICHAEL BRYAN, WHO STARTED PLAYING ONE OF HER SONGS, “DOWN THIS ROAD,” ON WSIX EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS UNSIGNED. WHILE THE ATTENTION WAS A BOON, WHEELS WERE ALREADY IN MOTION BEHIND THE SCENES WITH LABEL MEETINGS IN NASHVILLE WHEN BHASKER GOT CAM A MEETING IN NEW YORK WITH RCA RECORDS CHAIRMAN & CEO PETER EDGE AND PRESIDENT & COO TOM CORSON. BLOWN AWAY BY HER INCREDIBLE VOICE AND IRRESISTIBLE PERSONALITY AND CHARM, EDGE IMMEDIATELY CALLED SONY MUSIC’S CEO, DOUG MORRIS, WHO LIKEWISE FELL FOR HER UNDENIABLE TALENT WHEN SHE AUDITIONED FOR HIM. IN A RARE SITUATION, SHE’S NOW SIGNED TO BOTH THE COUNTRY (ARISTA NASHVILLE) AND POP (RCA RECORDS) LABELS – SHE SEES HERSELF AS A COUNTRY ACT, BUT IF HER MUSIC BREAKS OUT OF THE GENRE OR FINDS AN AUDIENCE OVERSEAS, THE POP DIVISION IS WAITING IN THE WINGS.

MANY OF HER SONGS WENT THROUGH MAJOR REVISIONS EVEN AFTER SHE SIGNED HER DEAL, A REFLECTION OF CAM’S EVOLUTION AS AN ARTIST AND HER DOGGED PURSUIT OF A DISTINCTIVE SOUND. AS THE ARRANGEMENTS OR INSTRUMENTATION CHANGED, THE LYRICS INVARIABLY GOT TWEAKED, TOO. SHE WAS PRESENT FOR EVERY NUANCE, ENSURING THAT THE END RESULTS REFLECTED HER REALITY.

“IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR ME TO KNOW EVERYTHING THAT WAS INVOLVED IN MY MUSIC,” SHE SAYS. “I’M THERE FOR ALL THE PRODUCTION THAT HAPPENS, I SIGN OFF ON ALL THE MIXES, I’M THERE FOR THE RECORDING. THE PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING WITH ME ARE INCREDIBLE, SO I’M NOT DRIVING EVERY ASPECT OF IT, BUT I’M THERE INSPIRING IT.”

IN EARLY 2015, COUNTRY RADIO WAS INTRODUCED TO CAM WITH THE ENGAGING FIRST SINGLE, “MY MISTAKE,” WHILE HER FOUR-SONG EP, WELCOME TO CAM COUNTRY, DEBUTED ON SPOTIFY. THE MEDIA WAS IMPRESSED WITH CAM’S POSSIBILITIES. BILLBOARD PRAISED HER MUSIC AS “AT ONCE FRESH AND FAMILIAR, THAT RARE MIX OF DARING AND COMFORT THAT’S OFTEN THE HALLMARK OF A HIT,” WHILE GOSSIP KING PEREZ HILTON CHAMPIONED HER FOR BEING “FEARLESS.” THE ACCOLADES CONTINUED WITH THE RISE OF “BURNING HOUSE,” WHICH ROLLING STONE COUNTRY CALLED “HAUNTING” AND “ONE OF THE MOST BUZZED-ABOUT TUNES OF THE YEAR.” AND THE WASHINGTON POST LAUDED BOTH “MY MISTAKE” AND “BURNING HOUSE,” NOTING THAT “THE TWO SONGS FEEL LIKE NIGHT AND DAY, BUT THEY ALSO SUGGEST RANGE AND DEPTH.”

SINCE JULY 6, 2015, THE OFFICIAL RADIO IMPACT DATE OF “BURNING HOUSE, NOT ONLY HAS CAM BECOME THE ONLY COUNTRY FEMALE TO ACHIEVE MORE THAN 1 MILLION DOWNLOADS OF A SINGLE THIS PAST YEAR, BUT, ADDITIONALLY, BOTH HER BREAKTHROUGH HIT AND DEBUT DISC MADE MULTIPLE “BEST OF 2015” CRITICS’ LISTS, INCLUDING ROLLING STONE, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, THE WASHINGTON POST, ASSOCIATED PRESS, NASHVILLE SCENE, AMONG OTHERS. CAM ALSO BECAME THE MOST-NOMINATED FEMALE AT THE 2016 ACM AWARDS WITH SIX TOTAL NODS, AND, SHE RECEIVED A 2016 GRAMMY NOMINATIONFOR “BEST COUNTRY SOLO PERFORMANCE” FOR “BURNING HOUSE” AND 2016 AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS NOMINATIONS FOR “FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR” AND “BREAKTHROUGH FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR.” HER CAREER IS SHOWING PROMISE.

