Macie Stewart is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter, and improviser based in Chicago, IL. Heralded for her versatility, Stewart works with piano, violin, guitar, voice, and synthesizers, effortlessly traversing styles and scenes. A distinguished, go-to collaborator who Pitchfork credits with “making some of the best tracks of the past five years transcendent,” Stewart’s deeply humanist and often otherworldly capacities in deep listening have shaped each collaboration as much as her technical prowess and ingenuity. Aptly called a “master of equilibrium” by DownBeat magazine, she has an uncanny ability to meet the needs of the music with precision and taste.

Stewart’s latest release, When the Distance is Blue (International Anthem, 2024) is a cinematic, symphonic companion to the times we spend in-between. Rooted in Stewart’s prepared piano improvisations and string arrangements, the record is collaged with field recordings from a year on the road, giving shape to Stewart’s most striking work yet.

Stewart has toured with Japanese Breakfast, The Weather Station, Kevin Morby, and Tweedy; performed strings for Reservoir, Lala Lala and Kara Jackson; and performed and arranged for SZA, Whitney, Mannequin Pussy, Tasha, and V.V. Lightbody. Fueled by what she describes as an essential cross-pollination of these projects and creative communities, Stewart released her solo debut Mouth Full of Glass (Orindal Records) in 2021. Self-recorded, self-arranged, and self-produced during the pandemic, Mouth Full of Glass received high praise, culminating in an international tour and a self-arranged 12-piece orchestral production of the record at Chicago’s Epiphany Center for the Arts. Praised by Pitchfork for its blooming string arrangements, poetic lyricism, and “lush, baroque-tinged folk,” Stewart’s debut showcased an artist adept at shaping others’ sounds settling into her a voice all her own.

Photo: Shannon Marks