Stephen Clair Album Release Show

Stephen Clair celebrates the release of his new album “To The Trees.”

How does a genuinely visceral rock songwriter like Stephen Clair not get feted like the second fuckin’ coming?”

—Power of Pop, October 2020

Stephen Clair is a touring songwriter, producer, presenter, and mentor known internationally for his evocative songwriting, genre-blind guitar style, his always-sold-out songwriting classes, and an indefinable and indefatigable spirit.

Stephen first came to prominence when WFUV started putting some serious spins on his ode, “Jen In Her Underwear,” at which point, Rita Houston was famously quoted as saying, “I love every song on here.” San Antonio Express has called him “a fearless performer.”

Clair is a prolific songwriter——all the more so during the pandemic. Through the winter Clair was invited to play live-streamed concerts by WDST, Rockwood Music Hall, Folk Alliance, and others. He went ahead and released a full length vinyl LP, The Small Hours, last fall, pandemic be damned, and sold out of albums before the end of the year, all via BandCamp. A respected songwriter, known for writing in an admirable range of styles, Stephen Clair’s already popular online songwriting classes only grew in popularity during the pandemic.

Clair came up opening shows for Vic Chesnutt AND Alejandro Escovedo; opening shows for Yo La Tengo AND providing tour support for Robert Earl Keen; with support from WFUV AND WNCW. Since the beginning, Clair’s gritty yet story-telling songs were informed by his penchant for the sound of the lower east side in the 70s, and central Texas in …well, … the 70s… He’s always believed Lou Reed and Billy Joe Shaver had more in common than not.

“Clair is in a fine position to secure that big breakout he’s been building towards over the course of eight albums and a career that’s found him in the role of a tireless troubadour. He’s also an unassuming sort, and while he’s remained mostly under the radar, his music reflects an affable persona and a continuing commitment to making music that’s agreeable for the masses, and yet knowing and nuanced all at the same time.”

— American Songwriter, 2020

“Clair’s talents—deadpan delivery, keen wordsmithing, and deceptively intricate fretwork—are at the fore, shining through …”

—Chronogram Magazine, 2020

Performing Songwriter calls him “the kind of citified troubadour that the roots songwriting world needs these days.”

“CLAIR REMAINS AN UNDERRATED TREASURE AND DESERVES YOUR ATTENTION.” — Power Popaholic

“The Small Hours makes me feel the way I used to back in the 80’s about new Mellencamp records, where I would listen to them over and over again, absorbing every detail and nuance until I knew them as well as I did my own life. Yeah, I can see Clair’s music inspiring that kind of devotion… ”

— Gonzookanagan

“Stephen Clair’s Strange Perfume is a perfect homage to 1970s garage rock. Think in terms of Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers or if David Bowie had gotten a crack at producing The Velvet Underground. The major thing separating Clair from those artists, and artists like them is the joy within his music. While there’s emotional complexity and variety across the album, Clair and his band, in general, sound happy and excited to be bringing his ten songs to life and that excitement is transmitted to the listener.”

– Steve Ovadia/Glide Magazine

“Some of the best rock ‘n’ roll music you’ll hear this year. Raw and in-your-face, Strange Perfume reminds us all of the visceral power of rock ‘n’ roll, without pretence or artifice.”

— Power of Pop

“Blending the kind of jaggedly cool guitar and piano that put Spoon on the map with a deadpan, almost spoken-word vocal delivery, the song quickly evolves into a righteous bar band anthem that feels as much linked to acts like the Hold Steady as it does to Wilco”

— Glide Magazine