INTRODUCING: Wheelhouse

Wheelhouse are an alternative/indie rock band from Cleethorpes, blending the emotional sweep of early Verve with the raw urgency of classic British guitar music. Formed in October 2025, the project emerged from a period of personal reset and renewed focus, where solitary writing sessions quickly evolved into a full band once early live performances revealed the power of shared energy.

Drawing influence from early Verve, Oasis, The Who and a wide spectrum of soul, psych and indie rock, Wheelhouse write music rooted firmly in lived experience. Their songs explore internal battles, relationships, recovery, and the fleeting moments of light that cut through everyday struggle. Themes of mental health, resilience and self-belief run throughout their work — never as slogans, but as honest reflections of real life.

Despite being a new project, Wheelhouse gained early momentum after being invited to record a BBC Introducing live session following just two gigs and a single uploaded track. With live performance currently at the heart of their output, the band are building a reputation for shows that feel immediate, human and emotionally charged, marking them as one of the most compelling emerging acts in the UK indie landscape.

Wheelhouse formed out of a period of personal reset and renewed focus. How did that moment in your lives shape the emotional honesty and urgency that runs through the band’s songs?

That period brought a lot of clarity, and with it the realisation of how much more time and energy I could give to music in a productive way. I never stopped writing, but getting songs properly over the line takes real effort. Having a solid group of mates around me helped massively — both with the finer details and with carving out pockets of time in everyday life to focus on it. That balance genuinely filled my cup.

Your sound draws comparisons to early Verve, The Who and classic British guitar music, but it feels very rooted in the present. How do you balance those influences with telling your own, very current stories?

As long as I’m drawing from my own experiences — or ours as a band — I’m usually happy with however the music ends up sounding. I listen to such a wide variety of music nowadays, and I think it’s interesting to notice where little nuances come from. Everyone in the band brings something different too: Ric grew up on hardcore and rock, Ellis leans more into folk and indie, and Josh — being an avid gamer — brings all sorts of unexpected sounds to the table.

After just two gigs and a single uploaded track, you were invited to record a BBC Introducing live session. What did that early recognition mean for you as a new band, and did it change your confidence or direction?

Like most artists, you never really know how something’s going to be received until it’s out there. I felt confident in how the songs were sounding and often thought, “What would I think if I heard this band for the first time?” The BBC session was mega — when we got the news, it was probably the first time something like that made me smile uncontrollably. It definitely gave us a big push to keep going in the direction we’re heading.

Themes like mental health, resilience and self-belief run through your music without ever feeling like slogans. How important is it for you to write from lived experience rather than abstraction?

There are certain things in life that are hard to avoid, and battling through them is often what shapes who you become. If I come across any insight or way of thinking that helps improve life, I’m always open to it. If there’s something I can pass on or give back through the music, I’m more than happy to do that. I do wander into abstraction at times, but I always try to make sure there’s a message there — or at least a strong narrative.

With live performance currently at the heart of Wheelhouse, what do you think audiences connect with most in your shows — and how does playing live feed back into the way you write and arrange songs?

We really champion being accessible and human on stage. I’d feel strange having to be anything other than myself when performing. There are obviously different versions of yourself, but you get the idea. Being relatively new to all of this, playing live has had a huge impact on the arrangements — a lot of the songs start with solid bones, and the band help bring them fully to life. I think it’s going to be really exciting when we eventually take these songs into the studio.