MacD on Music: New Year, New Gigs

... And we’re back! 2024 was a great year for gigs, starting off last January with the one-night-only reunion of the Whole Tribe Sings in the Nerve Centre and closing on New Year’s Eve Eve with the always-brilliant Touts in Sandino’s (with support from The Switch and The Suite).

It may only be the start of 2025, but this year is already shaping up to keep this trend going. So far this year, we’ve got upcoming gigs from the Undertones (Valentine’s night in the Millennium Forum), Ralph McTell (16th May in the Guildhall), Afro Celt Sound System (16th March, also the Guildhall) and, the subject of this week’s column, Casii Stephan (13th January in Sandino’s).

Casii Stephan is a “Minneapolis-born indie-pop meets soul-rock singer-songwriter” who’s voice has drawn comparisons to the likes to Florence Welsh (of +the Machine fame) and Fiona Apple.

I caught up with Casii recently to discuss the upcoming gig and her musical origins: “I grew up with my mom forcing me to play piano and my aunt led a worship in church and that’s how I got started singing.

“I didn’t start songwriting until when I was sixteen, and that was just to myself in my room to get emotions out. That slowly started evolving as I’ve grown, figuring out who I am and what I want to do and what I want to say.”

Speaking about her main influences: “Someone said I have a lot of theatrical melodies.

“I do love Disney movies and I love Celine Dion and, also, the White Stripes because that was the first time I heard music that wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t meant to be. It was meant to be a little off. That was really helpful for me as an artist.”

“I usually describe my stuff as soul-pop-rock, because that covers a lot of genres. Somebody said theatrical rock and I was like, that works too. Somebody described my live show, with the full band, as Florence+the Machine meets Alabama Shakes” [the Sandino’s gig is going to be just Casii and a guitar].

READ MORE: MacD on Music

Next, we spoke about some her career so far and some personal highlights: “I’ve been a South by Southwest official showcase artist three times. That was cool. I didn’t think I could ever do that. I’ve been able to play in New York City, which is always a fun thing to cross off the list.

“I’ve been able to tour regionally in the US. It’s just something that I’m incredibly grateful for, that people want to come to my shows and hear my songs.

“It just started in my bedroom, playing to myself, so it’s always nice there’s other people there. One of the things I always like hearing after the show is, sometimes people say I’m intense emotionally, I consider that a compliment.”

“Last year I got signed to a publisher that has the same catalogue as Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Black Sabbath, The Who, that was a pretty good moment. I was like ‘okay, there’s some legitimacy here’. I got to do a duet with Taylor Hanson this year [2024].

“Next year, I’m hoping to record and release more music and obviously just keep touring and seeing what else is out there.”

Speaking more about the gig here: “The evening is going to be songs and stories. I love telling stories with songs and exploring emotions. I know that’s so vague, because every songwriter does that.

“I do love telling stories and relating with the audience and sharing those universal emotions like love and grief and anger. Hopefully you come away a little bit more emotionally cleansed.”

I asked Casii about solo vs. band gigs: “I’ve done a few tours with just me and the guitar. It just depends on what the gig needs. Different venues require different things.

“I’ve done church venues and doing that with just me and a guitar is beautiful, but, also, the full band is fun to perform with. It’s always fun to rock out.”

Finally, ahead of her debut in one of our city’s most iconic venues, I asked about any personal favourite spots she’s played: “There’s been a few theatres I’ve played in that I really love. I did get to play in Twin Cities in Minnesota, where I’m from, in First Avenue, where Prince got his start.

“That was pretty cool, to get to play that venue and cross that off my list.”

And that’s it from Casii Stephan. She’ll be playing Sandino’s this day next week with support from Polar Bolero. Tickets on sale now on Eventbrite for £15 plus booking fee and doors are at 6.45pm.

Casii’s music is available now on all good streaming platforms and she can be found on Instagram @casiistephan.