By Staff at River Cities’ Reader / August 2026
With Americana Highways praising the artist for delivering a “sweet, steamy pot of serious country music and lyrics.” singer/songwriter Stacy Antonel headlines an August 18 concert at Davenport’s Raccoon Motel, her debut album Always the Outsider hailed by Saving Country Music as “quite an exquisite collection of songs that gives Antonel a unique role in the country landscape.”
As stated at StacyAntonel.com: “Imagine Tammy Wynette crossed with the Ventures and you’ll have an idea of the sonic world of Americana artist Stacy Antonel’s forthcoming EP, The Seahorses: Volume 1. Always a genre-defying artist, Antonel blends her passion for classic country, jazz and surf rock with this collection of songs, and the result is a fresh hybrid of musical styles that feels both vintage and hyper-modern. Recorded at Nashville’s Fitting Room Studio, the band includes heavy hitters Ethan Ballinger (Miranda Lambert), Joe Reed (Merle Haggard), Paul Sgroi (Josh Hedley) and San Diego jazz phenom Tony Econom.
“Antonel grew up in a seaside San Diego town called Ocean Beach, listening to pop and R&B hits and studying classical piano until she was eighteen. She cites an eclectic range of artists as her earliest musical inspirations: Tori Amos for her peculiar phrasing and distinct songwriting, Otis Redding for his rich, emotive vocal delivery. After graduating from UC Berkeley, she moved to Buenos Aires, where she answered a Craigslist ad for a singer who sounds like June Carter Cash, and contributed vocals to several jingles for MTV and Jeep that aired throughout Latin America. She sang in a friend’s electro-cumbia band for a while before returning to California, where she started singing professionally at weddings, bars, and local venues. But it wasn’t until discovering country music that she felt at home. ‘One day I randomly bought a bunch of 99 cent country records and fell in love with the genre; the concision of the writing, the wit, how it doesn’t take itself too seriously even while dealing with deep subject matter.’
“Antonel’s debut album Always the Outsider, released in 2022, blends elements of mid-century country music with unconventional subject matter and virtuosic instrumentation– including tracks with Doug Pettibone (Lucinda Williams) on pedal steel and acoustic guitar. The thematically unique collection explores metaphysical and supernatural concepts (alien-earthling romance, past-life trauma) as well as grounded narratives of everyday experience (isolation, disconnectedness, sexual desire, feeling like an alien in your own body). Always the Outsider was critically praised, netting coverage in publications from Holler Country to The Bluegrass Situation, and was hailed as a 2022 Essential Album by Saving Country Music.”
Stacey Antonel performs her headlining engagement in Davenport on August 18 with an additional set by Sophie Gault, admission to the 6 p.m. concert is $15.88, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
It was very nice to see your reprint of a “River Cities’ Reader” article about the very talented singer Stacy Antonel, originally from Ocean Beach. However, the article doesn’t mention that Antonel (known professionally as Ginger Cowgirl) returns to San Diego/Ocean Beach (she lives in Nashville) several times a year to perform at venues here and on the West Coast. In fact, she left OB yesterday! I know all of this because the Antonels are my neighbors! Just thought you should know!
Wow, thanks for the update. Did she see the Rag article, at least?