The Occasional Orchestra

Difficult to categorise and hard to ignore, these champions of the English story song have a shining back catalogue, described in one review as a ‘jewel undiscovered’. This band can certainly dunk their biscuits. 

In a live scene dominated by tribute bands, The Occasional Orchestra like to wear their influences a little more lightly. Though they are most typically listed under the label of indie/folk, they’re leaning more heavily on the indie these days. You may pick up traces of varied  heroes such as the Kinks, Squeeze, Stephen Fretwell, Stornoway, Elvis Costello Talking Heads and many more. They were once described as ‘The Mumford and Sons you don’t want to punch’ by R&R magazine. Not that they’d condone punching anyone. 

This band was built to last. They’ve recorded with top producers, shared stages with their heroes, been championed on the radio, crowdfunded a biscuit themed campaign to pay for their Urban Foxes album and toured the rural areas of the UK through Rural Touring. And they’re still bffs.

There’s a new album written and ready to record in spring 2024 and they’re bursting to bring their engaging and intense live show on the road. The band is championed by venues and festivals that value and appreciate great original songs, and energetic performances. Followed by a mug of strong tea and a cream crunch of course.”

The recent review of our track “Loneliest Day of The Year”:

“While they hail from all the way across the pond in the United Kingdom, London-based act “The Occasional Orchestra” continues to astound as they have found a way to not just replicate, but build on the classic American Country sound with the release of their homespun single “Loneliest Day of the Year.”

The piece begins with a snare drum rapturously banging in time as the full band comes in a few seconds later playing in a slow tempo that one would expect to hear during any night of line dancing. In spontaneous fashion, a train whistle blows to set the tone and the song takes flight.

From the first vocals, we can tell this will be a song written from years of experience. The opening lyrics “I’ve watched the leaves fall and I’ve heard the wind howl” set the narrative up similar to a grand tale being told to eager ears.

He tells a story of love lost as he sings the chorus “Didn’t cry when you left me, I held it all in. Just took out the bottle and drank it all in.” His pain can be felt through his voice as embodies the loss he feels through every ounce of his aural register. He pulls deep to describe how often he is reminded of this, from being reminded of her absence every time he hears the train whistle blow, to feeling an apathy to leave the house. A powerful yet sensible tune, this single is sure to invoke sympathy from any listener with any semblance of sympathy.”

Written by Nick Gumas

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• Doors 8pm
• Tickets: £6 ADV + eventbrite booking fee | £10 OTD
• Under 18s welcome when accompnaied by a responsible adult 25+ and have their own ticket