Wheeler Street

Wheeler Street

Wheeler Street is a seven-piece group active since 2008. The band forms in March 2007 and includes members who are all still in their teens, with ties to the Maidstone area. Its members have played music from an early age and have each previously played in various bands with Toby. A recording of Pete and Toby singing and playing “Let It Be” in Toby’s dining room at the age of nine still exists.

The group combines original and traditional songs and tunes, with a focus on vocal harmonies, musicianship and arranged material. Its sound draws on influences from across the UK and beyond through the members’ backgrounds: Ben comes from Newcastle and is of Irish parentage; Toby and Jon have both Scottish and English ancestry; and Sophy is born in Australia and is also half Scottish.

Wheeler Street’s listed influences include Spiers and Boden, Bellowhead, Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy, The Watersons, Bob Fox, Rory McLeod, The Copper Family, John Tams, The Mars Volta, Coope Boyes and Simpson, Kadril, Lonnie Donegan, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Radiohead, Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, Nic Jones and George Formby, as well as music heard at the Greyhound Folk Nights and from parents and grandparents.

The band is described as committed to playing and singing with integrity and respect for tradition, while also favouring a lively performance style. Its members live in the Maidstone area.