Blue Cactus w/ Modern Fools

Blue Cactus w/ Modern Fools

Sun 6/22

6pm doors/7pm show

All Ages | $12 adv./$15 day of

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 produced in Nashville, TN by Whit Wright, and starring local veteran session musicians including Russ Pahl and Rich Ruth; 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.

Despite their name, there's nothing particularly modern or foolish about the songs of this New Hampshire foursome. Unless you count devising their name by trying to fit letters into the Waffle House logo. Since that fateful, syrup-soaked morning, they've been refining a sound best described as "seriously retro, cosmic Americana", with songs that meld together the country rock of Gram Parsons with the song-craft and harmonies of Dr. Dog.

The group's members have been making music together for between 1 and 16 years, depending on which combination you pick... But as Modern Fools, this iteration took shape in 2019, and has continued to hone in on their particular brand of dream country, while opening for the likes of Steve Earle, Charlie Parr, Ryan Montbleau and Bonnie “Prince” Billy.

Their 2020 debut album SEER was a search for meaning; after suffering a serious car accident and the end of a long-term relationship, lead singer and songwriter Josh Blair transformed his personal upheaval into nine songs that fused cosmic Americana influences with his own unique voice. The band's sophomore release, Strange Offering (May 2023), covers familiar sonic territory with a newfound optimism; like SEER, it was recorded in Blair’s New Hampshire studio and mixed by Seattle-based engineer Kevin Suggs (KEXP). While the albums have a kindred style, the substance has evolved to reflect the band’s growth together. Strange Offering presents melancholic themes of loss and existential dread in an oddly upbeat and comforting manner.

Currently the band is releasing their third album: CLEARLY COUNTRY, which is just that! An EP of some serious throw back honky-tonk songs that “embrace the timelessness of classic crybaby country” It’s somewhat of a concept album that stemmed from a sign found at a yardsale. The album is 7 songs that are sure to get your boots on the dance floor of your local honky-tonk.

It's clear that their listening tastes look backward with reverence, but there's a new confidence in Modern Fools that is ready for what tomorrow may bring.

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