Bio
It started on the Holt house back porch one night when Emily McCollum played a new song for her brother Alex. She was in the studio recording a solo EP and needed someone to sing harmonies. It was from there they recorded their first EP and the duo was born. A friend suggested the street they grew up on — Stagbriar. Saying it out loud struck a chord in them both. The name fit the sound they envisioned.
From there the siblings felt the excitement to write more, working towards their first full length album — Quasi-Hymns Murder-Ballads & Tales of How the Hero Died. While still playing shows as a duo, it was at Archer Avenue Studio in Columbia, SC that the two evolved into something more. Written with a rhythm section in mind, the goal was to write bigger, more colorful songs and arrangements. To perform the songs live and do them justice, they needed a full band.
Though not a current member, Brett Kent played a hand in the band's story. First joining as bass player, Kent would light a fire that would lead the band through their most active year in 2014. After a four year hiatus Kent convinced the band to reunite for his annual Skanksgiving show, lighting a spark that would lead the indie Americana band in a more powerful direction.
With a new band featuring Roger Caughman (guitar), Cameron Powell (bass), and Brendan Bull (drums), the once duo found something unexpected. New bare-bones songs, written at lonely moments in their bedrooms, grew beyond their imagination as each band member weighed in. The songs flowed out, and their 2020 album Suppose You Grow came to life.
It comes down to the sibling bond—an inseparability that allows their voices to intertwine, and their minds to connect when writing—that sets the band apart. From there the songs grow with the talented musicians they surround themselves with.
- David Stringer, Scene SC
Members
Alex McCollum (vocals, guitar)
Emily McCollum (vocals, guitar)
Roger Caughman (guitar)
Cam Powell (bass)
Brendan Bull (drums)
Past Members and Featured Musicians
Colin Brown
Brandon Edwards
Brett J. Kent
Jared Pyritz
Steve Sancho
Patrick O’Neil
James Gibson
Kenny McWilliams
Robert Hatfield
Marshall Brown
Cayla Fralick
Matt Wentz
Active Associated Bands