Artist Spotlight: JC Stewart

We are obsessed with your EP “Tomorrow”, which was released last January. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind it?

This was an EP inspired by me trying to go back to my roots. I felt like I had strayed a bit from the artist that I tried to be at the start and this tells the story of me trying to get back there. Through self doubt in ‘Hey Babe, I’m A Mess, I’m Sorry’, to heartbreak in ‘Waste’ and eventually the release of ‘Tomorrow’, which has the release of finally feeling like myself again. It was a real privilege to be able to make it.

You’ve described the last few years as a rollercoaster of highs and lows. What was the most pivotal moment that led you to reset your artistic direction?

I think, after I was dropped, I went through a really tough period mentally. I lost a lot of self-confidence and was just generally a bit directionless. It felt like it was either quit or dig in, and I’m no quitter. I just had to block out the noise and make something that I loved. It was all or nothing really.

Your songs have always been deeply personal. Was it challenging to be this vulnerable in your new music?

It wasn’t challenging to write it really, it just took a minute to get there. The hard bit was putting it out. As a Northern Irish man, it can be hard to talk about or show emotions all the time, so having this music out in the open is terrifying. I struggle sometimes with people asking me about it too much, but I’m also just really proud that I did it.

Some fans might know you from your viral cover of the "Friends" theme song. Did you expect it to blow up the way it did?

Absolutely not. It was the middle of Covid and I had just discovered Tik Tok. I’ll be honest, it was a complete fluke! A lot of people were then disappointed that I wasn’t a Friends fan account, but hopefully they liked the other tunes.

You've worked with some incredible songwriters and artists over the years. What do you think makes a great co-writing session, and is there a particular collaboration that stands out as a favourite?

My favourites will always be Foy Vance and Tom Odell. They’re just two powerhouses of music. The best co-write comes out of the session being fun. The less that you’re actually trying to write a song, the better it is I find. With Foy, we mostly played pool all day and the song just ended up happening.

We can’t wait to see you headline The Garage in May – What can we expect from the show?

It’s fun, it’s sad, I say some stuff I regret immediately and usually we all have a pint at the end. It’s a good time.

FINAL TICKERS FOR JC STEWART'S SHOW AVAILABLE HERE.