PROMISE IS PART OF CAM’S CHARM. EVEN IN “BURNING HOUSE,” A SPARE SONG ABOUT A CRUMBLING RELATIONSHIP, ONE CAN SENSE AN UNDERLYING POSITIVITY: HER PERSISTENCE AND HER DETERMINATION TO MEND A DEVASTATING FRACTURE.

IT’S A RARE GIFT, AND IT’S REFLECTED IN HER BOLD PENCHANT FOR YELLOW. SHE SPRINKLES THAT COLOR INTO SHOES, DRESSES, BRACELETS – SOMETIMES A COMBINATION OF ALL OF THEM – AS SHE VISUALLY CAPTURES HER INNER GLOW. THAT GOLDEN SIGNATURE LOOK WAS DEVELOPED OUT OF A CONVERSATION WITH HER MANAGER, LINDSAY MARIAS. CAM HAD RAISED A FAIR AMOUNT OF MONEY THROUGH A KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN AND WAS USING SOME OF THAT REVENUE TO FUND A VIDEO. WORKING LATE AT NIGHT DURING THE PRODUCTION, CAM MADE SOME COFFEE TO GET A LIFT, AND AS SHE GRABBED A CUP, SHE PURPOSELY CHOSE A YELLOW ONE OFF THE SHELF.

“I REALLY NEEDED THIS BRIGHT MOMENT TO BE ABLE TO JUST CONNECT WITH PEOPLE THROUGH THE VIDEO,” SHE EXPLAINS. “LINDSAY WAS THERE WITH ME, AND SHE SAID, ‘YOU ARE YELLOW.’ IT’S SO CHEERY AND FRIENDLY AND RELATABLE, AND ALL THOSE ADJECTIVES FIT SO WELL WITH ME AS A PERSON AND WHAT MY MUSIC IS ABOUT, SO IT JUST ALL CLICKED. THEN THE MORE WE INCORPORATED YELLOW, I STAND OUT IN PICTURES. PEOPLE SEND ME YELLOW THINGS, AND EVEN IF I’M TIRED OR IF IT’S A SUPER-COLD, SNOWY DAY, YELLOW LIFTS PEOPLE’S SPIRITS. IT KIND OF DOES HALF THE WORK FOR YOU.”

IT’S A SIGN OF CAM’S BOLDNESS. HER DEAL, HER MUSIC, HER PHILOSOPHY – EVEN HER NAME: EVERYTHING ABOUT HER STANDS OUT. IF YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED CAM, YOU SIMPLY WEREN’T LOOKING.

The Columbus Funk’N Beer Festival at The Bluestone on November 9th 2018!

Music Lineup:
Friday 11/9: The Floozies and Turkuaz, with special guests SoDown, Wax Future, & Manimal.

Saturday 11/10: Big Gigantic with special guests Flamingosis, Ghost Gardens, LethalFX, Squirple., Harok, & Shatter

*Doors for the show will open at 7PM

Tickets On-Sale NOW!

The Columbus Funk’N Beer Festival celebrates Funk music, in all of its various forms, as well as the vibrant microbrewery scene in Central Ohio. The event will be held November 9th and 10th at the historic Bluestone in Columbus, Ohio.
Get your tickets here:
https://tkpro.cincyregister.com/funknbeerfest

The Columbus Funk’N Beer Festival celebrates Funk music, in all of its various forms, as well as the vibrant microbrewery scene in Central Ohio. The event will be held November 9th and 10th at the historic Bluestone in Columbus, Ohio.

Music Lineup:
Friday 11/9: The Floozies and Turkuaz, with special guests SoDown, Wax Future, & Manimal.

Saturday 11/10: Big Gigantic with special guests Flamingosis, Ghost Gardens, LethalFX, Squirple., Harok, & Shatter

Doors for the Show will open at 7pm

Tickets On-Sale NOW!

The Columbus Funk’N Beer Festival celebrates Funk music, in all of its various forms, as well as the vibrant microbrewery scene in Central Ohio. The event will be held November 9th and 10th at the historic Bluestone in Columbus, Ohio.

