Stephen Sanchez burst onto the scene with the romantic song “Until I Found You” and has since released his debut full-length album, Angel Face. It’s an immersive concept album pulling from 50’s and 60’s musical styles and aesthetics, crafting settings and characters that submerse listeners in the narrative. Recently, he played his first Pilgrimage Festival in Franklin, Tennessee, and spoke with American Songwriter at the George Dickel dive bar about the album, what’s next for him, and the popularity of his breakout hit.
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One special aspect of “Until I Found You” that Sanchez mentioned is that couples are using it for their wedding song. “So many people have sent videos of them getting married to that song, walking down the aisle to that song,” he said. “I couldn’t count on one hand or all my toes how many people have used that song for their wedding, it’s crazy.”
Speaking of crazy, it was his first time playing Pilgrimage, and he expressed his excitement at performing at a hometown festival. “Every festival we’ve ever played, it’s always the first time playing and attending,” he explained, “so this is rad.” He also mentioned the “crazy” mud, which plagued the festival after Hurricane Helene blew through Tennessee.
[RELATED: Stephen Sanchez on Debut Album ‘Angel Face’: “It Happened Naturally”]
Stephen Sanchez Talks Immersive Concept Album and Who He Was Excited to See Perform at Pilgrimage Festival
This was Stephen Sanchez’s first Pilgrimage Festival, and besides putting on an amazing show, he was able to catch some of the other acts as well. So, who was he most excited to see?
“I’m really excited to see NEEDTOBREATHE,” he said, “just because I grew up with their music and everything, and predating me ever making music I was so inspired by [them] … Now we’ve done several tours, we’ve played some of the same rooms. They did two nights at the Ryman. So it just feels like we’re in the same league, which is cool. And they’ve got so many years on me which is awesome too.”
As for Angel Face, the burning question is, how did Stephen Sanchez come up with such an immersive concept for his debut full-length album?
“I think it was kind of accidental, really,” he explained. “Because ‘Until I Found You’ was … kind of a joke for a second because I was like, it would be funny if I made a 50’s song. And then we did it again with ‘Evangeline.’ So when it came to making a full-length record and conversing about that, I was like, if we’re going to do it we should make it more immersive than just ‘this is a 50’s record.’ We should have a story, there should be characters and it should have drama.”
He continued, “And I just love the theatrics of storytelling, and I think that really came about as we started writing the record and the stories started to unfold,” adding, “So now I’m just going to make records like that forever.”
Who Was Sanchez’s Biggest Inspiration for the 50s-Style Record?
“Roy Orbison, for sure,” Sanchez replied. He even performed “Pretty Woman” at Pilgrimage. Sanchez explained that he respects Orbison as an inspiration because he lived what he sang about.
“It’s crazy, because that guy wrote songs about heartache, and being lonely and all that,” Sanchez said, “but he actually lived in that, like he lived in that place. He lost his wife, his two sons, he went through so much and I find it really inspiring as well that he lived his stories, and I think that’s something that’s been really inspiring as well.”
As for what’s next after Pilgrimage for Stephen Sanchez, he’s going on his headlining tour, of course. However, he’s also just trying to decorate his home in Tennessee. Right now, he’s just “hanging stuff up, making a home, and trying to balance the craziness of music and life.”
Featured Image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival
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