She inherited a large number of traditional songs from older family members, including her mother Belle Stewart.
[1] In 1954, journalist Maurice Fleming and, later, folklorist Hamish Henderson arrived in town, looking for singers of traditional songs.
[2] In 1976, Stewart was asked by United States President Gerald Ford to sing in the White House for the bicentennial celebrations.
[3] On 1 June 1982, she was chosen to represent the travelling people during Pope John Paul II's visit to Scotland.
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger published Till Doomsday in the Afternoon: Folklore of a Family of Scots Travellers, the Stewarts of Blairgowrie in 1986.