With her elegant presence, dulcet tones and unabashed authenticity, Stella Prince is quickly helping the world slow down.
Though not quite 21-years-old, Prince is an emerging singer/performer/songwriter of Gen Z folk, a genre that’s embraced by a generation craving an escape from the digital mayhem permeating their lives.
“Gen Z is returning to what’s genuine and we’re obsessed with folk,” says Prince, a native New Yorker now living with her parents in Bellevue. “I think it’s a reaction to social media, AI and the isolation and loneliness brought on by Covid. We’re the first generation to grow up this way and it’s brought on more mental illness, so there is a correlation, you know?”
Prince says she plays “updated folk music for my generation. In a general sense, my songs are catchier and quicker than what comes to mind when you think of folk. But the backbone is authentic folk.”
Last year she garnered attention with the release of Dear Future Me, her EP that topped the folk charts and yielded singles that, in addition to the title track, included “At Seventy,” Prince’s musing of how her life might be a half-century from now. It’s a different subject than Janis Ian’s 1975 hit, “At Seventeen,” but the play on the title is an intentional nod of respect to artists who came before her. “I met Janis about two years ago and there’s something about that generation that I absolutely love,” says Prince.
Growing up in folk-centric Woodstock, New York, Prince’s creative aesthetic comes naturally. An only child, she lived with her parents, Lily and Rich, in a wooden farmhouse that was built in the 1850s. (If you’re wondering, yes, the structure was updated with running water and electricity.) As a toddler she knew she was meant to be a performer, telling her parents she needed a manager. Prince started taking voice lessons when she was four and continued through 18 years of age. She also excelled academically, taking in-person college classes at 13, and graduating from high school at 15 and community college at 16.
“Being a 13-year-old in a roomful of adults was an interesting experience and I’m not sure it’s one I’d want to repeat,” she says. “But it served its purpose; I knew I wanted to finish and get on with my career.”
Inspired by the likes of Judy Garland, Joni Mitchell, Patsy Cline and Karen Carpenter, Prince embarked on her musical journey. But it’s their wisdom, not just their music, that moves her.
“One of my favorite things to do outside of music is to read memoirs,” she says. “I have memoirs by my bed and on my walls. Their quotes are on my phone. I try to surround myself with their knowledge. Having their guidance makes me feel so much less alone.”
As many aspiring musicians can attest, loneliness comes with the job. Prince booked her own tours, playing farmers markets, coffee houses, open-mic nights and the like. From traveling to the venues to playing the shows, there were times that she was a soloist in every sense.
“The first year or so was me sitting in a corner, playing to an empty room or playing to people who were not listening,” she says. “I’d be in tears because there’s nothing like playing a song and no one claps. The ups-and-downs are intense and exhausting but I thought, ‘It’s going to get better because it can’t get any lower than this!’”
Eventually the hard work, cold calls and random emails paid off. She booked better venues–mostly listening rooms and theaters–and exploited technology in a positive way to build her following. Last year Prince played 300 shows, appearing around Nashville and from Washington-to-Maine and Europe. In August she performed for 10,000 people at the La Roche Bluegrass Festival near the French Alps and was beckoned for multiple encores.
The tears she cried then were of the happy variety.
“Now, people are coming to shows specifically to see me,” she says. “They know the lyrics and it blows my mind every time.”
A few months ago, Prince attended her first red carpet event as an invited guest to the eighth annual Variety Hitmakers celebration in Los Angeles. “I was over the rainbow; it was a whole other universe, in the best way,” she says. “I had entered a world I had always dreamed of.”
There she connected with several honored contemporaries including Benson Boone, Doechii, Shaboozey and Laufey. But it was a side conversation with Lainey Wilson, an established star who has traveled a similar path, that proved meaningful. “She told me that every single empty room she played was worth it because it led her to where she is now,” recalls Prince.
It all happened so quickly but Stella Prince hopes to slow down enough to enjoy the ride as long as she can.
“One of my favorite things to do outside of music is to read memoirs. I have memoirs by my bed and on my walls. Their quotes are on my phone. I try to surround myself with their knowledge. Having their guidance makes me feel so much less alone.”