We heard about a band last year called 3 Days of Wonder who had just released their debut EP. Fast forward 6 months and they have a number of festivals lined up for Summer ‘24 as well as a host of live shows.
Read about how this incredible quartet came to be, their influences, local venues where they have played and what you can look forward to in the near future.
First things first, your name, where did it originate from and does it have a particular meaning?
The name is inspired by Rudyard Kipling who used the phrase ‘3 Days of Wonder’ to describe his visit to Burma as he felt that this place was a hidden paradise.
When did you form?
We first began rehearsing periodically in April 2023 and had our first gig day on 17th June 2023 where we played at Bishopsteignton Village Festival and then took part in a Battle of the Bands competition in Ottery St Mary.
Did you know each other before the band formed?
Luke and Sam were in a band before we formed 3 Days of Wonder called The Jury. Ben, a school mate of Luke and Sam joined as the bassist. We knew Finn through Powderham Live due to his reputation as a sick player!
Where are you based?
We’re from the ancient market town of Newton Abbot
What is the music scene like there?
There is some great local support from people who attend grassroots venues. We tend to travel between Exeter and Plymouth via Newton Abbot and Totnes for our live shows.
Are there any key live music venues that are worthy of a mention?
The Phoenix in Exeter, The Barrel House in Totnes, The Blues Bar in Plymouth and The Fleece in Bristol.
Please don’t take this the wrong way but your sound is something that I was not expecting, it’s as if you have teleported to 2024 from the 1980’s, did you grow up listening to a lot of music from that era?
Ah thanks…! We get this a lot from people that listen to our music. Yeah - the vinyl collection in Luke’s house is pretty much rock from the 80s, Finn loves Bon Jovi(!) - you need to blame all of our parents who grew up in this era!
‘Unsigned and Unsung’ wrote a lovely quote about us that echoes your thoughts “There’s plenty of 80s/90s big rock influences at play in a sound you could easily imagine filling the air of even the biggest venues” as did ‘Battle of the Bands’ who said “so refreshing to hear someone making that music. I’ve got friends brought up in the 80’s who’d love this - sounds amazing!”
Who would you cite as influences to your sound?
Foo Fighters, The Police, U2 and The Script.
Do you all share similar tastes in music? If not, is it challenging when you come to write new material?
Yes and No! There is definitely a general overlap, however we also do like to use our personal influences to push each other to try to get to the best sound that we can. We do have a very positive and constructively critical relationship when we are writing. Often this means that things are bounced back and forth quite a number of times before we are happy with how things sound.
You have a bunch of festival appearances in place for 2024, please share any key highlights with me….
We are so excited about the coming few months (despite having to get through GCSE’s and A Levels!), starting our festival journey with Poltimore Festival then delighted to be playing at Tunes on the Sands, Tunes in the Park and Little Orchard on the BBC Introducing Stage. We’re all really stoked!
Do you enjoy performing live?
100% Absolutely love it! All 4 of us love the vibe and the connection that you make when performing to an audience. We love playing small ‘Open Mic’ gigs through to big stages with large audiences. Performance is the magic part of it all really, bouncing off each other and playing great music.
Which gig has been the best so far and what happened to make it so special/memorable?
We’re torn between our sold-out gig at The Barrel House Ballroom (Dec 2023) in Totnes, and our gig on the main stage at Exeter Phoenix (Feb 2024). The local support at both gigs blew us away and we realised people that were there were singing our songs back to us - it put huge smiles on our faces!
‘Eyes Wide Open’ is your latest release, a 3 track offering featuring tracks ‘Younger Days’, ‘No Vacancies’ and ‘Satellite’ which was released in November 2023, tell me about the studio you used….
All of our tracks so far have been recorded in our home studio in the garden! We are looking for local professional producers and studios at the moment to record our new songs.
Please take one track from your latest EP and break it down for me, meaning, influences, messages etc…
Younger Days - this is about growing up and realising that the picture that your parents paint for you when you are young doesn’t quite reflect what the world is really like and it isn’t all butterflies and rainbows. This then makes you begin to lose a bit of faith in the people around you and the adult world you are entering.
You have a bunch of live shows planned for 2024, please tell me all about them….
We’re playing at ‘Move’ in Exeter at the start of July as the part of our plans to promote our new single. Lyme Bay Radio have us playing at the Sausage and Cider Festival on 6th July which is ace as we love cider and sausages!
We really do value our local support and have been asked to take part at local fundraisers at Teignmouth Heritage Centre, Bishopsteignton Festival fundraiser, Dawlish Carnival, Babbacombe Fair with Torbay Hospital Radio and Newton Abbot street market in August. Alongside that we are playing at Rockbottom in Teignmouth and Furzleigh Mill towards the end of summer. We are also playing at HMV Exeter and our brilliant local record store Phoenix Sounds in Newton Abbot. We’ll be getting some airplay on Exeter’s Phonic FM and Lyme Bay Radio in July with plenty more to come!
If you could meet a musical hero, who would it be and what would you talk about?
As a band we’d be blown away to hang out with the The Beatles (although we know that this is a bit of an obvious answer) but we’d love to chat about their progression of sound and music over such a short period of time and the influence that this then had on all modern music. Surely they are the greatest band of all time...
We’re coming to yours for a dinner party, I need to know what’s on the menu, starter, main, dessert and drinks please….
Starter - Sushi
Main - Steak and Chips
Dessert - Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food
Drink - Ice cold local Devon cider
It’s dream festival time, name 3 acts to headline your ‘3 days of Wonder’ event, you can choose from people who are dead or alive and bands that have split up
Day 1: The Eagles
Day 2: The Who (original line-up)
Day 3: The Clash
Do you have new music in the pipeline? If so, when can we expect to hear it?
We’re in the process of writing some killer new tunes for release once our exams are done and dusted, which we will be playing live at the Festivals over the Summer.
Will you be selling merchandise at your summer dates?
It is in the plan...
Have you thought about a physical release (CD/Vinyl/Cassette)? Maybe Tea Towels and Fridge magnets too?
We’d love to do vinyl and definitely this is a long term project. Of course we can’t miss out on tea towels and fridge magnets and will put them to the top of the list!!
Please share the namers of some acts that you’re currently enjoying
Tors, Haytor, Pattern Pusher and The Kabins
Tell me about the next steps/plans for 3 Days of Wonder?
We’d love to get a really positive response from playing the Festivals over the summer; continue to create music; record professionally; grow our following and keep working on our sound
Lastly, is a Jaffa cake a cake or a biscuit?
4 votes for cake!
3 Days of Wonder are;
Luke Notman - Vocals and Rhythm Guitar
Sam Rew - Drums
Ben Bracey - Bass Guitar
Finn Arnold - Lead Guitar
Keep up to date with 3 Days of Wonder via their socials.
Interview by Steve Muscutt