Stephen Thomas Azar (born April 11, 1964) is an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and philanthropist.

Azar has charted nine times on Billboard Hot Country Songs, most successfully with his late 2001-early 2002 hit "I Don't Have to Be Me ('til Monday)", which reached the number two position there.

Azar has written most of his own songs, and his style draws from country, rock, and Delta blues, with his singing voice gaining frequent comparisons to John Mellencamp.

[5] When Azar was 10 years old, he began receiving guitar lessons from Delta blues singer Sonny Boy Nelson.

[5] River North's founder, Joe Thomas, produced the album except for the final track, which Azar co-produced with songwriter A. J.

These three (along with Roger Murrah and Bob Regan) were among the contributing musicians, and Azar co-wrote every track except for a cover of Paul Davis' "I Go Crazy".

[12] An un-credited review in Billboard was favorable toward the album, comparing Azar's voice to those of Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp.

[13] A less positive review came from Larry Stephens of Country Standard Time, who also compared Azar to Mellencamp vocally but felt most of the songs sounded too similar to each other.

[10] After River North Records filed for bankruptcy and closed in 1997, Azar continued to tour the Southern United States and write songs.

However, a songwriting session with Rafe Van Hoy led to songs that both Azar and Mercury executives felt represented his artistic style, leading to his signing in 2001.

[15] Country Standard Time reviewer Jeffrey B. Remz called the album's production "a bit bright and polished", but praised Azar's songwriting and singing, particularly on the title track.

[18][7] Also that year, "I Don't Have to Be Me" received a Million-Air Award from Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) which commemorated the song for being played one million times on radio.

[2] At the time of the album's release, Azar said that many of the songs from the project grew from songwriting sessions with Foster and James House, and that he wanted to form an independent label so that he could have control over aspects such as sales and promotion.

[27] Ken Tucker of Billboard found influences of country, blues, and rock in the production and songwriting choices, variously comparing tracks to Seger, Jackson Browne, and the Traveling Wilburys.

[28] Ben Scott of The Oklahoman called the album "a nice mix of bluesy, contemporary rock with country influences".

He told CMT that Seger was one of the primary influences in his songwriting: "he’s pretty much the entire gamut of emotions and I felt like I was leaving some of them in the drawer.

"[30] Azar co-produced the album with Justin Niebank, while both House and Josh Kelley co-wrote songs and provided backing vocals.

[32][2] Giving the album four stars Country Weekly critic Chris Neal called it a "pitch-perfect progression" from Indianola.

Matt Bjorke of Roughstock reviewed the album favorably, commending Azar's vocal performance along with the inclusion of slide guitar and Hammond organ in the production.

[36] In 2015, Azar collaborated with Sophie Young to record the song "The Sky Is Falling (Patti Jo's Prayer)", which dealt with the subject of human trafficking.

A high school senior in Portland, Maine, heard the song and assembled a music video through the assistance of police detective Sgt.

The aggregation released the album Down at the Liquor Store in August 2017, which was accompanied by a making-of documentary titled Something in the Water filmed by Azar's son Strack.

[39] Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal called the collection a "sultry album", also stating that "One can hear Azar's heart on this record".

[41] After its release, the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters named the album as its 2021 winner in the category of Best Contemporary Music Composition.

Pettus also wrote that "[w]hile the tunes themselves don't mimic the blues riffs Azar absorbed growing up in the Delta, the intensity and passion of his playing does.

[3] Azar's singing voice has been compared to that of John Mellencamp,[14][13] with Ben Scott of The Oklahoman calling him a "younger, less jaded" variant of the same.

[29] Matt Bjorke of Roughstock called Azar's voice "buttery-smooth" and "soulful", comparing him positively to John Hiatt.