As Bobby Stevens’ voice drifts between his spare picking, you know you’re in for something magical. Hushed, somber, and hopeful, the St. Louis-based singer-songwriter channels the sky’s majesty into humble contemplation. The song is gentle, but we can hear Stevens’ punk influences crackle beneath the surface, giving “Lines Between Stars” an earthy, lived-in feel. Now that the flames have died down, this moment of rest feels well-earned.
Bobby Stevens is a Northeast Ohio born, St. Louis, Missouri based songwriter. In 2007, a few friends who had branched out from the northern shore of Ohio, decided it a good idea to recongregate and settle in Oberlin, Ohio. This was a good place to be, a nice small town. Bobby hosted an open mic at a tasty little college town burrito restaurant and there was an all around excellent, shared creative environment. They were all cutting their teeth there and diving into the community. He released his first solo EP in 2008, recorded by Andy Cook, in the house where they lived at the time.
Stevens cites the holy trinity of Prine, Springsteen, and Westerberg among his influences, but there’s a healthy portion of Kasey Anderson and Steve Earle here, too.
In 2021, after many good talks with longtime friend and collaborator, Andy Cook, Bobby took a trip back to Oberlin, Ohio to start recording a new album. They did the bed tracks at Andy’s house with lightning bugs flashing in the background and little crickets chirping. Friends from St. Louis, Urbana, IL, and Ohio all chimed in and they took it all back to Eric Cronstein at The Tone Shoppe, now in Cincinnati, Ohio and rounded out the tunes, gave em a nice mix, and came out with Glad You Picked Up, which will be released in early 2023.
“I should probably mark all of my friends as co-writers of this song,” Stevens tells Adobe & Teardrops. “I think somewhere in my mind while I was writing this song, I was thinking of all the imposter syndrome conversations I’ve had with friends, and the listlessness, reliable uncertainty. This was one of two songs that I wrote while we were shuttered. I was talking with friends more often than usual, we were asking a lot more questions than normal, I guess more to the void than to each other, just waiting for an answer. But, the nice thing is having folks to help you remember your dreams, to help build those bridges and bring in the mercy and relief from all the doubt.”