Stephie James

Nashville-based, Detroit raised artist Stephie James’ debut album, As Night Fades, exudes sparkly, starlit evening motifs, shot through the lens of dreamy doo-wop and romantic Americana rock n roll. James overturns Nashville’s hat and boot culture with her own Iggy Pop-meets-Judy Garland panache. She borrows the storytelling tradition of writers like Townes Van Zandt & Guy Clark but fuses it with 60's girl group sounds, echoing The Shirelles and The Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman.” James presents us with a record that’s subtly subversive—at one turn familiar and nostalgic, while simultaneously evoking the dawn of something new. Embracing the grittiness of yesteryear’s garage rock productions and also the bittersweet timelessness of Roy Orbison, this is unmistakably the music of countless romantic fantasies and of widescreen Lynchian sensibility. Without compromising an ounce of style, Stephie James has managed to not only craft beautiful, heart-on-its-sleeve classic melodies, but also imbue her music with the same sense of mystery and intrigue that makes the best Henry Mancini score somehow elevated and torrid.

James has been a steadfast musical powerhouse since her teens. She’s toured with Anita Baker and Nikki Lane, worked production for Buddy Miller and Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, and has written with John Bettis. As Night Fades was produced/engineered/mixed by Andrija Tokic who also produced the platinum, Grammy-nominated Alabama Shakes’ album Boys & Girls.