Stella Prince is the 22-year-old paving the way for the next generation of independent artists.
Written by Grace Franklin
At 22, Stella Prince is already well on her way to building the career she’s always wanted. The Woodstock, New York-born singer-songwriter has spent years carving out her own path in music, from playing wineries, farmers’ markets, and restaurants as a teenager to now preparing to release her debut album. Calling her sound “Gen Z folk,” Prince reimagines the genre for a new generation while embracing the independence that has defined her journey from the start. Her new documentary short offers an intimate look at that journey, following Prince to Iceland as she records her first full-length project. The film captures a pivotal moment in Prince’s life and career, one that she hopes can serve as both a time capsule for her future self and a source of inspiration for other independent artists still figuring it out along the way.
Prince had a unique experience growing up in Woodstock, New York, a town with a strong musical identity and history. She credits her hometown for being a major influence on her sound. Attending folk concerts such as Levon Helm and Pete Seeger at just three years old, Prince naturally developed an affinity for the genre.
“I definitely do not think I would be the person I am today, or writing these songs at all if I hadn't been raised there…It’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of place to be. I never realized how special that was until I left.”
Now, Prince hopes to bring folk music to a new generation by giving the genre a distinctly modern, Gen Z perspective.
“My goal is to bring folk music to a new generation, and I call my music ‘Gen Z folk.’ I wanted to come up with a term that feels different from traditional folk because these songs are not not 16-verse ballads about a battle in Ireland. It’s updated folk music, in the vein of artists like Noah Kahan, that’s specifically made for today’s young adults.”
That vision comes to life on Prince’s forthcoming debut album, which she recorded in Iceland. For Prince, the experience of making her first full-length project became a defining chapter in her journey as an artist, one that is captured in her new documentary short. So why document this particular chapter? For Prince, the answer came down to the fact that there may never be another moment quite like it
“I think because it’s the first one. It’s my first album, my first time recording something full length. Looking back 20 years from now, I think it would be so nice to have this footage of everything I was doing for the first time.”
Traveling to Iceland to record the album was a major departure from the way Prince had made music up to that point. The documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at the process and the recording sessions.
“Just being in that setting, you know, I had never been to Iceland. The landscape was so unlike anything I’d ever seen, and we were there during the midnight sun, so it was 24 hours of daylight some days…It’s so far away from everything. It was definitely the first time that I just left my phone at the Airbnb and literally didn’t touch it for, like, two weeks.”
Prince hopes this documentary inspires other independent musicians who are figuring it out on their own.
“I like the idea of having something that an independent artist could watch, and maybe it could help. I just hope that I can help as much as I can, because there’s no rule book. There’s no path, and there’s no set list of things that you have to do to achieve a certain thing. That’s the hardest part. Everyone’s just figuring it out, and it’s literally every man for himself.”
At just 22, she has already spent nearly a decade performing wherever she could, gradually building the experience and confidence that led her to this point. Now, with her debut album on the horizon, Prince sees herself standing at the beginning of a new era, one that feels distinctly different from the years she spent simply taking every opportunity that came her way.
“I mean, this is, in a way, the very beginning, a new chapter, but of course, I’ve been doing this for a while, just not at this level. And so, I do think it really is the beginning of a different point in my career. From 14 to 20, it was just taking every single gig that I could take, you know, from wineries and farmers’ markets to restaurants. And now it’s at a different place, and it is exciting to kind of see what could happen with it.”
For Prince, the new album is ultimately a reflection of what it means to enter adulthood during a particularly uncertain time. Drawing from her own experiences as well as those of the people around her, she speaks to the shared growing pains of figuring out who you are and where you fit in the world.
“It really goes out to any people who are starting their adult lives, and I feel like that’s the best way I can describe it. I wrote it after not only going through it myself, but watching all the people my age around me just kind of struggle a lot. It’s one of the hardest times ever in the world right now to break in as a young person. It’s the worst job market ever this summer for graduates. It’s just a hard time to be a young person. So I really think that, more than anything, is what this album’s about.”
Beyond its themes, also represents a major step forward for Prince as an artist. After years of performing and releasing music, her debut album marks the first time she has taken on a project of this scale, both creatively and professionally.
“It’s a really big project and a big deal, and the whole thing is such a big undertaking. It takes years of preparation, so I think that alone just differentiates it from everything I’ve done before.”
But the album isn’t just a larger project for Prince. It also gave her the opportunity to collaborate more deeply than she had on previous releases, bringing new voices and perspectives into the process.
“I think it’s gonna be very different. It’s the first time that I really worked with a serious, really professional producer in a super intensive way. I’ve never really worked with a producer before.”
One of the album’s most exciting collaborations came with legendary songwriter Diane Warren, whose work Prince has long admired. When asked what it was like to work alongside Warren, Prince recalled the experience as something that felt almost surreal.
“It was just one of those moments that was meant to be. I was so nervous. I think it was literally the day before my birthday when she invited me to come into her recording studio in LA. Her studio is absolutely beautiful. Just being in that studio, singing with her, was like a once-in-a-million experience. I couldn’t believe I was there.”
With her debut album marking such a significant step in her career, Prince is already looking ahead to what comes next. For her, the next chapter is about continuing to build on everything she has worked toward so far.
“For me, more than anything, this next chapter is about going to the next level in every department. That means touring, opening for bigger artists, playing with a full band, and eventually going on a tour bus. Sonically, it means continuing to work with incredible producers and some of the best writers. More than anything, it’s about continuing to evolve and level up.”
As Prince steps into this next chapter, there is still plenty she is figuring out for herself. But that may be exactly what makes her story so meaningful. She is not following a predetermined path or waiting for someone to hand her a roadmap. She is building one as she goes, and in doing so, showing other young artists that they can do the same. With her debut album on the horizon, Stella Prince is only beginning to see where that path can lead.
