Stella Prince is one of the most exciting new artists in the Americana genre at the moment. A stunning voice that needs to be heard by everyone, Stella is only 19 years but is an old soul vocally and lyrically. Her music is breathtakingly beautiful and full of wisdom and each song is wonderfully authentic.

Born and raised in Woodstock, NY and now based in Nashville, Stella is making waves across the US, UK and beyond with her relatable songs such as Dear Future Me and Two Faced. Prince is also an advocate for fellow female singer/songwriters and hosts a showcase each month in Nashville called all-female Americana/Folk showcase at The Underdog; the only showcase of its kind in Nashville. Founded in May 2023, Stella wanted to create a space for women in music to perform and meet other performers, specifically in Folk and Americana. During these showcases, 4-5 artists (Stella included) are on the bill singing 2-3 songs each and introducing themselves. The events are sponsored by the legendary organisation https://changetheconvo.net

We saw Stella at The Bedford in London this tour – check out our review here.

We caught up with Stella whilst she was here in the UK! An absolute delight to speak with, Stella is humble and kind and full of interesting things to say! Mature and elegant, I could have spoken with her all day!

I hope you enjoy our chat!

Hi Stella – how are you?

I am good thank you!

You are on tour here in the UK at the moment, have there been any stand out moments for you?

The Gladstone Arms has probably been my favourite show so far. It was just a little pub! When I first walked in I wasn’t sure people were going to listen because people were super loud and then when I started singing the lights dimmed and everyone was silent and it was pretty much the best gig I’ve ever done in the UK. It was much younger people, aged 30 and under and they loved it! It was amazing, it really was the best show I have done in the UK.

That’s nice to hear and I can understand the fear you had at the beginning because pubs can be a challenge to perform in as people are drinking and socialising, so I am glad they were silent for you!

Right!! It was so surprising, they demanded an encore and were so ridiculously supportive. I had never expected something like that let alone in a pub so it was a highlight for sure!

We are known for being attentive in the UK, everyone says it!

You guys are like the dream audience, it’s amazing!!

Do you get to do any downtime when you are here? Go exploring?

Yeah! My favourite thing is finding little Bakeries and restaurants. Just walking all over the city! I had a show in Soho at The Spice of Life, I spent the whole afternoon and evening before and after the show just walking all over Soho and going out for dinner and it was really really nice! I love Soho! It’s a booming area, it’s incredible.

Do you have favourite food and drinks when you come here that you may not necessarily have easy access to back home?

Oh gosh, well there’s this amazing Gelato chain called Amorino and they are based internationally. They have Gelato shops in each big international city like Rome and London and all that. I was just walking by in Soho and I noticed that there was an Amorino which was like the most exciting moment of my life haha! I had to stop!

Last time you were here was in 2022. That was the first time you were here too so what was that like? It was all new to you then!

It really was! The actual tour was kind of like me piecing things together and doing every show myself, booking, everything. It was a great intro to the UK but it was also very much less compared to what I am doing now. I kind of feel like this tour is really my first, like really big tour because I have a UK publicist, I haven’t booked all the shows myself which is really nice! It’s definitely very different this time around.

I want to talk about the song Dear Future Me – what can you tell us about that please?

Dear Future Me, I had tried over and over again in various diaries since I was literally 7 or 8 just trying to write a letter to my future self in some way and I could never do it and I really didn’t know why! It was like a huge block. Maybe about six months ago I just sat down and I came up with this melody and I thought “this is going to be a Dear Future Me song”. I can write a letter to future me in this song, that’s what it is. It came very very quickly and I wrote it in a day or two. I think it’s one of my favourite songs I have written. I feel like it’s very very personal to me but then again it’s something that everyone goes through as well.

I was going to say, the bit about the old friends and that hit home! (“Why do I still feel alone after inviting a couple of new friends home, I guess they’re just not the kids I grew up with, I wish my old friends knew that I think of them often”)

Yeah it’s weird. At 19 I just noticed that so much how everyone I knew growing up is kind of just drifting away and it just doesn’t quite feel the same it really doesn’t .

It’s really hard isn’t it because you forget…I often think “why am I not in touch with that person anymore? We didn’t fall out so what happened?”

Right! Yeah! It’s very very surprising and very gradual so it’s not like a huge shock but it happens, you just go away and yeah it’s weird!

It’s also so much harder after your childhood to make those close friends again to the extent they were when you were a child, that solid bond!

Right! Sometimes if you meet someone that you love it feels like you have known them forever but for the most part if you meet them later in life, it’s just not the same as having known them your whole life.

I have moved around a lot my whole life so never had those childhood friends for ever and I do envy those who do! I hope my children have that as we have no plans to move around!

