On Feb. 24, the southern rock and roll band, The Stews, performed at The Lyric Theatre on the Oxford Square. The band originated in Auburn Alabama, but have performed in Oxford many times in the past two years. They previously played at the 2023 Double Decker Arts Festival and opened for Moon Taxi in November of last year. The Stews became a band while enrolled at Auburn University, starting out by just playing fraternity parties and backyard parties in the Atlanta/Auburn area. Once they grew in popularity they then decided to start touring across the country and just started their 2024 “Hourglass” tour.
The band consists of bass Bennet Baugus, drummer Wyatt Griffith, guitarist Blake Dobbs, and lead singer Preston Hall. Baugus shared more on how they met and started the band.
“We officially met and started in Auburn, AL, but Wyatt, Blake, and I all went to school together in Atlanta, GA.,” Baugus said. “We had a small band in high school called No Can Do and played events such as local battle of the bands and school events. When Wyatt moved to Auburn for college, he met Preston and the rest is history.”
Their 2024 Hourglass Tour kicked off on Feb. 2nd with a stop in Oxford on Feb. 24th. The band is no stranger to Oxford and they have always drawn a crowd.
“The energy from the crowd is always great in Oxford,” Griffith said. “We’ve played multiple frat shows, Proud Larry’s, Double Decker fest, and The Lyric twice now and we can’t wait to keep coming back.”
The Stews’ familiarity and previous shows in Oxford was a major factor for their return to The Lyric.
“We played The Lyric last year in October with Moon Taxi, and before that we played Proud Larry’s,” Baugus said. “When we were planning this tour we knew we wanted to come back and headline The Lyric. It has also consistently been one of our favorite college towns to play in since we started playing outside of Alabama and Georgia.”
Their tour has taken them all over the south from Oxford to Tampa Bay and Auburn playing in a new city practically every night. Baugus explains how they manage their busy tour schedule.
“It can be grueling, especially in the middle of a long tour when there is little time for rest and/or recovery,” Baugus said. “Yet, the passion we have for our music and our live show is reciprocated every night by our fans and it drives us. It blows my mind that we can show up to places we’ve never been and immediately feel the energy and hospitality.”
Several OHS students are big supporters of the band and attended the show. Juniors Elsie Bridgers and Ella Wellinghoff, OHS students, attended the show and shared their thoughts on the show.
“I had a very good experience at the show, it was a lot of fun,” Bridgers said.
Wellinghoff had previously been to their Double Decker performance and gave insight on her experiences.
“Last time I didn’t really know who they were and didn’t really get to enjoy them fully,” Wellinghoff said. “This time I had listened to them beforehand and I enjoyed the concert a lot more.”
After seeing the band twice,Wellinghoff explains her favorite thing about the band.
“My favorite part has to be the atmosphere that the band creates,” Wellinghoff said.” “The atmosphere they create makes everybody have a good time and just enjoy each other and their music.”
