Blue Cactus

Led by kindred spirit songwriters Steph Stewart and Mario Arnez, Blue Cactus got their start among the active honky-tonk circuit of North Carolina, developing an electrified twang that now branches out effortlessly into folk, alt-country, and psychedelic-tinged rock. Blue Cactus has supported a diverse set of artists over its eight-year history (The War & Treaty, Town Mountain, and Steve Gunn, among others), Stewart’s introspective lyricism and Arnez’s skill for lush arrangements making the band potent in the studio and on stage. Praised by No Depression for their ability to paint “beautiful pictures of limitless possibility” in roots music, Blue Cactus has drawn comparisons to Gillian Welch and Emmylou Harris.

Stewart wrote her first song at the age of ten and developed her love for performing through karaoke, spending many evenings belting out country and rock classics alongside her family at The Dragon Palace, a restaurant-slash-karaoke bar in Hickory, North Carolina. Around the same time, her future bandmate Mario Arnez was singularly focused on studying a Beach Boys compilation tape using his very first piece of gear – a portable cassette recorder set up by his mother, a media specialist. The two met decades later when Arnez, a Florida transport to North Carolina, joined Stewart’s string band Steph Stewart & the Boyfriends. Instantly connecting artistically, they later fell in love and started their own country covers band, getting to know each other’s voices on a one-mic set-up, and eventually collaborating on songwriting as Blue Cactus. They’re a formidable pair due to their early musical training as listeners and fans – the heart of the band is Stewart’s heart-on-sleeve cowgirl storytelling and Arnez’s ear for orchestration. Blue Cactus has since grown a cult following in the South and beyond. The INDY Week wrote that the group’s debut self-titled album, a cheeky 60’s Nashville-influenced set of songs, “fully embod[ies] the love and heartbreak of honky-tonk”, while American Songwriter praised the duo’s ability to “funnel such an emotional, personal development right into the songwriting” on their glitter-and-glam-infused sophomore album, Stranger Again.

On their third full-length album Believer, the duo’s sound ascends to new heights with a collection of intimate songs penned and sung primarily by Stewart, her rich voice narrating explorations of chronic illness, ruptured dreams, and the potential of hope – with the help of an all-star cast of harmony singers (among them Erin Rae, Brit Taylor and Kate Rhudy). Believer was recorded primarily in two sessions - one in Nashville, TN, and starring local veteran session musicians including Rich Ruth and Russ Pahl; the other in Blue Cactus’ home community near Chapel Hill, NC, produced by Saman Khoujinian (The Dead Tongues, Mountain Man) and featuring their close-knit house band of Piedmont players. The album coheres with the mixing skills of Derek Garten (of Taylor Swift’s meticulous Taylor’s Version album reconstructions), showcasing skillful and adventurous roots music with a deeply personal heart.