Gliding the crest of their wave

It certainly was for Sean Carroll, a 25-year-old plumbing sales assistant and bassist with Wolverhampton unsigned act Crest Glider, as his band rocked the city’s The Hummingbird venue last Saturday.

“We had more than 165 people come to watch a group of unsigned bands play in Wolverhampton, which is really special and exciting,” the Wednesfield lad added. “The crowd response was great, everyone singing along to our EP tracks, and dancing along to everything else.”

It’s an early goal for every band – to play in front of the people you love in a city you care so much about, that you grew up and formed your musical tastes in.

“I think we knew we’d get a lot of friends and family coming to see us out of curiosity when we played Wolverhampton, so we wanted to get a few shows in elsewhere before coming home so we could give them the best show possible,” adds guitarist, pianist and vocalist Jon Collins, a 27-year-old lawyer from Sedgley.

And the show went well for the four-piece – Sean and Jon being joined by 28-year-old Sedgley teacher Kelly Bird on guitar, piano and vocals, and Scott Davies, 27, an estimator, also from Sedgley, behind the drum kit.

Launched only last summer they have packed a lot in to the intervening period – they have gigged across Birmingham and even released their debut three-track EP in the autumn. It’s the culmination of long-time friendships for them, which began when Kelly and Jon were sitting in class with each other. “I’ve known Jon since we started at Dormston School together when we were 11. He wanted a girl in his band, so I picked up a guitar,” Kelly says.

“Kelly and myself played in a band called The November Criminals back when we were in college, mainly gigging in classic Stourbridge haunts such as Katie Fitzgerald’s and “The Mitre,” Jon adds, before Kelly continues: “We had a more ‘wall of noise’ sound – in stark contrast to the melodic music we play now!”

“It had been years since our previous band ended,” Jon said. “And then Kelly sent me a recording of a song she’d written, and I thought to myself ‘wow, that’s pretty good’, and it inspired me to write a song. We got together to work on them and it escalated from there.

“We got to know Scott through mutual friends after we finished university. He’d kept under wraps what a good drummer he was – it had been mentioned in the past that he played so we invited him along to a session.”

And for Kelly and bassist Sean, the bond is a close one of another variety.

“I’m actually Kelly’s fiancée,” the bassist says. “I tagged along to a session. I’d never picked up a bass before, but they needed a bassist so here I am. I wouldn’t turn back now!” And from those early rehearsals an EP quickly formed. Embark was released in November.

“We are looking at getting back into the studio around March to record our next EP,” Jon reveals with a real teaser for their growing fanbase.

“Our next gig is the Beyond Music Festival at The Newhampton Arts Centre,” added Kelly.

That night, which also includes fellow musicians Siobhan, Troi Parker-Roth and Marina Rey, will rock the venue on Dunkley Street on February 8.

“The event is in support of The Haven, a Wolverhampton-based charity who support women and children who are vulnerable to domestic abuse and homelessness,” Kelly said. The burgeoning music scene in Wolverhampton is one that excites the band. “The Black Country chapter of the ‘Madlands’ is really on the rise right now,” says Sean. “There’s some really great bands such as Broozer and Marc who we played with on Saturday.” And Kelly adds of one former The Ticket Unsigned act: “We are big fans of Lions of Dissent as well.”

“One of the most exciting things is that more places are opening up for local acts to play in and around Wolverhampton,” Jon said. “For venues like The Hummingbird and Newhampton Arts Centre to be open and giving bands like us a platform to play and grow the scene is really exciting.” And excitement is one mood encompassing this band right now as they are keen to carry on gliding that crest of their wave, so to speak. Watch this space.

Crest Glider can be found on Twitter @crestglideruk and Facebook @crestglider. Their EP Embark is available on Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube, and tickets to the Beyond Music Festival at Newhampton Arts Centre can be bought at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beyond-music-festival-tickets-50589072277