New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Becca
Stevens has unveiled a new single, "I'm Not Her." The track is the second single from her highly anticipated forthcoming album Maple to Paper, set for release August 30 via GroundUP.
On "I'm Not Her",
Stevens grapples with ego struggles triggered by the murky world of social media. She reflects on the contrast between her self-identity and the curated personas of popular influencers while capturing the fascinated and sometimes envy-laden "hate scrolling" reaction that they can bring out of her. The video depicts a performer channeling the internal journey of the song's lyrics into interpretive dance while scrolling through their phone.
The lead single "Now Feels Bigger Than The Past" released June 14 to critical acclaim. Imperfect Fifth lauded the track as "an entirely haunting yet emotionally gripping lead single into Becca Stevens' upcoming Maple to Paper. It's a heartbreaking song, yet also a masterful and poetic work by a great artist."
Stevens has also joined the cast of Broadway's 'Illinoise', which won Best Choreography at the 2024 Tony Awards and was nominated for three others including Best Musical. Illinoise features music and lyrics from Sufjan Stevens' 2005 concept album, Illinois. Stevens' beloved cult classic "springs to epic life on stage (Washington Post)" with live music and vocals, choreography, and narratives centering on self-exploration and community, with direction, choreography and a book by Tony Award-winning director-choreographer Justin Peck (Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, Carousel) and co-written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury (Fairview, Marys Seacole).
Stevens plays Barsine, the role initially held by Shara Nova, who performed on Sufjan's original album. Stevens' run began on June 17 and runs through the limited engagement's final performance on August 10—tickets are available for purchase now, linked here. The New York Times selected Illinoise as their critic's pick, describing, "With the verbal dials turned way down, and the physical and musical ones way up, the calibration of information, from dreamy to piercing, is PRETTY MUCH PERFECT." Variety raves, "[Illinoise is] one of the most singular productions in recent Broadway history."
In the early days of 2023,
Stevens felt an overwhelming need to process two monumental changes in her life: the death of her mother, and the start of her own journey into motherhood. Seeking the catharsis of self-expression, she withdrew to her home studio. Emerging from this unfettered creative period,
Stevens had completed Maple to Paper: a glimpse into her most private moments of grief and transcendence, rendered with devotion to music's alchemical powers.
Maple to Paper is Stevens' first entirely solo acoustic record. Recorded live with no overdubs and mixed by frequent collaborator Nic Hard (Snarky Puppy, Huntertones), the album features a stripped-down sound rooted in her spellbinding guitar work and raw yet luminous vocal performance. The album is a profound shift from the highly communal nature of her past projects—her most recent album, 2020's GRAMMY-nominated LP Wonderbloom featured over 40 guest musicians, while her work as a member of
David Crosby's Lighthouse Band generated wide renown.
Comprised of 12 original songs and one heartrending cover of "Rainbow Connection," Maple to Paper fully embraces the unhurried simplicity of folk. "This album brought me back to my roots as a guitarist, especially the Appalachian folk music my dad raised us on," notes Stevens, a classically trained guitarist. "Instead of feeling the urge to bring in other instruments and add a lot of complicated rhythms and harmonies, I challenged myself to find a way to make the songs believable without relying on anything but guitar and vocals to hold them up."
Looking back on the album's creation,
Stevens describes the experience as "at its best moments deeply cathartic and on hard days a means of survival." Balancing recording with caring for her daughter, each track provides a different insight into her psyche.
Stevens discovered an unexpected sustenance in holding her memories of
David Crosby, who passed away soon after she began recording Maple to Paper. "After losing my mom it was so difficult to lose
David too, but on the good days I could feel his music in me," she says. "I'd look down at my hands and see his hands, and I could hear him encouraging me—almost like he was a songwriting partner."
As she gets set to share Maple to Paper with the world,
Stevens admits to a certain unease surrounding the release of such an intensely personal body of work. "In all honesty, I didn't even realize I was making an album at first—I just needed to work through what was happening in my life, and the simplest way to do that was to turn it into music," she says. "There have been times when I've asked myself, 'Is this too much?', but I always come back to the hope that it might end up helping people. If someone could hear these songs and come away feeling like they understand their own experience in a new way, that would mean so much to me. As an artist, that's always the dream."
2X GRAMMY-nominated, North Carolina-raised singer-songwriter Becca
Stevens has toured internationally as the bandleader of the Becca
Stevens Band since its inception in 2006. Along with her solo output, Becca is a highly respected collaborator who has written and toured extensively with the likes of
David Crosby as an active member of his Lighthouse Band, Jacob Collier, Michael League of Snarky Puppy, Taylor Eigsti and more.
Becca has released collaborative records with the Secret Trio and the Attacca Quartet (with whom she was co-nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals with violist Nathan Schram).
Her most recent album Wonderbloom saw overwhelming critical acclaim: Jazz Magazine described the record as "sophisticated and sensual pop" while The Mail on Sunday praised its "Glamorous…semi-electric pop
Prince might approve of." The track "
Slow Burn" from Wonderbloom was nominated for a 2020 GRAMMY for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals.
TRACK LIST MAPLE TO PAPER:
Now Feels Bigger Than The Past
Shoulda Been There for Me
I'm Not Her
Hey, Bear
How to Listen
So Many Angels
Wild Eyes Open
Maple to Paper
If I Die Before You
Someone Else Again
Beast of a Song
Payin' to be Apart
Rainbow Connection
