Yes You Can Go Home Again

After a night of airplanes and layovers, Angie Stevens and I shared a moment on the telephone to discuss her upcoming performance at the Celebration of Women and Their Music.

The Fargo native, who is currently based out of Denver, is an inspired musician whose passion for her music comes through in her deep and sincere vocals. Her intimate lyrics are perfectly complimented by her sound, which is a superb synthesis of folk and acoustic rock. With an honesty which is so profoundly human, Angie’s music is making an impact, and now she’s bringing that impact back home to support the arts and women here in the Red River Valley.

HPR: So as I understand it, you’re coming all the way up to Fargo and you’re headlining at the Aquarium. But you’re also performing for 15 minutes as a feature at the Celebration of Women and Their Music.

Angie: Correct.

HPR: What got you involved in this event?

Angie: I got involved in the event probably, I would say 10 years ago when I helped out with the event when my friend Brenda Weiler played. And I kept in contact with Deb Jenkins, who’s a good friend of mine, and she actually didn’t even know I played music. One time I told her I needed her to help me book a show and it just sort of came from that. I played a show for her, she liked it, and we ended up booking me for last year’s Celebration of Women and Their Music.

HPR: So you’re from Fargo, and now you’re touring and you’re based in Denver. So why do you continue to support this event, all the way up here in Siberia?

Angie: I love coming back to Fargo to play. I have a a lot of friends up there, and a lot of fans up there, and also, I think it’s a great event and it celebrates women in music which I think is really important.

HPR: So this is really a community-oriented event. I sat down with Deb Jenkins and that was my impression. So in your opinion, why is music so important for communities like Fargo-Moorhead?

Angie: I think Deb is really keeping the music community in Fargo alive. And Fargo is a prominent city in North Dakota for touring so I think it’s important to have something like this to support the artists.

HPR: How is music important in your own life?

Angie: Music has been my saving grace, it’s been my calling, it’s been my… uh, I can’t even…it’s my life!

HPR: Eat, breathe and live music?

Angie: Pretty much!

HPR: So, as a female musician, how do events such as a this encourage young women to pursue their passions?

Angie: A Celebration of Women and Their Music was something I always wanted to play as a young teenager because I felt like it was something that really encouraged women and kind of celebrated something in our town that had never really been celebrated before. So I think it’s something that really helps to build that in girls.

HPR: What got you started? What inspired you to pursue music as a career?

Angie: I got started playing music when I wasn’t very well in college, and it was sort of an outlet for me to shine in something that, you know, like I said, music saved my life and it was something I had to do, not really something I wanted to do.

HPR: I’ve listened to some of your music and even in your voice, your music is so very impassioned. What keeps that passion going through tours and traveling all over and coming all the way up to Fargo? What keeps that passion going?

Angie: I think always…the passion comes from always remembering why I do it, which is connecting to the audience. So for me, you know, when I sing my songs about things that I’m going through or things that I’ve gone through, my number one thing is to transfer that to the audience and as soon as I hit the stage and I have that audience to respond to me, I think that’s what really keeps that passion flowing.

HPR: Ultimately, what do you hope people come away from your music with?

Angie: I think what I hope people come away from my music with is knowing that there’s someone out there that understands going through really rough times and also rising above the hard times and finding peace with it. Because that’s really what my songs are about. It’s yes, I am talking about something sad, but what I’m saying is that I went through it, and I’m okay now. I mean, it’s a trip to know that people know who I am in Fargo, or they’ve heard of me anywhere, I think that’s just been such a blessing. And it’s not about the fame, it’s more about… it’s just amazing that people connect with me enough to know my name.
HPR: Yeah, great! Well, I’m really excited to come see you…

Angie: Yay! It’s gonna be awesome.

HPR: Yeah! And so, good luck, and I’ll see you at the Celebration!