5 minutes with musical group Stagbriar

Stagbriar, the Columbia sibling-led duo of Alex and Emily McCollum, are shaking off the dust and getting back in the studio. The band went into hiding for four years, but they’re back. Their new project, “Suppose You Grow,” is due out in August.

Q. For the people that don’t know you, tell us about yourself.

Alex: We’re a sibling-led space-folk band that went away for a while and then came back. We like it better this way.

Q. What’s the origin of Stagbriar?

Emily: Being siblings, we weren’t very close at all growing up, but in 2012 I sat down to record my next solo EP and Alex hopped in and helped write a song for it. The project seemed to work well as a duo.

Alex: Thus became Stagbriar. A year later we put out our first full-length record, developed our sound and formed a full band, had our song featured on NPR, and then went into hiding for four years.

Emily: The band currently consist of me and my brother, plus Jared Pyritz on electric guitar, Cam Powell on bass, and Brendan Bull on drums. There are a lot of great features on this record, too, including the wonderful Cayla Fralick, also local to Columbia.

Q. Tell us about the new project.

Alex: “Suppose You Grow” is our diary of processing forgiveness and forgetfulness. It’s an emotionally raw depiction of the sometimes infinite space between those two places. We began writing the songs for this record in 2014, but some are as new as a few weeks before the recording session. It’s wild to see four years worth of work and ideas finally come to fruition. We can’t wait to share it.

Q. How are you guys navigating through the coronavirus pandemic?

Emily: Short answer? Not great. We’re frightened for our local venues and fellow indie musicians. Most venues are in jeopardy of shutting their doors permanently right now, and we’re lucky enough to have jobs outside of music currently that can sustain us to a degree, but the project as a whole has taken a huge financial loss this year. If you have the chance to support any local artist right now, take it.

Q. Where can folks pre-order the new album?

Alex: You can pre-order our new album directly from Stagbriar.com. It’s available on CD, LP, and digital platforms and will be released Aug. 21.

This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 8:33 PM with the headline "5 minutes with musical group Stagbriar."