ACMA presents Blue Cactus in concert. Peter Bensen opens

With an Americana/classic country vibe alongside rockin' guitar work, welcome these two to our ACMA stage for their debut. You are in for something special!

Blue Cactus, the North Carolina duo of Steph Stewart and Mario Arnez, make Dream Country: a blend of grit, glitz, groove, and twang that evokes a celestial soundscape of mid-century heartbreak and harkens comparisons eclectic and iconic as Bobbie Gentry, Fleetwood Mac, and David Bowie.

Their sophomore album, Stranger Again, released in 2021 on Sleepy Cat Records, nabbed enthusiastic attention from tastemakers including No Depression, American Songwriter, FLOOD Magazine, Talkhouse, and INDY Week among others. Following their critically-acclaimed 2017 debut and a string of singles in 2020, Stranger Again saw the band taking their sound to an ambitious new plane, where country-rock and light psychedelia mingle, vocals soaring over twangy slide guitars and propulsive basslines. 

The North Carolina duo have performed at several beloved festivals including Nelsonville, Red Wing Roots, Muddy Roots and Hopscotch and shared the stage as support for an array of artists from The War & Treaty, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, and Lilly Hiatt to Town Mountain and Junior Brown among others.

Between the comfort of classic country and the glamour of 70s rock, Blue Cactus resuscitates a fleeting style of honest-to-goodness country music considered valueless to a “new” country music where songwriting is officiated by financial analysts and teams of marketing plutocrats instead of woebegone troubadours. With a high lonesome twang, an Emmylou-like southern drawl, and blistering guitar techniques, Blue Cactus exercises the honky-tonk muscles to firmly bear the flag for a new generation of country music.

"If country music is often about familiarity and comfort, this is more like having the rug artfully pulled out from under you without even noticing it."
-----CREATIVE LOAFING

Take a look at this:
bluecactusmusic.com

ACMA member and singer/songwriter, Pete Bensen opens the show. An old hand at garage bands and rehearsal studios, born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, New York. Pete now makes his home, and home music studio, in Estero, Florida. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing acoustic and electric guitars, bass and electric and acoustic percussion.