I know! Me too! It kind of just depends honestly on how your life plans out. You either have things in common with your childhood friends or you don’t. You change so much throughout your life it’s so hard to hold on to them!

I also love the song Two Faced. I think and I hope you’re happy with this, it has a kind of Kate Bush, Tori Amos , Heather Nova way about it!

That is a compliment thank you! Yeah Two Faced was a song that I came up with the guitar lick and the melody months before I came up with the actual hook and the lyrics. I kind of had the guitar lick in my head for maybe two months. I had moved to Nashville and things were crazy so I didn’t really get a chance to start writing the song but I just had that tune in my head for a really long time. Then when I started sitting down and trying to think of what hook it would be, I got the idea of ‘loneliness is two faced’ and it came very very quickly. It’s a very unique hook I think and I really hope that it’s relatable to everyone!

Oh definitely and I think it’s my favourite at the moment!

I read that you recorded with a full band for the first time on this song?

That was amazing! It was my first time recording in Nashville as well! It was maybe like two months after I moved there. It was with Steve Fishell who is Emmylou Harris’ band leader and lead guitarist. I met him very randomly like two weeks after I moved to Nashville. I just went up to him and said “Hi, my name’s Stella” he was incredibly kind and really generous. He invited me to record and so we went into the studio this past April and recorded a few songs. He did Dear Future Me as well. He played on the song (Two Faced) and brought in the musicians as well, it was just really special, pretty amazing!

I love that! It’s great to have the confidence and just approach someone you admire in the industry because why not?

Well it was really funny, I had heard that someone I was working with had reached out to him on my behalf and so I thought that he knew who I was! So I was like “hi, you must know me” and he was like “I never got an email, I don’t know you”. I think I would have been a lot more nervous if I had known that haha!

Oh no, that’s cool though! Sometimes just introducing yourself in person and starting from there is so much more effective as emails get lost often which seems to be the case in this situation.

Right! Exactly! The in person connection I feel is very important and it makes all the difference!

It does! Tell us about The All Female Americana Folk Showcase at The Underdog because that sounds amazing!

Yeah! It’s something that came about just this past May. At first I was thinking that I was just going to do it once or twice. Someone came up to me and said that this is such a great community and that I should do it once a month, so that just kind of happened. We have been doing it once a month ever since in Nashville and made it all female. It’s been kind of a cool platform to get to see all these amazing up and coming female singer/songwriters. I did it in New York City for one night and Boston for one night and invited local musicians to play. I just did it London this past Sunday! I invited two other Female London based singers and that was really exciting!

Who did you bring?

Eleri, she is a Welsh singer songwriter and Beth Keeping. They were both fantastic and it was really cool to be able to bring it to the UK for the first time.

UK Americana is getting quite big here now. We have so many incredible artists. You should listen to Demi Marriner, she just released one of my favourite albums of the year! It’s one of those albums that from the intro of the very first track you think “You’ve got me’”.

Oh, I am going to look this up then!

I have also seen that you’re a Taylor Swift fan. Did you go to the Era’s tour?

I have never gone to see her! It’s weird, growing up in Woodstock, New York, I saw a ton of folk music concerts and a lot of classical music as well but I never have seen a stadium show. I really really want to!

Come to Wembley next year!

Oh gosh, I’m dying to go, I really am! I know that Shania Twain was just playing in the UK. I would have loved to have gone see her but I just missed her.

What song of yours is a family favourite?

Oh gosh, I think Two Faced is probably their favourite just because it’s mine as well. It’s one of those songs that you can play it for someone and not feel like really awkward. Usually when I play a song for someone and I am in the room I think “will they like it?” But I felt confident about this one and it’s fun to share it with people. It’s so different from anything I have ever done. It’s really special to me.

Who do you play the songs to first when you have written them?

My mum! My mum 100 per cent. It’s funny, my dad is like he thinks everything is amazing and great but my mum will tell me what’s what and she will be very honest.

Aww that’s nice!

It is, it’s a great contrast.

Are you working on an album?

I am working on songs. I am not sure about an album yet! I have always wanted to release a debut album since I was like three years old and I have been working for this for a long time but I am not sure that I would release a full on album project until I have more of a team together.

It’s nice releasing song by song too as we get to learn about the songs a lot more too!

Yeah! I will focus on the singles for now but eventually I will have enough songs for an album.

What do you have planned for the rest of the year, not that there’s much left haha!

After the UK, I will be coming home to Nashville mid November and I think between November and December I have a few shows in Nashville. I will host my showcase again. There’s quite a bit going on based in Nashville. It’s crazy this year is almost over, I just can’t quite believe it!

It’s mad! Thanks so much for chatting today, I appreciate it so much!

Well thank you!