Stef Conner performed with the Mercury Music Prize-nominated folk ensemble The Unthanks (then Rachel Unthank and the Winterset) from 2007 – 2009, playing keys and singing backing vocals. The group’s raw and sensitive approach to storytelling through song, and the Northumbrian singing tradition they are a part of, made an important and lasting impact on her musical style.

In 2018, she rejoined the group for a one-off performance at Home Gathering festival, to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of their album The Bairns.