Spotlights On: The Stonefruit Collective

A Collective Built Around Storytelling

Steve Clark’s “the more the merrier” attitude is what shaped The Stonefruit Collective, a troupe that uses a layered signature sound to tell stories stretching beyond stars and conventional concert spaces. 

Originally beginning with a 16-song Christmas set Clark wrote called The Haunting of Ebenezer, which is a theatrical Americana retelling of A Christmas Carol,  the group is now entering its fourth year of performances, while preparing to bring a new season to life musically.

Members of The Stonefruit Collective. Photo taken by Tyler Franz.

Their upcoming summer performance series, Songs for the Earth Curious, is a set of roughly 20 songs written to tell a story inspired by nature, space, agriculture, and the soul. Seven band members are performing on this project, including Steve Clark, vocals and acoustic guitar; Sara Hartley, vocals; Remy Hogue, vocals; Tracy Hankins, violin; Mackenzie Vance, bass; Cristobal Pico, drums; and Anthony Bero, keys.

“It's all sort of pastoral and nature-based. I've got a whole lot of songs and I started to pick out ones that had themes that were related to the planet and to space and also the soul. And we have a very like, I don't know, describing the sound would be harmonious, and very folky,” Clark described. “This one, I think because it doesn't have to hang on a story, was able to feel a lot more expansive.”

Journeying Beyond Genre

Sara Hartley has performed in both The Haunting of Ebenezer and Songs for the Earth Curious, and described the upcoming project as something intentionally fluid.

“Songs for the Earth Curious to me kind of jumps in and out of genres. Though it feels like the same person wrote it and the same band is playing it, there are shades of different kinds of music,” Hartley described.

That variety reflects the collective itself. Hailing from cities across the country, or raised in Michigan and eventually returning, the Traverse City-based collective’s breadth of musical experience is defined by years in musical theatre and in cities like Chicago and San Francisco, with each member bringing unique artistry and enthusiasm to Clark’s songwriting.

Hartley connected with Clark shortly after he relocated to Traverse City in 2015, bringing with him a large catalog of songs and five musicals he’d written through his time at a theatre company. From there, they expanded the collective, at points including Hartley’s brother, sister-in-law, and husband Remy.

Having spent a lifetime making music, as well as doing projects with Old Town Playhouse, Mashup Rock ‘N’ Roll Musical, Hartley brought another layer of theatrical influence to the performances.

The Art of Atmosphere

“There's a lot of things about Steve's experiences that you can't record. I remember when we were first talking about Ebenezer, we hadn't even done it before. He was like, ‘when I wrote this, I was imagining performing it — it's got to be in a bar with a fireplace.’ And I was like, I get it,” Hartley recounted.

This poster, created by Ethan Colyer, illustrates the whimsical folklore and outdoorsy theme of the set.

“We found these like super cozy places to do it, like the Barrel Room and Willowbrook Mill and the old art building and all of these warm, woodsy northern places and created some really special experiences that people still talk to us about as kind of really magical moments for them," she continued.

This dedication to creating memorable live experiences, in combination with the sets that are written more as movements that weave together a story, shape The Stonefruit Collective’s immersive live experiences.

While the best overall genre would be modern folk, Hankins finds it easiest to describe it based on the location. 

“I would say this is Traverse City folk music; it's a little different. It's got a lot of different influences. It's modern folk, it's not 100% folk. There are a lot of different genres that are folded into the songs. It's kind of Northern Michigan specific,” she detailed, especially with the songs selected in Songs for the Earth Curious and the vibrancy that she’s found within the Grand Traverse music scene after years in the Bay Area music scene before returning to the Midwest. 

“I think there's a richness too to the song choices and the types of lyrics and singing that kind of draws from the richness of this area. We have a lot of water resources, we have wonderful forested areas, so the sprites and the forest creatures, and the agriculture, of course,” she continued.

Clark echoes that, describing the set to include lots of water songs, as well as folkloric references such as sprites and more, with an agricultural throughline drawing audience members from beginning to end.

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To keep up with The Stonefruit Collective, follow them on Instagram or check out the Songs for the Earth Curious website. Catch them live on Sunday, June 21 at The Botanic Gardens at Historic Barns Park in Traverse City; Friday, July 17 at the Great Lakes Incubator Farm in Traverse City; or Sunday, July 26 at 9 Bean Rows in Suttons Bay.