Q&A: Stephen Sol & The 7 Chase Cosmic Energy on ‘Sunshine Wine’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY DANIELLE HOLIAN ☆
THERE’S A CERTAIN MAGIC—that happens when music feels like a portal, when it blurs the lines between playfulness and profundity, laughter and longing, the everyday and the cosmic. That’s exactly the world that Stephen Sol & The 7 invite you into. The Washington, D.C. based nine-piece band is hard to pin down, but maybe that’s the point.
Imagine Bob Dylan jamming with Pink Floyd while a gospel choir lifts everything into the heavens, and you start to get close. At the center of it all is Stephen Sol, a frontman whose creative journey is as unorthodox as it is inspiring. He didn’t start out chasing some grand musical destiny. He stumbled into songwriting through a comedy class, writing tongue-in-cheek tracks before realizing that the ones without punchlines carried something even stronger—a pulse of truth, tenderness and healing energy. That balance between cheeky and existential, rootsy and psychedelic, now defines the sound of Stephen Sol & The 7.
Their debut EP, Sunshine Wine, is a kaleidoscope of emotions and textures, moving like a cycle through life itself. From the golden glow of the title track to the haunting hush of “Forever Changed,” from the mystical pull of “The Moon” to the triumphant rebirth of “Spring (I Made It),” the songs feel like seasons, each one revealing a different facet of being alive.
It’s never just Sol at the center—the collaborative heartbeat of the band is undeniable. Each member’s voice, instrument and energy expands the music into something bigger, warmer and more unpredictable. In fact, Sol jokes that he’s only the “fifth best singer in the band,” a nod to the immense talent of the people surrounding him. That sense of community radiates through everything they do, whether it’s layering harmonies that sound ghostly by accident, or capturing spontaneous cartwheels on film for a music video that bottles late-summer joy.
However, Stephen Sol & The 7 aren’t just about studio polish. Their live shows have earned a reputation for being playful, chaotic, and deeply connective. Equal parts rock concert and spiritual gathering, there are moments that lean into improv comedy as much as sonic transcendence. It’s that unpredictability that makes the band feel so alive. One moment you’re swept into their soaring guitar solo, the next you’re laughing at a sly lyric or witnessing something completely unplanned unfold on stage.
A full-length album is already on the horizon, one that leans deeper into psychedelic rock while threading together a narrative arc about a spirit moving from light into flesh. Think Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, but filtered through a folk-rock-meets-gospel-meets-comedy lens that only this crew could pull off. Even as their sound evolves, their mission stays simple: To share love, joy and energy through music.
Keep reading for a conversation with their frontman, Stephen Sol, to discuss passion, growth and what comes next in their ever-evolving journey.
LUNA: Thank you for sitting down and talking with Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music. For anyone who isn't familiar yet, what inspires your artistic style and creative persona?
STEPHEN SOL: If Bob Dylan had Pink Floyd and a gospel choir backing him, that’s the goal for our sound. I started writing music in 2020 after taking a comedic songwriting course. At first, I was cranking out funny songs, then I wrote a couple that didn’t get laughs… so I was like, “maybe these are just songs”. Now, a lot of what I write comes from either my spiritual journey or my comedic side. I love being playful and cheeky, but I also like going deep and existential when the song calls for it.
LUNA: Congratulations on the release of your debut EP Sunshine Wine. It feels both intimate and expansive. How did the collaborative nature of your nine-piece band shape the final sound of the EP?
STEPHEN SOL: The band makes everything more fun. We’re friends too, so collaboration happens naturally. This one was special because I co-wrote it with my friend Le’Toya Young, and my college buddy Tim Vitullo laid down a slide solo that’s magic. LEIF, our producer/bassist, really brought the songs to life in the studio. As we started playing them live, new production ideas just kept flowing in. It’s fun to get creative and see what strikes us in the moment in the studio.
LUNA: The title track, “Sunshine Wine,” captures this golden, late-summer warmth. Do you remember a specific moment or feeling that sparked that song?
STEPHEN SOL: The actual spark was just me messing around, improvising melodies late at night. At first, the song felt triumphant, like the universe announcing the sunshine, then it evolved into something playful and fun. With the backing vocals and guitar solo, it took on this kind of country-western vibe. Honestly, filming the music video captured the late-summer essence of warmth bottled up. Dreemy Alpha (the director) and I spent a day at the beach in Maryland—playing volleyball, swimming, and fries on the boardwalk. Then we came back to D.C. and shot scenes in the park with some of the band. Shoutout to LEIF, Tyler Goldstein, and Yasmin Wamala for their acting skills in that one. LEIF does a handless cartwheel in the video!
LUNA: “The Moon” is such a mystical counterpoint to “Sunshine Wine.” How did you approach balancing light and dark energies across the EP?
STEPHEN SOL: I love the concept of duality. Everything exists in balance. I used to think of myself as more of a “sun” person, but lately I’ve been feeling the pull of the moon—the creativity, the healing energy. The songs move through that cycle: “Sunshine Wine” starts you high in the sky, “The Moon” brings you inwards, “Forever Changed” takes you to heartbreak, “Spring (I Made It)” jolts you back to life, and “Hum of Love” brings you back to that highest frequency—love.
