Chapel Hill country-folk duo Blue Cactus is uniting generations of music lovers with honest lyricism and a blend of Americana, folk and indie twang on their newest album, "Believer." The album is set to release on April 25; in the meantime, they’ve been performing on live stages and as part of PBS’s new show "Shaped by Sound."
Blue Cactus is made up of musicians Steph Stewart and Mario Arnez. Stewart and Arnez have been making music together since the 2010s, starting in a group called Steph Stewart and the Boyfriends. As life went on, some of the band members went in different directions, but Stewart and Arnez never stopped making music together. They officially formed Blue Cactus in 2016 when they started to record their self-titled album.
It’s been four years since the release of their last album, "Stranger Again," and they’re gearing up for their upcoming tour, including a South by Southwest music festival performance in March. The group will host an album release show for "Believer" at Cat’s Cradle on May 3.
They recorded "Believer" in both Nashville and Pittsboro. For Blue Cactus, the difference between the two cities is pace. In Nashville — the beating heart of American country music — a 10 a.m. call time means unpacked, in the studio and ready to hit record by 10 a.m. In Pittsboro, closer to where Blue Cactus calls home, a 10 a.m. call time is much more laid back, Stewart said.
On Friday, Blue Cactus opened for Town Mountain at Cat’s Cradle. They performed music from their 2021 album "Stranger Again," their newest single “This Kind of Rain” and a few unreleased songs from "Believer." The crowd was full of country lovers, young and old. Some audience members took to their feet to dance and others sang along even when they didn’t know the words.

Steph Stewart sings and plays guitar during Blue Cactus' set at Cat's Cradle on Feb. 7.
UNC first-year and Town Mountain fan Noah Mclauchlin had never heard of Blue Cactus before Friday’s show. But after their performance, he looked them up on Spotify to check out some more of their music, and particularly enjoyed their song “Kings.”
“Both [Stewart and Arnez] were really skilled on the guitar, and they had some really good songs,” he said.
“Kings” is an unreleased song from “Believer” written about Stewart’s brother who was a firefighter and is now in the Air Force. This song encapsulates Blue Cactus’ dedication to maintaining the honest and personal aspects of traditional folk music. Their lyrics speak to their own experiences while also saying something about the state of the world.