Join us for the first in our Sumac Sundowner series for an evening of songs and stories with Will Stewart and Tim Higgins. Will and Tim will share the stage at Sumac Cottage, performing their original music and sharing the stories behind their songs. Arrive around 6, and expect the music to begin around 6:30. $10 at the door, venmo and cash preferred.

This show will take place outdoors at Sumac Cottage, so please bring a chair, blanket, etc, and dress appropriately. You are welcome to bring a cooler and a snack, and there are several great dinner options if you’d like to get take-out for the show. We recommend Ruan Thai on a Saturday evening.

RSVPs are not required, but help us gauge the crowd. If you’re planning to come, let us know by e-mailing magic@sumaccottage.com.

WILL STEWART

As one of the brightest and most prolific new songwriters to emerge from the Birmingham music scene over the past few years, Will Stewart has made a name for himself as both an imaginative storyteller and six string gunslinger whose detailed accounts of life around the Deep South seem to capture the essence of not just the humid, kudzu-covered environs they come out of, but also the creative cultural milieu that makes such narratives possible in the first place. Taking cues from everyone from Big Star and R.E.M., to Phosphorescent and the Drive-By Truckers, and even classic Southern literary figures like Eudora Welty and Barry Hannah, Stewart has managed to carve out a place for himself as a conjurer of time, place and characters— and the stories that swirl around them— in a way that’s simultaneously reflective, empathetic and unapologetic in their presentation.

Now on his fourth solo LP, over his past three studio efforts Stewart has shown a deft touch for not just engaging character arcs and succinct studies in the human condition, but also a range of musical modes that span everything from quiet dissertations on love and loss, to brash rockers and moody explorations of the complicated nature of modern Southern living. As someone who also wears the hat of a highly sought after sideman who lends his talents to friends and fellow travelers like Birmingham locals The Blips, Terry Ohms and Sarah Lee Langford, there are few sonic spaces that Stewart’s hands haven’t touched in some way, whether it’s blasting out amped-up garage rock or eliciting evocative and hushed guitar stylings for his longtime collaborator Janet Simpson. 

Mark your calendar for August 2nd for the 4th Annual Black Belt Birding Festival! It’s always a beautiful day in the Black Belt!

This year, like the past, we’re having live music and an artist market. But we’re adding in more magic this year, with a juried exhibition of bird-related art in the cottage. Stay tuned for the call to artists for that exhibition.