LUNA: “Forever Changed” has a stripped-down, haunting quality. What made you decide to let that song breathe in such a minimal way compared to the others?
STEPHEN SOL: That one needed to breathe. The more stripped down it is, the more it stays true to the original emotion—sad, but also grateful. There’s even a little hope buried in there that outweighs the sadness. Funny enough, I recorded vocals while I was under the weather with a scratchy throat. I almost canceled, but that rasp ended up being the perfect texture. The piano by LEIF was a simple and beautiful touch.
LUNA: With “Spring (I Made It),” there’s this sense of triumph and rebirth. Was it born out of a personal chapter of survival?
STEPHEN SOL: Perennial plants are dying for the winter on my deck. Or like fish in a pond freezing solid in winter and then coming back to life. I thought, imagine thawing out like, “Holy crap, I survived!” I feel the same every time I make it through D.C. winters. It’s also a metaphor for spiritual growth and survival through challenging times.
LUNA: Folk-rock often leans toward intimacy, but your band thrives on big, high-energy live arrangements. How do you translate that studio-to-stage dynamic?
STEPHEN SOL: A lot of ideas come from playing live. With nine of us on stage, sometimes the stage isn’t even big enough. The energy just naturally pushes things from folk-rock into full-on rock and roll. Lately, we’ve been leaning into a big rock sound in the studio, and I’m digging it.
LUNA: Your influences range from The Beatles to Bo Burnham to Bob Dylan. How do you weave humor, storytelling, and soulfulness into a cohesive sound?
STEPHEN SOL: Sometimes it’s just slipping in a playful lyric in a serious song. Other times, like on my upcoming releases, “Sacred Energy” and “Outta My League”, I lean harder into comedy while the band keeps shredding. I think that contrast-heavy lyrics, but with powerful instrumentation, make it click.
LUNA: You’ve talked about being raised on Johnny Cash and Elvis. How does your grandfather’s influence still echo in your music today?
STEPHEN SOL: My grandpa Boots was in a band until his 70s or 80s. When I was 23, I was learning German. I translated “Folsom Prison Blues” into German and sang it for him. His face lit up. That memory still drives me. He’s why Johnny Cash and Elvis are in my DNA.
LUNA: With nine people in the band, how do you make space for everyone’s voice without losing the focus of the song?
STEPHEN SOL: Easy. The other voices are too good not to make space for. I wrote a song last year called “Fifth Best Singer in the Band” about the irony of being the lead singer in a band full of classically trained singers who can also play other instruments extremely well. For example, I take voice lessons from my bassist and trumpet player. It’s convenient and also humbling.
LUNA: Are there any “happy accidents” from jam sessions or rehearsals that ended up shaping a track on "Sunshine Wine"?
STEPHEN SOL: When we recorded harmonies for “Forever Changed”, we tried this monotone take, and it ended up sounding ghostly, which was a perfect motif for the song. As we were recording STEPHEN SOL: “The Moon”, backing vocalist Bema Tadey did this screaming belt that had a “Wicked” soundtrack vibe to it, and it made it onto the record.
LUNA: You’ve built a reputation for playful, unpredictable live shows. Can you share one of your favorite on-stage moments where everything went gloriously off-script?
STEPHEN SOL: Somebody DM’d me before our last show and asked if he could twerk on stage at some point. I said yes, but that person didn’t end up making it to our show that night. That feels like a missed-connection off-script live show moment that still lives rent-free in my head. It’d be wild to have a designated twerking section on stage during a show. We’ve had improv comedy sets at some of our shows, so that entire section of the show is off-script. It’s fun to keep the audience on their toes.
LUNA: Your upcoming full-length album drops just a month after the EP tour. Can you give us a glimpse into how it will expand or shift from Sunshine Wine?
STEPHEN SOL: We’re leaning into psychedelic rock territory. Think Rush’s 2112 meets Tame Impala but filtered through our own lens. I want to have interludes and talking parts, kind of like Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall. One of the concepts that it’s playing with is a spirit incarnating from pure light into flesh and experiencing everything earth has to offer.
LUNA: If listeners walk away from Sunshine Wine with just one feeling, what do you hope it is?
STEPHEN SOL: I’ll reference a lyric from the final song, “Hum of Love:” “The universe wants your love, love, love.” As cliché as it might sound, I hope people walk away feeling love from the universe (and directly from me and the band!).
LUNA: In this season of your artistry, what’s inspiring you most, and what glimpses of the road ahead can you share with us?
STEPHEN SOL: Playing live with this crew. And I’m excited about an album in 2026. It’s something that expands into new and bold territory. I have a clear concept now and am eager to finish the recording process. We’re also looking to go on an East Coast tour in January to New York, Philadelphia, and State College, P.A., right around the time of our next headline show at Union Stage on 1/9/26 in Washington, D.C.
