Macie Stewart (Finom)

Macie Stewart, half of the Chicago-based duo Finom, is one of those musicians who can do almost anything. She’s a classical pianist and violinist who wrote her first piece for an orchestra at age 11 and still creates string arrangements, such as on her 2021 solo album Mouth Full of Glass. She also taught herself acoustic guitar and began writing songs on it when she was 13. When she finally picked up an electric guitar, she and fellow singer-songwriter-guitarist Sima Cunningham formed an experimental side project that has blossomed into Finom, which released one of 2024’s best albums, Not God. What distinguishes what Stewart writes for Finom and herself? What telltale characteristics do Stewart and Cunningham each bring to Finom songs? How did Jeff Tweedy push them in the studio? And what drives Stewart's creativity? (Photo by Shannon Marks.)