Tyler Farr LIVE at The Bluestone Friday, April 12th, 2019

Doors for the show will open at 7pm

Opening Artist: Josh Phillips

Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 day of show

PURCHASE HERE

“Maybe I’m addicted to pain…What used to be, what’s gone.
There’s definitely some darkness,
but it’s hard to explain, though everybody knows it.
“Probably I’m a hopeless romantic,
but sex can make that complicated, too.
“You know you want to be in love, but that’s a tricky thing to find.”

Tyler Farr’s a thinker, an observer of the human condition, a man in the middle of a surging testosterone country movement in today’s Nashville who insists on digging a little deeper, getting a little realer and owning how hard it can be. On Suffer In Peace, the son of a Garden City, Missouri farmer opens his veins and examines the pain that comes from being truly engaged with living.

From the wracked hangover of what you don’t see coming in love “Withdrawals,” the smoky acoustic “I Don’t Even Want This Beer” or the spare run-from-the-memories title track, the classically-trained vocalist knows that love isn’t just hard, it’s risky. With a resonant tenor that has a powdery bottom and a warm center, Farr heats up difficult emotions and peels back what most men barricade behind bravado.

One listen to “A Guy Walks Into A Bar,” Suffer’s lead single, is to hear the tension, the exhaustion and the devastation that comes with a stiff upper lip. It falters just a bit, buckles and throws unspeakable pain wide open without going for melodrama as he transforms the joke into a punchline that is the hero’s life.

Whitey Morgan and the 78’s

with Alex Williams

April 10, 2022 7 PM

at The Bluestone

Columbus, Ohio

About Whitey Morgan:
In a career spanning 15 years, Morgan has released five studio albums and a live recording from his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Additionally, he has toured relentlessly averaging over 125 shows annually. Rolling Stone has described him as a “Waylon Jennings acolyte.. modern day outlaw [with a] hard hitting blue-collar brand of music” while NPR Music hailed, “Staying close to the sound and subject matter of classic outlaw artists like Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and David Allan Coe, Morgan is poised to lead this hand-worn brand of country to the next generation.” His most recent LP, Sonic Ranch (2015), was released to critical acclaim and praised by Detroit Free Press as, “a bold well-crafted album that doesn’t forsake the gritty undercurrent running through Morgan’s stuff.”

Whitey Morgan and the 78’s anticipated new album, self-produced by Morgan, was recorded in the Neve Room at famed Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas. Featured on the record are collaborations with acclaimed songwriters Travis Meadows and Ward Davis plus a cover of ZZ Top’s “Just Got Paid.” Alongside Morgan, the 78’s consist of Brett Robinson (pedal steel guitar), Joey Spina (guitar), Alex Lyon (bass) and Eric Savage (drums).

Of the recording, Morgan shares, “It’s not like my vision happened overnight. I’ve been chipping away at it forever. It’s slowly evolving and it’s going in a little bit different direction. It’s not so straightforward anymore. This record definitely has a wider path, it’s broader, but it still sounds like a Whitey Morgan record.” With grandparents from Tennessee and Kentucky and hometown roots in Flint, Michigan, Morgan’s family geography has factored into his approach to music.

Iration

May 15, 2022 6 PM

at The Bluestone

Columbus, Ohio

Bio: Iration has a natural affinity for reggae and island sounds. Their love and appreciation for music spans across a wide range of styles and genres including rock, pop, R&B and funk. Over the past 15 years, the celebrated five-piece – Micah Pueschel [Lead Vocals / Guitar], Adam Taylor [Bass], Joe Dickens [Drums], Cayson Peterson [Keyboard / Synth] and Micah Brown [Guitar / Vocals] – have perfected their distinct hybrid style of music, blending all influences together as evidenced on their seventh, and most recent, full-length album Coastin’ [Three Prong Records). A record about being thankful for the moments that we have.

Iration has been touring nationally since 2008, performing at festivals nationwide from Lollapalooza to Sunfest and Hangout, closing stages at festivals like Bottlerock and Outside Lands. The Hawaiian-bred musicians look forward to spreading their original sound and ‘Aloha spirit’ all the while never forgetting to get a surf in when possible.

