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Will Gold, the lead singer of Lovejoy, performing in Phoenix, AZ, on
May 12th, 2023. Photo taken by Kirsten Faucher. |
In case you haven't been living under the rock that is Covid-19, you might not have heard of the new, rising, indie-rock band known as "
Lovejoy". Composed of Will Gold, a Twitch streamer formerly known online as "Wilbur Soot", Ash Kabosu, Joe Goldsmith, and Mark Boardman, Lovejoy has been taking the internet by storm. This popular British band has a large internet presence, and it helps that they had a big one since before the start of the band itself. Will Gold was largely well known on the internet previously to the creation of the band as he made his own music and posted it on YouTube back when he was a child. His more notable work, such as his albums "
Maybe I Was Boring" and "
Your City Gave Me Asthma" were released in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Besides being a musician, Gold was also quite popular on the streaming website "Twitch", where he would play video games with live viewers, Minecraft being his most popular one. Other widely popular streamers would invite him to their Minecraft servers, such as "SMP Live", "SMP Earth", and perhaps one of the most well known ones, "The DreamSMP". Lovejoy was formed in early 2021 by Gold and Goldsmith, as they were both bandmembers from a previous band. The pair hired Mark Boardman off of the website known as "Fiver", and decided that they liked him enough to keep him on the band. Gold claims to have met Ash Kabosu in a burger restaurant; they began talking, discovered their similar interests, and Gold invited him to join the band. Around the formation of Lovejoy, Will Gold was still invested in livestreaming, talking to his chat or streaming on the DreamSMP. Eventually controversy struck when the creator of the SMP, known online as DreamWasTaken, was struck down with several allegations that caused many, if not all the creators he was once friends with, to cut him off and leave the SMP, Gold included.
Now that Gold was no longer committed to such a time consuming obligation, he had more time to focus on his band and his music. Releasing their first EP in May of 2021, "
Are You Alright?", the band took off in no time due to the stardom of the lead singer. The constant encouragement, praise, and overall adoration from fans helped Lovejoy soar through music charts, keeping them consistently relevant after two years of music making. Since the release of their first EP, they have also released two more: "
Pebble Brain" and "
Wake Up & It's Over." The band has also released several covers of neighboring bands, a few that they have performed with live. For how young the band still is, they have gone on several tours now, both European and American. Their sudden success has drawn the attention of many, including big names such as
The Rolling Stones Magazine and
The Grammys. While most young indie bands have fears of never taking off, Lovejoy will never have to, like the lyric in the song "Model Buses", be "scared of the future."
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| "Are You Alright?" (May 8th, 2021) |
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| "Pebble Brain" (October 14th, 2021) |
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| "Wake Up & It's Over" (May 12th, 2023) |
Hi Kirsten,
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of Lovejoy before but I will be sure to listen now! I'm not familiar with many British bands or Twitch which is probably why I've never heard of their band. It's cool how they formed their band and I think it will be interesting to see them grow. I wonder if their popularity comes from the lead singer being previously famous or if this is just the start and they will become even more famous. Very interesting topic, great job!
Hello Kirsten,
ReplyDeleteI can feel your passion for this band through the screen; I'll be sure to give them a listen! It's fascinating how social media and community engagement online have revolutionized the music industry. Before, it used to be almost impossible to become an artist without connections in the industry, but today anyone with a large enough following or platform can share their art with the world. I think that it's great that music is democratizing, and more people from niche groups are able to make it big and follow their dreams. I appreciate how you put a personal introduction explaining how you discovered the band, the interactions you have had with them thus far, and how they have positively affected you. Since you helpfully added so many song titles, I'll be sure to check a few of them out. Thank you for your post!