What is your names?
My name is Stephen Canfield, but I perform under the pseudonym: Healthcare
What is your genre of music?
It’s a mix of indie folk, rock, and ambient texture. I’ve heard it referred to as post-Americana, and that resonates.
Give us a little bio about you.
Twenty years ago, I was attending Berklee College of Music, and I thought I’d make a lifelong career writing and playing songs. But living in a country with a broken healthcare system, I had to step away to afford insurance after being diagnosed with a chronic illness.
Last year, I finally went back to the studio to put together this record, and 100% of Profits from physical sales will be donated to help musicians in need of baseline medical care, in collaboration with MusiCares.
What made you go into music?
I grew up in Virginia, where I built an early appreciation for folk songs, enamored by what author Lydi Conklin describes as “songs of no provenance.” Leonard Cohen, Emmylou Harris, Cat Stevens and Robert Hunter were early inspirations, writing music that felt almost more channeled than written. That’s what I’ve wanted to do ever since, even though I had to step away for a number of years.
I’m a creative at heart, so when I wasn’t playing music, I still tried to be in and around the arts as best I could. Everything feels so dire these days, and making things, or supporting people who make things, feels like a small way to bring something human back into the world. It won’t solve all of our problems, but it does make life more livable.
Who are your influences?
My earliest influences were great songwriters—Leonard Cohen, Emmylou Harris, Cat Stevens, Dolly, Elton and Bernie—and my tastes have grown a lot more diverse as I’ve gotten older.
In my music you’ll hear influences from Maggie Rogers and the War on Drugs to Boards of Canada and strange ambient records. I love folk-based writing with an interesting sonic palette.
Are you a signed?
No, I’m fully independent.
You released your new album ‘Healthcare’, tell us more about the album.
Flannery O’Connor once said that any person who survives adolescence has experienced enough to last a creative lifetime. My version of that’s a decade-long period in which I was diagnosed with a chronic illness and forced to set aside my music to afford insurance—while facing a series of losses in life and love. I didn’t pick up an instrument for about 15 years, but the songs on this record all pull from the repressed emotions and experiences of that time. The majority of it was recorded in Nashville with a group of players brought together by an old friend named Adam Ollendorff from my time at Berklee. We tracked the core components live, the old fashioned way, before over-dubbing a lot of the extra sonic textures and synths.
As I mentioned above, 100% of Profits from physical sales will be donated to help musicians in need of baseline medical care, in collaboration with MusiCares.
Describe each track in two words and the album as a whole in one sentence.
Unknown: Lonesome grave
Heartbreak Song: self-aware
Clean: sleepless reflection
Way back home: broken nostalgia
Gallows Hill: ghost-written
Dollars on Dimes: grief + acceptance
Anymore (featuring Kylie Dailey): surprise duet
Acedia Season: rock song
Middle age: mid-life crisis
Oh Lord: a lamentation
All over: closure, finally
Epilogue (Tess’s song): happy ending
An album about young love, mistakes, and trying to make meaning, even if it’s twenty years late.
Who did you work with on the album?
A close friend from college named Adam Ollendorff co-produced five songs on the album, and he was one of my earliest supporters. Dylan Alldredge engineered all 12 tracks, mixed the album and co-produced Oh Lord and Gallows Hill; he was a huge contributor to the overall feel and sonic palette. It was mastered by Alex McCollough, with artwork from two-time grammy winner Lawrence Azerrad (Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, and dozens more).
The record was made with a talented group of friends and players who have recorded and toured with the likes of Kacey Musgraves, H.E.R., Daniel Caesar, and more. Including Kevin Dailey, Juan Solorzano, Kylie Dailey, Larissa Maestro, Dan Burns, Cam Brousseau and Josh Cobia.
What was the writing and recording process like?
I finally started playing music again in the early 2020s, and maybe for the first time since I was ten, I was writing songs just to write. Art for art’s sake vs. art for an audience. Most of these came out in the next year or so, and it wasn’t until later that I decided to record them.
As I mentioned above—the majority of it was recorded in Nashville with a group of players brought together by an old friend named Adam Ollendorff from my time at Berklee. We tracked the core components live, the old fashioned way, before over-dubbing a lot of the extra sonic textures and synths.
It was an absolute joy to make. Incredible people, a diverse range of influences and a ton of creative freedom, which is the best combination I could imagine.
Will we see a music video for any of the tracks?
TBD! The current plan is to focus on making more music and recording videos of live performances.
What else can we expect in 2026?
Just this weekend, I launched an event series with my partner in Los Angeles, where we bring together authors and musicians for intimate readings and performances. We’re gearing up for our next one now, and I’m really excited about it. I’m also actively recording with plans to release some loose singles as I continue promoting this album. I’ve really fallen in love with recording again and can’t seem to step away from it.
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
It’s hard to say. I know I’ll still be writing and performing, but unfortunately it’s still almost impossible to afford good healthcare in America without a significant income, which is tough to come by in music these days. Until that changes, I’ll be trying to integrate songwriting and recording with what I have to do to afford the things that keep me alive.
My biggest hope is to use this project to build awareness and raise money for the thousands of folks in a similar spot. That’s my primary motivation.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
There’s an author I love named Nina Lacour, whose personal writing mantra is “some words, most days.” I love working that way because it means making space to write organically, while still ensuring you’re showing up to catch the good songs when they come.
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
Do you mean as a performer or when I’m in the audience?
When I’m in the audience, the thing I respond to most is rawness and vulnerability. People with great songs who seem to be living in them vs performing them. That can come in the way the songs are played, the way they’ve been written, or even the anecdotes that offer a glimpse into how they came to be. I also love a wash of sound, the kind I experienced for the first time from artists like Spiritualized or the Jesus and Mary Chain. All of those things together make me feel really transported, and that’s why I go to gigs.
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
I do! People can follow me on instagram
My partner, Tess, and I also run a small literary non-profit that offers 50 free books every month from historically marginalized voices. Fans can sign up for the mailing list at 50freebooks.org.