Matt Stell

w/ George Birge

November 17, 2022 8 PM

Doors Open 7 PM

at The Bluestone

Columbus, Ohio

About Matt Stell:

THE COUNTRY MUSIC INDUSTRY HAS LONG BEEN FILLED WITH ITS SHARE OF CHARACTERS. FROM WILLIE TO HANK AND DOLLY TO WAYLON, EVERY LEGEND STARTS OUT AS JUST ANOTHER ARTIST THAT DOESN’T FIT EASILY INTO SOME PREDETERMINED BOX. AND AS HARD AS COUNTRY MUSIC MAY TRY TO FIT MATT STELL INTO ONE OF THOSE TRIED AND TRUE BOXES, IT’S DARN NEAR IMPOSSIBLE.

Heck, he’s 6’7.

But more so than the massive physique that helped Stell become a collegiate basketball standout, the Platinum certified singer has proven via the songs he sings and the shows he puts on that he is far too powerful of an artist to ever fit into some sort of singular category. In fact, to describe Stell in a few words would be a complete disservice to the man he is and the artist he looks to become as he releases his new EP Better Than That on October 16.

“If you cut a groove too deep, it’s hard to get out of it,” he remarks with a chuckle. “I’ve never wanted to be some one-dimensional artist, and with this new EP, I think I’m determined to show that there is much more to me than just a guy who can sing a love song.”

Indeed, the Arkansas native comes from a long line of self proclaimed badasses. He can spin a romantic verse as easy as he can rock out an anthem. He can overanalyze a word as easily as he can let the melody ride a lyrical wave. And yes, he gets as much enjoyment out of discovering a hook in the writing room as he does hooking a fish.

“When you step out into that river and the salmon are still swimming upstream like they have for thousands of years, it’s a real cathartic, therapeutic thing for me,” he says of a recent fishing trip to Alaska. “It’s a great reset.”

In everything he does, it’s evident that Stell is reflective and adventurous and funny and pretty damn smart. And if he’s being totally honest with himself, he’s never been one to love a love song.

Yep, you heard that right.

Granted, it was in fact a love song that catapulted Stell to country music success in 2019 via his massive hit “Prayed for You,” a life-changer of a song that spent two weeks at the number one spot. As the only debut single to top Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in 2019, and one of NSAI’s “10 Songs We Wish We’d Written,” the hit has gone on to rack up some impressive stats with over 270 million streams, his first RIAA Platinum certification and more than 20 million views of its official music video to date.

But there’s a catch.

“If the only thing you’ve heard is ‘Prayed for You,’ you would have a different idea of who I really am,” Stell explains. “Knowing that you are making music that means something to people is the ultimate compliment, but there is so much more to me.”

A few more of the many facets of Stell are currently on display via his current top 10 and rising single “Everywhere But On,” a song that Stell calls ‘autobiographical’ in the way that it tells the story of a man trying to escape the memories of a long lost love.

“Having two songs on the radio is an incredible thing, but what’s even more incredible is finding your own voice and your own identity,” he says.

Stell showcased a whole bunch of identities in another Better Than That EP standout – “If I Was a Bar.” At a time when some of his fellow artists were perfectly content in simply sitting down with their guitar and playing their songs during the pandemic that Stell lovingly refers to as a ‘damn biological hurricane,’ Stell and his rather relentless work ethic turned out a music video that had him playing thirteen different roles in the span of a 3-plus minute song.

“I threw every stitch of clothing I have ever owned into my truck for that video shoot,” laughs Stell of the somewhat restrictive project. “Sometimes creativity benefits from constraints.”

Yet, there were few constraints on Stell’s songwriting during the creation of the new Better Than That EP, which was co-produced by Stell alongside Ash Bowers. Via songs co-written by Stell such as “I Love You Too,” “Chase It Down” and the title track “Better Than That,” the listener can still hear Stell’s distinctive way of wrapping a lyric around a memory and the twist he can put on a phrase.

“Songwriting is a craft that can get better the more time you put into it,” remarks Stell, as he laments to himself about how much he hates clichés.

But for the first time in his still evolving career, Stell relied on outside writers on three of the eight tracks of the Better Than That EP in an effort to fill in the blanks of the overall project.

One of those cuts is “Sadie,” a melodic brain-buster of a song that offers ‘a sparse lyric but one in which every word means something.’ Another outside cut is “Look At Me Now,” perhaps one of the most earth-shattering love songs in recent memory. Yes, the guy who says love songs aren’t his thing just might make history with yet another love song.

But before Stell looks too far into the future, he finds his soul planted deeply in the present. He is praying for the day he can plug his amp back in and jump on the bus with his band and play these new songs for a live crowd.

This new chapter in his journey leaves Stell with a whole bunch more ammunition in the writing room and a unique vantage point to view the characters in his songs…and the character he might ultimately turn out to be.