Music follows Renée Stewart everywhere. Based in Meigs County, she has been singing since her early childhood and playing guitar since age sixteen.
In 2017, Stewart released her first official single, “Wild Horses.” Since then, her music career has been gaining momentum across Southeast Ohio.
In a conversation with Southeast Ohio magazine, Stewart talks about her life off-stage, her challenges as the lead singer in an up-and-coming band and her personal connection with songwriting.
How did you start the Renée Stewart Band?
I’ve been writing (music) forever but had previously been reluctant to share anything.
Eventually, I did post something and mentioned in the caption that I needed a real guitar part. Dustin Nash, who is our guitar player now, reached out and was like, “Hey, if you really want a guitar part on this, I’d love to work on it.” We got together, and he had written something that I loved.
He’s so talented and makes everything look crazy easy, and after we worked on (the song), he said, “What would you think about starting a band?”
He had already masterminded the whole thing. From there, it just really took off.
What is your favorite song you’ve written so far?
I have such an emotional connection to “Ghost.” That song is super special to me.
Not only is it about my brother who died in 2018, but a lot of it is pulled memories from when we were kids. I have a memory of my brother and I singing Counting Crows while we were getting ready for school one morning. About a year and a half after he died, I was with Dustin and I was reluctant to say, “I want to write a song about my brother,” because it’s so heavy.
He was so crazy supportive and then the rest of the band was not shy at all about saying, “You should say exactly what you want to say. You don’t have to water that down for us, and you certainly don’t need to water it down for anybody else.” There was a lot of healing.
In one sentence, how would you describe your music to people who haven’t listened to it before?
I would say we’re rock ’n’ roll roots, heavily influenced by blues and gospel, and a mix of guitar and big feelings. I think there’s an emotional honesty there, I hope some folks identify with parts of it, if not all.
What was one of the biggest challenges when starting the band?
Feeling confident enough to do it was and remains my biggest challenge. In certain aspects, I still look for people to give me permission to do it.
It’s not exactly healthy, but it’s where I am, and it’s something I’m still working through. For example, I’ve been playing guitar since I was 16. My grandpa taught me my first three-chord song, but I’ve only actually played a song in front of people less than half a dozen times until earlier this year.
I remember feeling like, “Why would you even make music if you’re not trying to make it your career, move to Nashville?” But then I stopped and was like “Wait a second. People who aren’t good enough for the NBA still play basketball on the weekends and have fun with their friends, and they feel good doing it, so why am I denying myself something I know I love doing?”
If music feels good in your soul, friggin’ make music. If it’s what lights you up from the inside, you should be doing it.
