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Magpie Thief Collaborators Step Back Into The Blues

WUNC News | By Laura Pellicer,
Frank Stasio
Published June 5, 2018 at 12:03 PM EDT
Emily Stewart and Matty Sheets are Magpie Thief, a Greensboro-based folk band.
Courtesy of Emily Stewart and Matty Sheets
Emily Stewart and Matty Sheets are Magpie Thief, a Greensboro-based folk band.
Emily Stewart and Matty Sheets are Magpie Thief, a Greensboro-based folk band.
Credit Courtesy of Emily Stewart and Matty Sheets
Emily Stewart and Matty Sheets are Magpie Thief, a Greensboro-based folk band.

Magpie Thief is a stripped down folk-duo featuring Greensboro-based singer-songwriters Emily Stewart and Matty Sheets. For Stewart and Sheets, the heat of summer inspires some of their most creative work. They escape the sun and cozy up indoors in cool living rooms. As this summer approaches, Stewart and Sheets are hoping to veer away from their raw and eclectic folk sound and experiment with other genres, including the blues.

Magpie Thief Collaborators, Emily Stewart and Matty Sheets, perform live at the Triad Stage’s UpStage Cabaret in Greensboro for the State of Things.

The two perform live at the Triad Stage’s UpStage Cabaret in Greensboro. Stewart is a multi-instrumentalist comfortable on stage with a banjo, harmonica, or guitar. Matty Sheets joins on guitar and vocals to perform what they call “folk music with street smarts.” Sheets performs Saturday, June 9 at 8 p.m. at Common Grounds in Greensboro, and on Thursday, June 14 at 9 p.m. at On Pop of the World Studios in Greensboro. You can catch Stewart on Friday, June 22 at 10 p.m. at Smith & Edge in Greensboro. The duo play Saturday, July 14 at 7 p.m. at Greensboro’s Preyer Brewing.

Copyright 2018 North Carolina Public Radio
Laura Pellicer
Laura Pellicer is a producer with The State of Things (hyperlink), a show that explores North Carolina through conversation. Laura was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, a city she considers arrestingly beautiful, if not a little dysfunctional. She worked as a researcher for CBC Montreal and also contributed to their programming as an investigative journalist, social media reporter, and special projects planner. Her work has been nominated for two Canadian RTDNA Awards. Laura loves looking into how cities work, pursuing stories about indigenous rights, and finding fresh voices to share with listeners. Laura is enamored with her new home in North Carolina—notably the lush forests, and the waves where she plans on moonlighting as a mediocre surfer.
See stories by Laura Pellicer
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio