Watch the full interview here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/usJQJEe0iPM?si=J1nwrYStv8OZCuUv
Mia: “Hello everyone! My name is Mia Quinones for KCR College Radio, and today I am joined by the immensely talented Stella Prince. She is currently on her ‘Hand in My Pocket’ Summer Tour with stops around the West Coast, most recently just playing a show at the Moroccan Lounge in Los Angeles.”
Mia: “To start off, do you want to tell us a little about yourself, Stella?”
Stella explained that she is a singer-songwriter born and raised in Woodstock, New York, focused on creating what she calls “Gen Z folk”. She hailed it as the “folk music capital of the world.” She also explained that “[her] goal is to bring folk music to a new generation”, which I think she is excelling at.
Mia: “Now I want to take it back to the beginning and ask you about what inspired you to pursue music. What role did music play for you growing up? Was this kismet, something you always knew you would end up doing?”
Stella: “It is total Kismet! It’s funny, it’s something that I truly just think I was born with.”
Prince anecdotes asking her parents for voice lessons when she was barely five years old. She recalls that music has always been in her since she was born, as was the drive to pursue it. She called it a “gut instinct,” seeing as she is the only person (thus far) in her family to be musical.
Mia: “Also, did you always know it would be folk? Bringing us to the present day, Forbes described you as ‘The artist bringing folk music to Gen Z’. As someone who hones in on a genre that may not be as mainstream as others dominating the music field, what does a quote like this mean to you?”
Stella: “It really means everything. The artists that were there [Woodstock] were all just these legendary folk artists. I didn’t really know what different genres were growing up, but I knew that that simple guitar and voice was what I loved.”
She explains that as she began writing songs, the sound that came out was heavily rooted in the original folk authenticity of just a voice and a guitar. That sound for her has now evolved into more, especially with the general public’s growing enthusiasm for the genre thanks to the work of artists such as Noah Kahan.
Mia: “In your original song ‘The Replay,’ you sing about the beautiful art of daydreaming and living a day over and over again in your head. I read that the inspiration for this song came from a trip you took to Joshua Tree. Could you tell me more about this trip and how in specific it inspired this song?”
Stella paints a picture of her magical trip to Joshua Tree. She describes sitting on the roof of her off-grid vacation location and staring up at a star-studded desert sky. She quotes the songwriting she did there to have been “life-changing”.
Mia: “Building off of that, I know songwriting is something that can look incredibly different from artist to artist. What does songwriting look like for you?”
Stella: “Being real and writing down what I have experienced or what is authentic to me in terms of day-to-day life.”
She touches on the very universal intimidation of experiencing young adulthood for the first time. To expand on this fear, she pulls from some of her own favorite lyrics. “Thought I’d have a car by now, but I’m still too scared to drive”, she sings, “Thought I’d have grown by now, but I am still the same old size.”
These lyrics penetrate beyond being a sequence of words and can resonate with anyone our age facing new and nerve-wracking experiences. I know these words especially do for me!
Mia: “Most recently, you came out with a beautifully reimagined cover of ‘Hand in My Pocket’ by Alanis Morriset. I grew up with my parents playing this song and all of Jagged Little Pill in the car, and hearing you breathe new life into this song was amazing. Do you have a special connection to this song? What made you gravitate towards covering it?”
Stella both shocked and further impressed me by explaining how her rendition was pretty off the cuff. “We had been in the studio for 9 hours,” she explains, “and during the last hour I was like ‘What if we just try this song?’” She detailed the song as a perfect fit, with extremely relevant and relatable lyrics to anyone at the stage of growing into adulthood. “It really resonated with me so much. Especially being the same age that she was when she wrote and recorded it. And it’s the 30th anniversary this year of that album release!”
Mia: “First off, a huge congratulations to you, as mentioned, you are wrapping up your West Coast Summer tour. Do you have a memory from these past few shows that has stood out as a favorite to you?”
Stella unpacked a full-circle story from her show in Tacoma, Washington. On her last West Coast tour, two years ago, she played a show in the same area and sold only one ticket. “I remember thinking that is never going to happen again,” she quotes, “I’m not coming back here until I can do better.” Her dedication truly paid off, as a couple of years later she played a show to over 100 fans, with that same attendee from the first show in the audience yet again.
Mia: “Along with the tour, I also saw that you have been doing Small Business Meet and Greets at some of your tour stops. What exactly is this? What inspired this creative way of meeting fans?”
Stella: “This is probably my favorite part of this tour. It has been the most rewarding experience ever.”
She explains how she teams up with small, family-owned businesses from each city she tours and invites local artists and fans to chat, hang out, take photos, and enjoy a coffee. Among the list of locations she chose were coffee shops, a bookstore, clothing boutiques, and more.
She aims to build a community and a place to speak about the struggles and joys of being an independent artist in this day and age, all while supporting local businesses. Some topics of discussion among her and the other artists around the coast she mentioned were booking shows, finances, and searching for that breakthrough moment on your own.
Mia: “Seeing as you have stepped into the world of collaboration (this time with small businesses), do you see yourself venturing into collaborating with other artists on a song? If so, let’s speak it out into the universe: who is your dream collaboration?”
Stella immediately confirms this, saying it has been on her bucket list to do so. She then lets me in on a few songwriting collaborations that will be featured on her debut album. The first is Liz Rose, best known for her work on Taylor Swift’s early career masterpieces such as “You Belong With Me”, “White Horse”, and the iconic “All Too Well”. The second was Matraca Berg, who wrote “Strawberry Wine” and has worked with artists like the Dixie Chicks and Reba McEntire.
Her ultimate collaboration, however, was with songwriting legend Diane Warren. “She really is, arguably, the most successful songwriter ever”, Prince admits. Warren gave Stella one of her songs to record for her album. “I spent a day with her studio in LA; she taught me the song, we played it together. I mean she is just a genius and to be able to collaborate in that way with her blew my mind.”
Stella does, in fact, have a few dream collaborations apart from these. She listed Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Emmylou Harris, the last of which will be playing at the same England festival Stella will be performing at next month. The two share countless mutual connections and have nearly crossed paths so many times that Stella said she is manifesting that this is the trip she will meet her on. That is pro networking right there!
Mia: “Lastly, I know you have been working on your debut album slated for a release this Fall, 2026. How magical has that journey been for you? Do you have a song you are most excited to share with your listeners? Or a particular lyric that you can’t stop thinking about?”
Stella: “I feel like the line everyone says of ‘Having your entire life to work on your first album, but only six months to work on the next’ is SO true.”
Stella got to record her album in Iceland, where she recounts the ten intense 12-hour work days she spent recording. Her dedication and devotion resulted in a now complete debut, which she called “the most exciting thing [she] has ever done or attempted to do.”
Mia: “To wrap things up, what is next for Stella Prince? What should fans look forward to?”
Fans can start to get excited about Stella’s upcoming album, being her sole focus for the next couple of months. That is not the only thing keeping her busy, though. She is going back on the road to the UK for the Long Road Festival, for which she is one of the youngest artists on the lineup. She is also excited for a 3-night residency in London, which will be paired with its own local Small Business Meet and Greets. Stella Prince is booked and busy!
Mia: “Well, Stella, that is all the time we have for today. Thank you so much for your time; it has been so lovely chatting with you. This has been Mia with KCR College Radio. Thanks to everyone for tuning in. Bye!”