I saw a wonderful band called WEDNESDAY’S CHILD performing on the main stage at The Great Estate Festival a couple of weekends ago and despite them being available to chat after their set, I wasn’t prepared and short of wasting their time, I agreed to hook up with them once they were safely back on home soil so they could make a brew and sit down to chat to us about all manners of musical related things such as their musical upbringing, influences, dream festival lineups, new releases and of course festival survival tips. For all of this and more, read on….

We know you’re called Wednesday’s Child, we know you’re from London…..please tell me a bit more about the band (who is in it, where and when did you form etc)

The songwriters Georgia Williams and Emily Roberts have been collaborating for about a year and a half, and then as a full band we’ve been gigging together for six months. We’re based in London so most of our live shows are here, but we are starting to take the band on the road, and if you can’t make it to a gig there is a full set on YouTube

I hate to ask but please tell me the style of music that you perform, I would have said something along the lines of jazz/prog/alt/indie rock but then again, I might be 100% wrong!

Your guess is as good as ours! We’ve never been big on genre labels, but probably a mix of psychedelic rock, jazz, punk… is that called alternative? Maybe that’s what we are.

I saw you recently rocking out on the main stage at The Great Estate Festival and there were 5 of you on stage though on social media you appear to be a duo, please explain…. (I’m guessing you use extra members when recording/playing live?)

Georgia and Emily formed as a duo first. We wrote and produced our debut EP together, but have always performed the live shows as a 5 piece band to get a full sound. We are now making it a permanent 5 piece, not only for the live shows but the writing and recording as well. We’re excited to see how that new dynamic mutates the music.

How did you come up with the name ‘Wednesday’s Child’, are there any hidden meanings?

When we started the band, Wednesday was the day in the week Georgia and Emily had free for writing. We felt we should honour that day in the band name.

I know from the poem that Wednesday’s Child is full of Woe, is this the case with the band?

There are different variations of the poem; some have Wednesday’s children as sad, some happy. I suppose we have our fair share of woe, but generally we’re quite giggly with each other.

Do you come from a musical home?

We all came from different backgrounds. Georgia’s family are musical and she grew up exposed to lots of different sounds; 20s jazz, golden age Hollywood, 60s psychedelic rock and pop, 70s punk… Emily had a lot of classical music in her home and was then introduced to jazz along with The Beatles. Her Dad has a great story about seeing The Beatles on a street in London once!

Growing up, who were your musical heroes?

Again, we all have a mix of inspiration that we bring to the band. Some Wednesday heroes are Patti Smith, The Slits, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Billie Holiday, The Ronettes, The Beatles… John Cooper Clarke is a big one for us lyrically and his performance style. 

Did you base your look and sound on any particular band or theme?

Not consciously, although there are musical acts we admire a lot who have probably seeped into how we present. We like to reference circuses, and maybe a bit of a dark, vampiric theme. That probably says more about us personally than any aesthetic strategy! 

Do you think that you have found your sound now or are you still experimenting with ideas for new material?

We feel pretty solid in playing together and creating a live experience, but we never want to be settled in one sound. The aim is to keep experimenting and changing!

You’re from London, I’m guessing that the competition there is pretty fierce?

There are a lot of bands in London, but mostly it is supportive community. You have to stand out because there is such a saturation of bands – throw a rock in London and you’ll hit a musician – but that’s an exciting thing to be part of because everyone is constantly creating.

There are loads of talented acts around your area at the moment, name a few that we should be checking out (apart from yourselves of course!)

Lonnie Gunn, Endless Digital Birthdays, FatDog, Pigeonhole… how many do you want, there are loads!

If you could curate your very own festival using acts that are dead or alive, who would you have as the 3 headliners and why?

We’re going to be purely selfish and just choose the bands we want to see - let’s resurrect The Beatles, Billie Holiday and David Bowie. That would be a fun green room.

Where are you currently most active on the live circuit?

We are about to begin a residency at The George Tavern in London – one Wednesday every month we will be bringing a circus to town. The first one is July 20th, it would be great to see as many there as possible!

You released your debut self-titled EP in 2021, how does it feel to have music out there that people can tune into?

It feels exciting, cathartic and also slightly vulnerable. All the good things! Anything anyone creates is essentially taking something from within and turning it into a channel of communication. It’s great to make music just for yourself, but there should come a time when you share it with the world. We’re all quite similar really when it comes to feelings, and the chances are that the thing you created will resonate with someone.  Two halves of a whole.

Where did you record the EP?

We were coming out of the UK lockdowns, so we produced the whole EP ourselves in our bedrooms. It meant we could go a bit mad with the sounds because no one was reigning us in. We had complete creative freedom and control over our own work. That is probably where our songs started to sound more like collages – layering sounds and lyrics, cutting up and mashing back together. 

Are you planning on releasing your music on physical formats? CD’s, vinyl, maybe even a cassette tape for the hipsters amongst us?

Definitely, keep an eye out for merch to fill your hipster boots.

Might be a daft question but is there more new music in the pipeline? If so, when can we expect to hear it?

We have a new single out on Friday 17th June called ‘I Want You to Want Me’ and we are recording a mini album in July to be released later in the year.

What is the best advice anyone in the music industry has given you?

Don’t take my advice.

We’re coming round to yours for dinner tonight (surprise), what will you be dishing up?

Georgia is trying to get better at cooking, so you would be her guinea pig for vegan concoctions. And if all else fails, we can make banging baked beans on toast. Our drummer Patrick wants to introduce us to German bread - apparently it’s far superior - so British beans and German toast. We’re really treating you.

You were awesome on the stage at The Great Estate Festival, any other festivals planned this year?

We had a magical time at Great Estates, and so glad you enjoyed it too. Yes we hope to be playing more soon – stay tuned for announcements!

Where is the best place to keep up to date with your musical movements?

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Lastly, I just spent 2 days at a music festival, I’m keen to hear your survival tips…..

Spare socks go a long way – a fresh, dry pair can turn most situations around.

I’d like to thank Georgia, Emily and Patrick for sparing their time to answer all of our questions and we wish them and the band every success for the future. Their latest track ‘I Want You to Want me’ is released on 17th June, you can pre-save it HERE and you can catch them live at The George Tavern on July 20th. For everything else, hit them up on the socials (listed above).