As we count down the days until Saturday’s big ol’ party at Native Sound Stage, Oxford Karma’s Endless Summer (tickets available here), we’ll also be profiling each of the artists performing and, most importantly, why they need to be seen. Next up: Sun Riah.
Set time: 3:15 p.m.
Hometown: Oklahoma City
Members: M. Bailey Stephenson
Follow them on: Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp
Why you need to see her: In our review of Sun Riah’s harrowing gut-punch of a record, Firefly Night Light, we confidently dubbed it “a landmark album for Oklahoma music,” and that still holds true today. With her harp and a bolder musical vision in tow, Oklahoma City’s M. Bailey Stephenson crafted the most lyrically/sonically immersive pieces of music to emerge from this state in quite some time. She’s been recording under her Sun Riah moniker for less than a year, but Stephenson has already cemented herself as one of the region’s most uniquely talented young songwriters.
What others in the know are saying: “Sun Riah … presents a more melancholic side of the harp, with her haunting, experimental arrangements and a vocal delivery reminiscent of Joanna Newsom. Incorporating elements of ambient, folk, and shoegaze, using mesmerizing loops to achieve a reflective, otherworldly sound, her work has developed a reputation for blurring genre boundaries.” – Stephen Knapp (Buffablog, July 12, 2015)
Essential listening: Firefly Night Light
