A Bedford band are performing at the Cellar Bar next week, celebrating that they have gone from performing at the venue’s Under 18’s Open Mic Night to launching their debut EP this month.
The Deities are composed of four Bedford College music students, “combining original rock sounds with ethereal vocals”.
They began playing together at the Cellar Bar’s monthly under-18s open mic night and on Tuesday (6 May), will be taking to the same stage to celebrate the launch of their debut EP.
Kiera Smalley (vocals and guitar), Herbie Beavis (drums), Jackson McDonald (lead guitar) and George Hayhurst (bass) are all students at Bedford College and praised the local music scene for supporting up-and-coming bands and artists.
Cathy Wright, co-owner of The Cellar Bar, told the Bedford Independent: “We were asked if we wanted to support these young musicians, as their final project for this year is to put on and play an event before the end of May.
“As a venue that loves to promote the next generation of musicians, we are delighted to help.”
The band say they are influenced by Deftones, Wunderhorse, KEO and Basht, with Keira and Herbie both citing the Foo Fighters as inspiration to them.
“My songwriting influences are Amira Elfeky and Dave Grohl,” said Kiera.
“I love Amira as she’s a solo female metal artist in an overly masculine genre and Dave’s songwriting style sparks light in me.”
Drummer Herbie said: “Taylor Hawkins inspires me – I grew up listening to Foo Fighters and saw them from a young age, so his drumming influenced me to play.”
Lead guitarist Jackson says he loves The Smiths’ Johnny Marr and Graham Coxon of Blur, while George takes his inspiration from Mike Kerr of Royal Blood.
“The band doesn’t have a guitarist; he fills in the space without needing one.”
Describing the live music scene, the band said: “The local music scene around Bedford is great for alternative music, with venues like The Cellar Bar and Esquires.
“Wherever you go and whatever you play, there’s always somewhere that’ll welcome you. There are also loads of open mics around the town and county, meaning you can dip your toe in the water of performing and build your confidence.”
Asked where their ambition might take, them, they said: “If we could pay for any festival, we’d obviously love to play Glastonbury on the Pyramid Stage. But realistically, we would love to play on the Radio 1 Introducing stage in the coming years.”
You can catch The Deities at The Cellar Bar on Tuesday, 6 May from 7.15pm. Support on the night comes from local acts Jimmy Judge (The Greensands) and The Switch.
Entry is free.
