Oscar Stembridge: he will rock you

So, you might thought rock and roll was dead all this time, right? So, ok… I do not care if you believe it or not, but I guess I’ve found the reincarnation of Kurt Cobain: at least when we are talking about talent, good music taste, passion to do his job and gather people around the world. The young Cobain (ok, he even looks like a mini-version of Kurt) lives in Sweden… He’s now 13-14 years old… And the prodigy’s name, actually, is not Kurt Donald Cobain, but Oscar Stembridge.

The actor (he already played the lead role of  Adam in TV series  KÄR) and musician has been playing around since 6 years old, and has more than 175.000 followers on social media (counting), and many of them are, guess what, Brazilians: “I actually have a lot of fans in Brazil which I am always amazed about. They are always so kind on messages and comments”, says Stembridge.

Oscar is also the youngest ever in Swedish history to sign to Universal Music – who, in addition to worrying about renewing his cast, has an unbelievable nose for massive new talent – having performed for the crown princess of Sweden. Pretty soon he will also announce one of this year’s bigger things, like being the opening act for nobody less than Kings Of Leon on one of their shows in the UK. Oscar Stembridge is (definitely) on fire.

Greta Thunberg: “a huge impact on my work“

As if it weren’t enough to be gifted not only with a great talent for rock and roll and a stage presence that would make many adult rockers jealous, Oscar is also an enthusiast about environmental causes, having our little angel Greta Thunberg as one of his main inspirations. “She really brought the reality of the climate crisis into my focus“, he admits, while “playing for climate strikes in Copenhagen for 10,000s of people“. Are you also looking forward to when Greta will join Stembridge on stage?

2 3 Things about Oscar Stembridge

RC – Nowadays, it is not very common to find teenagers who know how to rock. And you, even more, have stage presence and charisma. Where does so much inspiration come from and, after all, who inspired you to follow this path so early?

OS – I have listened always to a lot of music when I was growing up. My parents are not musicians but they always played a lot of music in the house. I started to watch you tube videos of concerts like Queen early on and one of my earliest memories is the Live Aid performance they did. I think that is when i decided i was going to do this! We always had lots of different music genres playing at home but my dad used to play a lot Guns N Roses and my mum played a lot of Zed Zeppelin. I guess I took a lot of inspiration from the music I heard early on.

RC – Your engagement on environmental issues is commendable. Tell us about the impact that personalities of your generation, like Greta Thunberg, have on your work.

OS – Greta had a huge impact on my work. She really brought the reality of the climate crisis into my focus. I started to listen to what she was saying and thought that I would like to help in any way possible. I started playing for climate strikes in Copenhagen for 10,000s of people there and that started me writing songs that I felt would help spread the message and represented my own generation and our feelings about this. It just felt like the most natural way to help for me.

RC – You must have followed the news that the current Brazilian president, a friend of farmers and loggers, is doing nothing to stop the Amazon from burning. What message do you have for your current and future Brazilian fans? Do you intend to visit our country someday?

OS – I would love to visit Brazil in the future. It seems like such an amazing country with beautiful nature and musical culture. I actually have a lot of fans in Brazil which I am always amazed about. They are always so kind on messages and comments. I learnt to say “obrigado” early on!